Is Lack of Concentration creating a lot of frustration in completing the work that was scheduled to finish?
If your answer is yes then let us dig in understanding the whole ball game of Concentration.
Lack of Concentration is a major problem among Kids, Students, Adults etc.
According to the definition of Cambridge, dictionary concentration is
“ The ability to think carefully about something you are doing and nothing else “.
To overcome the Lack of good concentration, the cognitive function should work at its best in two important aspects.
- The first is sustained attention, in which we’re able to focus on certain pieces of information for prolonged periods of time.
- The second executive function is, which is our ability to think and make decisions at a complex level.
We all want the work to be done in a fast and efficient manner so that we can use the remaining time in other activities. We want to concentrate while doing our work but we fail to do so.
Let us understand the Six Major steps to overcome Lack of Concentration:
- Remove Distractions: We human beings are distracted very easily. Psychologists Mathew Killingsworth and Daniel Gilbert found that the human mind is actually wired for a continuous state of distraction. A study conducted with 2,250 adults, concluded that we spend around 47 per cent of waking hours in “ mind-wandering.
Hence we can conclude that distraction is a natural process and concentration is to put conscious effort into achieving it.
Three major distractions which can be considered to overcome Lack of Concentration are as follows
- i) Social Media: We are all addicted to mobile. When I was just searching for distraction pictures on the web I could see almost 95% of pictures had mobile in them. The picture below shows the scenario of us getting addicted to mobile. Hence while working/studying we get distracted easily by social media like Facebook, Instagram, What’s App, etc. So to overcome this we can either switch off the mobile or put it in flight mode so that we can overcome Lack of concentration and do our work within less time.
- ii) Background noise: It has also been found that background noise can create a lot of problems in concentrating on the topic. The background noise like flight in the sky, horn of the vehicle outside, etc can create a lot of disturbances in the mind which hinders concentration.
You can either reschedule the work and do it in a calm and conducive environment or you train your mind to accept it and go on. I have done this. I used to read physics on the veranda of my house which was a small open space and sometimes people around us used to put loud music on. I just concentrated on reading the subject and I got used to it.
- iii) Clutter: We also know that if there is clutter scattered here and there around us, it obviously creates negative energy. Lack of concentration can be overcome by clearing the clutter around us and also doing the work faster and better.
2. Avoid Multitasking: Research has shown that switching between tasks takes a toll on productivity. Multitaskers get distracted very easily than people who just focus on one task. Multitaskers have the less cognitive ability. To overcome lack of concentration it is better to avoid multitasking.
It takes 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to the focus of the previous work. So we should avoid multitasking to be more productive.
There are many tasks which we multitask on daily basis. Some three tasks that we usually switch are as follows
2. i) Writing email while responding to client
2. ii) Taking care of the kid while writing an article
2. iii) Attending a phone call in between while preparing a financial assessment.
3. Taking in between breaks: Most of the jobs are done while sitting. If we sit for more than one and half an hour the metabolic rate of the body comes down, it has an impact on our brain health making us fatigue. Hence it is very important to take breaks in between.
Different types of breaks can be taken to conquer lack of concentration. Three types are listed below
Studies have shown that even a small amount of exercise done can improve our brain health
3. i) Hearing Music: Taking a break and hearing music can help elevate our mood. It improves memory and brain stimulation. Hearing music can help in managing pain and fatigue. It can help in relieving stress and promotes a positive mindset. Hence lack of concentration can be conquered by resuming the work after a break.
3. ii) Chatting/Laughing with a friend: To remove the fatigue in us after an hour and a half of studying/working, chatting with a friend can definitely help you in relaxing. You share your thoughts, feelings and hence don’t feel isolated. We feel happy and elevated. Lack of concentration can be reduced by chatting /laughing with a friend.
3. iii) Quick shower: The hot water from the shower relaxes muscles and there is blood circulation overall body. It removes all negativities from the mind. It relieves stress improves the clarity of thought and promotes clarity in thinking. It increases your confidence and decreases anxiety. Hence lack of concentration can be defeated by taking a shower.
4. Avoid Rumination: When we are very sensitive to situations or circumstances, then we cannot help our thoughts revolving around us repeatedly and this disrupts our concentration. Hence Lack of concentration can be defeated by avoiding sensitive repeated thoughts.
