In this article, I am going to teach you how to train your brain to stay focused. Even though the brain is not a muscle, you can train it to become more focused and dexterous. As a result, you can make focusing easier on yourself just by doing a few brain training techniques every day.
Luckily, these brain training techniques are not that difficult in small quantities. Just by making a few changes to your everyday life, you will find staying focused to be easier and easier. Let’s take a look at a few of these brain training techniques for you to try out.
1. Practice Mindfulness or Meditation
Mindfulness and meditation are two things that have been studied pretty extensively. Most of these studies show that they can help you experience less stress, anxiety, and rumination. At the same time, they can help you improve your focus and attention.
To practice mindfulness for focus, start by selecting a target to focus on. You can focus on your breath or a certain mantra. Then, get into a comfortable position and relax your body. Focus your attention on the selected target. Whenever certain thoughts pop up, gently release those thoughts, and continue with the practice. Start by doing this practice for 5 minutes and build up your tolerance.
2. Avoid Multitasking
Sometimes, you have to juggle multiple priorities to get everything done in one day. If you can avoid it, try to avoid multitasking. Multitasking has been proven to hinder our cognitive abilities because our brains are designed to only focus on one task at a time.
To train your brain to stay focused, single-task as much as possible. This may be difficult at first or feel like it takes much more time out of your day, but it will benefit you in the long run. With all of your brain’s energy going to one activity, you do the activity better and more quickly.
3. Visualize Your Day
What we think about our day and life impacts reality. Whenever we think certain thoughts, those thoughts lead to feelings, actions, and results. Start visualizing your day as part of your morning routine to start having the results you want.
Instead of visualizing the whole day, pick a few critical tasks to focus on. Try to walk through the steps, imagine your feelings, and anything else related to the tasks. This will help you prepare for those tasks, turning your thoughts into a reality.
4. Push Yourself
At the beginning of this tutorial, I mentioned that your brain needs to be exercised like a muscle. How you strengthen a muscle is that you push yourself a little bit further every time you workout. You should do the same with your brain.
Whenever you feel that your brain needs a break or is losing focus, try to push the focus for just a little bit longer. This will help your brain become more skilled at focusing, even when you become tired or distracted.
Final Thoughts
Even though some people may be naturally better at staying focused than others, you can train your brain to become more focused. Try meditation, single-tasking, visualizing your day, and pushing yourself to improve your brain’s ability to focus.
Remember, you need to be kind to yourself throughout the process. Focus is not developed overnight. The first couple of days you try these techniques may be a challenge. Keep pushing through and be kind to yourself until you reach the results you want.