Focus is something I really struggle with.
If you’re like me then you probably have multiple browser tabs open, constantly check Facebook, Twitter, ESPN, CNN, and/or whatever that one site is that you constantly check and refresh to see if anything new happened. I’ve gotten to the point where even if a website is taking too long to load I’ll open up a new tab and look at something else while it’s loading. Not good for concentration.
My girlfriend makes fun of me because every time she walks by me sitting at the computer I’m looking up a different topic. With that said, here are some of the exercises I’ve been doing recently which have really helped.
- Count the number of words on a page. I usually check out The Week Magazine’s ‘10 Things You Need To Know Today‘ and count the # of words on those pages. I count everything, including the numbers for each item so when I copy and paste the article into Microsoft Word that I get to see the actual word count and compare it with what I saw.
- Focus on breathing. I’m big into hacking my body to improve processes (hence why I’ve undertaken this journey to improve my memory) and I’ve realized that breathing, although involuntary, can make a world of difference. I’ve found that when I’m trying to focus that taking five deep breaths will usually clear my head and allow me to zone in on a task.
These are two things that are currently working okay for me. I also hope to try many of the items mentioned on this list:
http://www.artofmanliness.com/2012/08/08/12-concentration-exercises-from-1918/