How to Improve Your Concentration and Your Work
The more you concentrate on your work, the more work you will get done. It sounds simple, but the typical workday is filled with distractions. Some are internal -- daydreams, worries, a mind sluggish from lack of sleep. Many are external -- ringing phones, random noise, people clamoring for your attention. You can't control everything in your environment, but you can learn to improve your ability to concentrate. It's a skill, and like any skill, it requires practice and some trial-and-error experimentation to discover which techniques will work best for you.
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Instructions
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Bring your attention gently back to your work whenever you notice your mind has started to wander. Say to yourself "present moment" or "be here now" as you guide your attention back to the task at hand. The trick is to be gentle and not beat yourself up for losing concentration. This becomes easier with practice.
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Set aside a block of time -- say, 15 minutes -- every day for worrying. Set a specific time; make it an unbreakable appointment. During your worry time, do as much worrying as you can. During the rest of the day, if you start losing focus on your work because you are worrying, tell yourself to save the worries for your worry time. Try to worry only during that set-aside time.
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Focus on one thing at a time, to the extent your work permits. If you don't have to multitask, do the tasks separately. This is especially helpful as you get older, when multitasking becomes more difficult. Eliminate distractions such as noise and interruptions from your work environment whenever possible.
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Take care of your health. Do all the things you know you should do -- eat right, exercise, get enough sleep. These will all help you concentrate.
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Don't eat a large meal during your workday if you know from experience that it will make you feel sluggish.
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Take frequent short breaks throughout the workday, if your job permits. If you work at a desk, get up, stretch and walk around. Look out a window or focus on an object at a distance for about a minute to rest and refresh your eyes.
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Schedule your tasks, when possible, around your own internal rhythms. If you're a morning person, tackle the tasks that require the most concentration first. If you're an afternoon or night person, try to do routine tasks in the morning and save more creative work for later in the day.
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