Understanding the concept of focus
Do you find yourself reading the same text for the fifth time but can’t get a word in your head?…
Do you find yourself staring at your monitor aimlessly for minutes without paying attention to what is present on the screen?….
Do you walk out of the meeting room and don’t remember what was being discussed in the meeting?
Do you switch tabs on your computer ever so often and can’t seem to finalize what you want to work on?…
You can’t seem to remember where you kept your keys?…
If you answered one or more of these questions as a yes then you already know that you can’t focus on things for a long time. It is difficult for you to put your concentration on one thing for a certain amount of time. It keeps wandering and you often feel lost due to this.
What do you mean by focus?
Paying undisturbed attention to a particular task or object is termed as the focus. Do you play video games for hours at a stretch and don’t get bored?… Then it is because that is your area of interest and your focus level is maximum during this activity.
Focus provides clarity to the subject at hand. Focus is the state of mind that helps in putting a task in the forefront and pushing all the other tasks away for the time being. It involves a hundred percent attention towards a certain thing for a certain amount of time.
Losing focus can cause you to take more time to complete a particular task. Also, it will result in making you lesser interested by each passing minute to complete the task.
Few common causes of loss of focus
1. Stress and anxiety
Can you hold sand in your fist by closing your fist firmly?….No, because sand tends to fall in your attempt to grip it tightly. This is the same case with focus. If you try too hard to focus on something, likely, you won’t be able to get it. Thus, try to work on the cause of loss of your focus. This might be due to stress buildup in your body which is not letting you function properly. Being anxious over something can result in distracting you and won’t let you put your attention on the topic.
2. Fatigue
The body’s efficiency reduces after working for long hours. In the same way, our mind also gets tired, and the capability to focus on things reduces. Eventually, the span of time that you can keep your attentiveness on something reduces as you get more and more tired.
3. Sleep deprivation/ Insomnia
If you haven’t slept in hours or have got disturbed sleep in the past few days, it can make you irritated and also make it difficult to put your concentration on the work at hand. Sleep helps in relieving the stress buildup in our body and hence helps in focus. Therefore, make sure you get at least 8 hours a day and maintain a healthy cycle of sleep and work to keep your mind focused and alert.
4. Hormonal changes
Cortisol is a hormone that is related to stress. Whenever the stress level of the body increases this hormone is released into the bloodstream. Under low-stress levels, Cortisol, produced by adrenal glands, improves memory and helps with the focus. But with a prolonged stress duration or increased amount of it, this hormone can hamper your focus.
5. Drug or alcohol abuse
Substance abuse is a very common problem these days. Brain function tends to suffer because of these substances and the body as well as the mind faces a lot of problems because of this. Certain drugs can even cause symptoms that include hallucinations.
6. Nervous system related disorders
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a mental health condition that can lead to an abnormal level of hyperactivity. People suffering from ADHD have trouble concentrating on a task and often tend to show impulsive behavior.
However, a few of these tips can help you in maintaining your focus:
1. Identify and avoid distractions
Getting a text in the middle of a task can get you distracted and make you look at your cellphone. Now that you have replied to your text, you might want to look at your social media for a few minutes. You won’t even realize and these few minutes can easily turn into an hour.
Therefore, if you have something to complete make sure you keep your distractions aside and give full attention to the task.
2. Take regular breaks
Our brain is designed in such a way that it can concentrate on a thing for a maximum of fifty minutes. Even if you try to push yourself after this first hour of work, your productivity will reduce. Therefore it is mandatory to take breaks and refresh your brain so that your efficiency is not affected.
3. Create a suitable environment
Trying to focus on something in a room buzzing with people can be difficult for most people. Therefore, if you have to put your focus on something important then try to work at a place where there is not much noise.
4. Planning is the key
Work without planning may feel like shooting a dart in the fog. If you work on something with planning then you have a clear vision, therefore, you tend to focus better on the task.
5. Avoid multitasking
Humans have one brain. Therefore we can’t focus on more than one thing at a time. The concentration level decreases if we try to focus on more than one task at a time.
6. Prioritize tasks based on focus level
After a good night’s sleep, the brain is fresh and recharged in the morning. Therefore, taking up tasks that requires a lot of focus and finishing them in the first half of the day is a good way of tackling things.
7. Meditate
In the busy lives that we have right now, we have everything moving at a fast pace. Thousands of thoughts go inside your head at any given second. This makes concentrating a little more difficult than it already is!. Spend time with nature and keep a calm brain as much as possible. It will not only help you focus better but also maintain a good healthy body.
8. Therapy
Sometimes, no matter what you try, if it doesn’t help to reduce the stress and anxiety, filled up in the brain. There may be an underlying condition that may be hampering the focus level that you are trying to achieve. In such scenarios, you need help from professionals to help you with the focus and concentration.
9. Workout
Cortisol is produced by the body in case it experiences stress due to any reason. This stress-related hormone constantly prevents the human’s ability to focus properly. On the other hand, physical activity releases a hormone in the body called endorphins. These are also known as happy hormones. These hormones will help in easing the stress and increasing the level of endorphins in the body along with bringing down the level of stress which hampers with the focus.
So in the end, one must not forget that focus is a state of mind, controlled by the ever so powerful brain. Try to attain focus but don’t try too hard. Because the more you try to focus on something the more your brain tries to negate it.
