Be it at work or for studying, the ability to concentrate well is important in order to make good use of your time; work or study more effectively; and retain better what you are studying or reading.
Are you calm?
Before starting, be sure you are calm and serene. If you feel nervous or restless, reduce that nervous energy by doing an activity which you know clears your head. For example you could choose a physical activity like going for a walk. Or you might prefer a brief workout. Maybe what works for you is to wash the dishes or clean up your desk. Or you might feel like dedicating yourself the time for a mindfulness session (meditation or body scan for example).
Eliminate distractions and interruptions as much as possible
- First of all, switch off the phone or silence it and leave it out of your eyesight in order to avoid distractions by possible notifications from calls, messages or apps.
- If you do not need it to work, do the same with your tablet. If you need it, silence or ideally turn off the app notifications that could distract you.
- Also send your landline to the mailbox or reception, giving indications for them to take the messages.
- Then turn off the e-mail application or deactivate the notification windows.
The common evil of permanent connection
Nowadays it seems we have to be connected at all times. But ask yourself what is the worst that could happen if you do not check your messages or calls during a few hours. Think that you might actually be in a meeting or sitting on a plane to wherever, meaning you would not be able to reply immediately. Remember that the person writing or calling you, usually does not know what you are doing. From what I know there has not been invented a detector for it yet either. So, take off the pressure and obsession to be connected 24/7.
Excellent customer service is to fully pay attention to your client
I know there are some posts and recommendations out there telling you to reply instantly to clients in order to show them you are there for them and they are important to you. I hope instantly does not mean interrupting a meeting with another client, thus giving him less attention! Imagine my case. I pretend to show people organisational and productivity skills as well as stress management. Wouldn’t I be a bad example of what I try to teach interrupting my client to attend another one who has just send me a message?
I am convinced that excellent customer service is possible without checking your phone every 5 minutes. What’s more, in order to give an excellent service I recommend you reply when you are able to fully concentrate on that client. That way you can decide whether you are able to reply completely to the request or have to give him/her a deadline when you will come back with the full answer.
Assertively ask for uninterrupted time
If you live or work with other people ask them, if you can, to leave you in peace, telling them you need to concentrate. Interruptions may annoy you or not. Maybe you even welcome them. But anyway they will not help you immerse yourself in your work. The longer the interruption, the longer it will take you to pick up the thread of what you were doing. So be assertive, and kindly ask them to give you space and peace. And remember to return the favour, when they ask you not to be interrupted.
Create a favourable environment
If you like music, put on some relaxation or concentration music in the background. Choose whatever you like. However, I suggest music without lyrics or in a language you do not understand in order to avoid humming along. Therefore conventional radio channels may not be the most practical due to the announcer comments and ads. But on the internet you may find music channels. Also you may create a song list on Spotify for example. Or you could look for concentration music videos on YouTube. I sometimes use the relaxing music of a Mindfulness app. There are several options.
But please do not get distracted looking for the perfect music when you are getting down to work, thus losing precious time you could be dedicating to work or study. This is not the moment for creating your music list.
Be clear about your objective and celebrate the small victories
It is noteworthy that you will not have as much a hard time to get started if you know what you are doing and what your objective is. For long tasks, I recommend you set yourself small goals and milestones. When you reach them, remember to reward yourself with a break and congratulate yourself for what you have achieved.
You might get up from the chair, put on your favourite song, sing or dance along. Or you could go to the kitchen for a snack or drink. Maybe you rather feel like stretching a bit. Or a reward for you is reading an interesting or inspiring article. You even may feel like playing 5 to 10 minutes a videogame you like (if you are able to limit the time without getting hooked for hours). Do anything that clears your head. But whatever you do, I recommend you also get out of the chair to stretch your legs.
Write down open issues that are on your mind
So, you have eliminated the nervous energy and the distractions. You have created a favourable atmosphere. But you are still unable to concentrate. If this is the case, are there maybe pending topics, errands to do, ideas unrelated with the job at hand or worries on your mind? If this is the case, note everything down. But do not dally over putting everything in order on its corresponding task or project list. There will be time for that. For now, just capture the idea to get it off your mind.
It might seems silly but you will take a load off your mind, which only wants your best, reminding you of open issues. But unfortunately your mind does not have the gift of timing as I mention in the post “5 simple tricks to disconnect from work”.
Ignore the bad excuses and negative thoughts
It is very early. It is very late. At these hours I cannot concentrate. Only a peak at Facebook and I’ll get started. A level of Candy Crush and I’ll get going…
Yes, the mind can be treacherous and will find numerous excuses. Also, there is not always an ideal moment for that job or that time for study. Due to your agenda, often you will have to do things at certain times that might not be those of the highest energy and concentration levels. Hence, you will have to get over your weaker self and just start step by step. More often than not it is just a matter of getting going and taking a running start to dodge procrastination.
Learn to ignore distractions and environmental noises
While I know it can be difficult, it is actually a matter of preparing yourself mentally and practicing. As Spanish cognitive psychologist Rafael Santandreu says, nowadays we seem to be obsessed with comfort. But we do not need to be comfortable to be happy. So, he suggests to train ourselves to accept the discomfort and nuisances because otherwise we will become more neurotic and they will annoy as more and more.
Also, my Mindfulness teacher taught us to remember that we cannot always influence how the world and people are. Yet we can choose how we want to feel about it. So, when your mind gets distracted thinking how annoying those colleagues are that seem to be messing about while you are super busy, do not pay attention and feed back into those negative thoughts. Rather return to your task and you will notice the background noise fading away.
Recap
- Check whether you are calm
- Eliminate distractions and interruptions
- Create a favourable environment
- Be clear about your objective and celebrate small victories
- Write down issues on your mind
- Ignore the bad excuses and negative thoughts
- Learn to ignore distractions and environmental noises
Your turn
Do you have any other tips and tricks for concentrating better? Would love to hear them.
Having a hard time to apply the tricks or they do not seem to work? Let me know what is going on.
