Can’t stay focused on your tasks? Perhaps you’d better start working to improve your Attention Control capabilities. Previously we mentioned tips for overcoming procrastination and that revealed 3 crucial components which were: departing from your “comfort zone”, time management and planning to get rid of procrastination. That says, these tips get you ready to become productive by transforming your status of lying on the bed, swiping your mobile phone’s screen into a status of working on a desk.
Nevertheless, whether you could manage to devote your full strength to your work or studies with optimal efficiency, yet without getting sidetracked or otherwise, and in what fashion you choose to begin working or studying, they all depend on whether you can concentrate on that particular task, or thing.
First of all, let’s take a look at its definition. Attentional control refers to an individual’s capacity to choose what they pay attention to and what they ignore. Notice how it’s defined. It’s effectively a state of mind or mental state, whereby the brain engages itself in many functionalities and activities. Since we call it “an ability”, in other words, we may certainly view it as a type of capability. Considering it falls under a category of mental states, we may then intervene it on a psychological dimension or angle; since it’s a type of capability, we may then work to strengthen it via nurturing and training.
Thus, let’s consider how Attentional Control Abilities affect us.
How Attention Control Abilites Affect Us?
1. Time is one of the handful common equalizers of everyone. No matter how powerful or gifted you are, you can’t have 25 hours for one day.
2. How precious your time is! Can you face your own conscience by living your day having your own time squandered?
3. I always highly admire those who can commit themselves completely to their work/ studies. Yet not everybody could acquire such attribute. Besides, it also reflects one’s self-discipline and disposition towards attaining success. I too believe, whatever things you try to accomplish, once without patience and you couldn’t stop letting your mind wander and mess around, you will surely achieve nothing.
4. Only once you start to stay focused can you actually ensure to finalize every task adequately, accurately and error-free. Losing your focus means making mistakes (and hence jeopardizing the whole mission).
How Attention Control Improves Your Ability To Stay Focused?
1. Eliminate every element that could lead to getting yourself distracted.
In case you happen to lack discipline and self-control, then brace yourself for something a bit drastic, such as handing over your cellphone to your parent (assuming you were a student preparing for an exam). We can all survive without cellphones. I still managed to survive without a cellphone for half a year during my high school year 12. Adults may choose to simply switch off the Wi-Fi router or put away their cellphones while so doing to stay focused. On top of all these, choose somewhere quiet but avoid cafes or restaurants since people coming and going will certainly distract you from staying focused.
2. Break large projects down into sub-projects or small assignments
Never attempt to build the City of Rome in one day in one attempt, supposing you thought you wouldn’t have come here to read this particular article, would you? Find out your time limits (on staying focused) and devise and draft a plan to allocate each assignment adequately so you can get adequate rest in order to ensure your efficiency and productivity.
Further reading: 20 80 rule in life
3. Leave your comfort zone
Don’t get yourself too comfortable by placing snacks near you while studying or doing some work. Don’t study or work while you eat.
4. Remain reasonably hungry (for information and observations)
We’ve to admit how mysterious such “reasonable hunger” can mean to us. Hunger tends to keep our brains calm and sharp, what matters more, not to mention losing weight. Moderate your diet and food consumption, naturally, don’t get yourself too full while filling your bellies.
5. Incrementally train your ability to focus and habitualise it
As mentioned previously, focus both belongs to a category of skills as well as a mindset. Therefore, we may learn and train ourselves to improve such skill.
How Shall We Practice Centering Yourself Spiritually?
First of all we need to find out our limitations. Assuming you could only stay focused on tasks for just an hour, then stay focused on your tasks for just an hour, then cut yourself some slack by taking a break for an hour. Afterwards, try to incrementally stay focused for a bit longer duration, such as 10 more minutes, so long as it begins to work for you, why not trying to keep catching up the pace a bit harder, by further adding somewhat longer duration to stay focused so on and so forth.
Human beings may make breakthroughs against the limits. Similar to physiques training or fitness training, whenever you start to feel too exhausted to continue running, yet you might still be able to endure such exhaustion and hardship by keeping running for several minutes more, then you might’ve found you’ve managed to improve your physical strength & fitness. Likewise, so shall you train your ability to focus. Endure until you start to get distracted by exhaustion and tiredness. Such as while you read a book. etc.
Everything has pretty much becomes now or never nowadays regardless of work or leisure since they both play an equally vital role in ensuring living a quality life differently, which requires you to know to do the right thing at the right time. Do NOT confuse yourself by doing something at some other time then move on to something else on another occasion. For the sake of earning yourself a perfect life by staying focused or productive at work yet still, at the same time, fully committed and fully enjoying your times of leisure and entertainment.