4. i) Talk to a close friend/relative: When you share your feelings with your friend/close relative, you will feel better and relieved slowly from repetitive thoughts. This gives you a lot of mental support, relieves stress and you can come out of anxiety and depression.
4. ii) Distract yourself: There are various ways where you can distract yourself like Watching a movie, socializing with people, reading a book, writing articles, drawing a picture, singing, dancing, etc. These can break the looping negative thought process and make you feel better.
4. iii) Forget, forgive and let go of ourselves and others: We are all human beings and we are prone to do mistakes when involved in relationships with friends, relatives, and people around us. Some conflicts between us may lead to these negative repetitive thoughts in our minds. Hence we have to forgive ourselves and also the people who have hurt us intentionally or unintentionally. We will become happy when we forgive and let go of things thereby conquering lack of concentration which is the main hurdle in doing our work.
5. Exercise: Research shows that physical activity can improve concentration in people of all ages.When people play games with a winning attitude the concentration power of the brain increases as the focus of the mind is to win the game. The brain is trained towards focusing on the game and hence the same level of concentration is carried on while doing the work. Hence the problem of lack of concentration is beaten.
5 i) Aerobic like cycling/Swimming: The best scientific evidence comes from testing school children, but the same most likely applies to us all. Interspersing lessons with 20-minute bouts of aerobics-style exercise improved the attention spans of school pupils. Hence lack of concentration problem is reduced to a larger extent.
5. ii) Outdoor games like cricket, football, etc: Research shows that people who played football, tennis, etc became more adept at ignoring distractions, multitasking, and holding and manipulating information in their minds. So their lack of concentration got conquered in many folds.
5. iii) Breathing Exercise: Concentrate on breathing while inhaling and exhaling. These are also called pranayama exercises. Pranayama is the practice of breath regulation. It’s a main component of yoga, an exercise for physical and mental wellness. In Sanskrit, “prana” means life energy, and “Yama” means control. The practice of pranayama involves breathing exercises and patterns.
Each cell requires oxygen for its optimal performance but we usually do shallow breathing. When we do these deep breathing exercises where we take a long inhalation and long exhalation for at least 15 to 20 minutes we can see that gradually we are beating the lack of concentration.
6. Sleep: Sleep is as important as your food. Sleep is also considered as an exercise. While you’re asleep, your body is hard at work, restoring energy, repairing cells, and releasing essential hormones. Sleep serves as the ultimate time to heal and recover so you can take on the next day feeling rejuvenated and sharp. The perfect amount of sleep will vary by age and by a person. Knowing that we spend about ⅓ of our lives asleep, you’re likely wondering, how much sleep do we really need?
6. i) Minimum of 6-7 hrs: The average adult needs between 7 to 9 hours of sleep to allow the brain and body to repair and restore overnight. Einstein took this advice and slept for 10 hrs. Research shows that sleep helps in beating a lack of concentration.
6. ii) Try Deep sleep: Suppose you had slept for 7 hrs of sleep after you wake up you are not feeling fresh and energetic then the quality of sleep helps in being more productive in terms of memory, grasping, focus and concentration by many folds. By improving the quality of sleep the lack of concentration problem can be defeated.
Five stages of sleep rotate between non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) and include drowsiness, light sleep, moderate to deep sleep, deepest sleep, and dreaming.
Scientists agree that sleep is essential to health, and while stages 1 to 4 and REM sleep are all important, deep sleep is the most essential of all for feeling rested and staying healthy. The average healthy adult gets roughly 1 to 2 hours of deep sleep per 8 hours of night sleep.
Deep sleep, for example, is the stage of sleep you need to feel refreshed when you wake up in the morning. So therefore deep sleep helps you to overcome the lack of concentration by many folds.
6 iii) Daily time to sleep: Create a bedtime routine to unwind from the day, like reading a book or taking a bath, time to sleep, etc. This will help the body to regulate its internal clock time. Go to bed and get up at the same time every day.
The human body has an internal clock when programmed will drive the body into sleep mode. So lack of concentration problem can be beaten by sleeping on time.
I hope this article has given a better insight into overcoming lack of concentration.
Do reply to me with the comments below. I would love to hear from you.
Written by
-Shashirekha K.S
- Digital Coach, teacher, mother of a handsome son, wife of a loving husband, have a mission of teaching millions of students.
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