Focus: How to build focus

Focus is the first step to walking on the path to success." 

For achieving anything, from a long-term goal like getting well settled or buying your dream car, to a short-term goal like doing your homework or cleaning your room, each of these tasks requires some amount of commitment and focus to get done.

A major issue faced by people these days happens to be a lack of concentration and focus, affecting us on a significant level in our daily lives.

This has become a major issue due to the modernization and digital era, which comes with its own set of pros and cons.
Having a good concentration span is a blessing not only for daily chores but also for a peaceful and relaxed mind.

There can be various reasons why one lacks focus and concentration. And some of the common reasons are being unable to tune out distractions, age, lack of sleep, etc. 

One needs to condition themselves in a manner to deal with this issue, and let's discuss the same down below: 

1. Increasing Sleep Quality: 

No amount of emphasis can be placed enough on the value of having a good night's sleep.

Having a good sleep cycle is a luxury. People spend most of their time doing unimportant or less significant things during the day and then have to pull all-nighters to complete their tasks before the deadline. This is mostly commonly seen amongst the youth, who spend a large amount of time surfing the social media and internet, which later largely affects the sleep schedule.

 For one to optimise their focus, getting a good night’s sleep is one of the most important things one can do.

For getting a good night's sleep:

•Repeatably go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time.
• Establish a peaceful, dark, quiet, and cosy sleeping environment in your bedroom.
• Avoid using any kind of devices right before bed.
• Limit your intake of coffee and alcohol before bed.
•Take a workout. You may find it easier to fall asleep at night if you exercise throughout the day.

2. Meditation : 

According to research at Harvard, 47% of the time our brain is lost in thoughts.

To train attention and awareness and produce a cognitively clear, emotionally peaceful, and stable state, use a method like mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, idea, or action.
One can calm oneself down by engaging in practises like meditation and mindfulness.
 
Doing meditation not only increases focus and learning concentration but also helps in improving memory and attention span, which also contributes to a healthier lifestyle.

3. Using the Pomodoro Technique: 


It is really difficult to get something done, especially if you are self-employed, a student, or need to do things for yourself that you usually put off, like paying bills, doing your chores, etc. There always seems to be something else to do which feels more important, and a very brilliant and efficient technique to deal with this is by using the Pomodoro Technique.

The Pomodoro Method is a well-known time-management technique that may assist you in overcoming distractions, focusing intensely, and finishing tasks quickly while taking periodic breaks to unwind and catch your breath. A person can only maintain full concentration for 25 minutes, according to a study. This method is based on it.

How does it work? 
•Set a goal to be accomplished. (For example, coming assignment, reading a book, cleaning, etc.) 

• Set a timer for 25 minutes and only do that specific task during that time frame. After 25 minutes, take a 5-minute break before repeating. 

The 5 minute break is the reward system of this technique that one gets on completion of their task. In this manner, one gets their work done very easily as the brain understands that the reward for this hard work is 

4. Playing focus-building or brain games:

 Games are a wonderful way to relax oneself. However, this relaxation could also be a way to help you concentrate better. 

Some examples of such games are: 
>> Chess 
>> Sudoku 
>> Puzzles 
>> Crosswords and many more. 

5. Turning off your electronics: 

Taking a break from the screen is important but difficult because we are constantly bombarded with emails, messages, and notifications that we cannot avoid even if we wanted to. So, switching off your electronics like mobile and laptop to take a power nap or pursuing your hobby just for 30 minutes a day would actually help one to learn how to let go of distractions. These hobbies can be anything from reading a book to baking something. One can also use this time slot to arrange their work flow, set goals, or create a priority work list.

6. Avoid Multitasking: 

Multitasking is something that harms one's focus the most. Whether one realises it or not, we are all multitasking to some extent in our lives.

Multitasking seems like an efficient way to get many things done at a time. However, it's actually not helping you get many things done at a time but dividing your focus from giving the most efficient output ever.

The brain was not intended to handle doing two or more tasks at once. Switching from one task to another is what we are truly doing. As a result, we are unable to give each of those jobs our whole focus.

Therefore concentrate your efforts on doing one task at a time.

7. Set small, attainable goals: 

Making a to-do list every day allows you to know and visualise the workflow you want in your life. These small goals can be outlined easily and focused on too, as you are actually limiting yourself with a small task flow instead of burdening yourself with everything at once, which leads to panic and results in no work getting done at the end. 

So, creating a to-do list of small and achievable goals helps you block thoughts of things that are not planned for that particular day.

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