Do you ever have those moments where you have something due, but you just can’t focus? Your mind just can’t seem to work at its required capacity, you get easily distracted…it’s a mess. Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. What you really need to, well, focus on (pun intended), is how to increase your focus.
Here are some practical tips to help you out:
Get a Good Night’s Rest
Is anyone getting any good sleep these days? It’s all about coming in early, staying up late and burning the midnight oil, putting in time on the weekends, anything to get ahead, eh? While chasing that promotion and higher salaries, we don’t realize that overworking is actually causing us to perform worse.
1 – 3% of the population are classified as sleepless elites. These superhumans can function normally at less than five hours of sleep. Chances are, you and I probably can’t. Commoners like us need between seven and eight hours a night to be at our best. The world leaders, CEOs, and top athletes all get a good night’s rest.
Our body heals, processes information learned throughout the day, and restores energy levels all through a good night’s sleep. We reduce stress and let our muscles relax. So, if we timely schedule our sleep, our brains are more efficient, our mood is uplifted and so, our ability to focus increases and we make fewer mistakes.
Take a Walk with Mother Nature
Post-pandemic, most of us are spending our hours moving from one screen to another. Be it a laptop to work on that PowerPoint, our iPhone to skim social media, or maybe that giant 60’ TV to finish your favourite serial show. Oh, the strain on our eyes. Intense stuff.
The solution here is simple – ditch the screen, and get outside. Even a short 15 to 20-minute walk can boost your concentration.
By simply adding plants to your office space, you could increase concentration and productivity, The fresh air from nature walk around the neighbourhood or wander-session through a park will do wonders to get your creative juices flowing.
Bop to Music
Did you know that listening to classical music improves cognitive ability? The melody, our personal taste, the fast beat, all stimulate our brainwaves to think and compute better. Classical music especially or nature sounds are the best for stimulating your brainwaves. So, the next time you’re in your zone just grinding on that project, try bumping some classical music (or your favourite genre) and see if you turn into a productivity titan.
Although you’ll probably want to stay away from lyrical pieces, your brain processing the words will take up too much cognitive power for you to focus on the actual task at hand properly.
