Concentrating on one task during Covid, quarantines, chaos, and information overload is hard. On average, Americans are bombarded with an estimated 34 gigabytes of information and 100,500 words every single day. Office workers are interrupted every 11 minutes and take 25 minutes to get back on to the work they were doing before the interruption. Therefore, it is no surprise that our ability to focus is deteriorating day by day due to endless distractions.
To maintain focus, we need to manage our inner thought-process in a way that only the thoughts, motivations, and emotions relevant to the task at hand occupy space in our minds. Remember, our brain is a muscle and just like any other muscle, it can be trained and strengthened. Here are 5 exercises that can help you train your mind to stay focused.
1) Have A Green Time!
Surrounding yourself with nature is a way to improve focus. An environment where you are exposed to greenery, your attention space is likely to increase. Research proves that exposure to natural surroundings may improve a young child’s brain development. In a study, children aged 4 to 7 years of age with green spaces around their homes had better attention spans than those who were not exposed to any green spaces. Enriching a bare office or workspace with plants increases the productivity of workers by 15%. The presence of greenery increases perceived air quality, satisfaction, and reported levels of oxygen concentration.
2) Create A To-Do List
Maintaining a to-do list rigorously helps you be productive. Once the task is done, crossing off one of the tasks on a long list can be extremely satisfying and this feeling often acts as a motivation to use your time more effectively. A to-do list also helps keep you accountable to yourself – it makes you aware and conscious of your focus, steps, and outcomes.
3) Be Smart with your Time
Having an organized work schedule containing a 45-minute work time with a 15-minute break in between makes you work efficiently and improves your span of focus. After 45 minutes, you can take a well-deserved break to recharge for another 45 minutes of work. As you improve your attention span, you can start to increase the 45 minutes to larger chunks of time spent working,
4) Make sure To Get Uninterrupted Sleep!
Adults need 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep to rejuvenate for the next day. An interrupted sleep leads to a 31% reduction in a positive mood which can in turn affect the potential levels of your productivity.
5) Do Not Disturb Mode!
When working, turn off all your app notifications and put your phone upside down. Even better, keep your phone away from you. This will help you concentrate better with lesser distractions. Why? Because social media apps can be fairly addictive and give a person serious FOMO i.e. fear of missing out. Even if you decide to open it for a few minutes, you might waste 15-20 minutes on it, which in hindsight would not have been worth it. Thus, keep your phone away to quickly get done with the work!
6) Use AtEase Glasses
AtEase Glasses are created by utilizing blue light blocker science coupled with visual occlusion technology. They are extremely effective in delivering the highest levels of intellectual focus and performance. Many users claim that their AtEase Glasses take the edge off to allow effective and quick rest and recovery when they need it most during their workday.