Faculty of Humanities and Social Science > English

Training the Brain: How to Focus Better and Avoid Distractions

(1/3) > >>

A.S. Rafi:
The advent of digital technology has made distractions more and more regnant, and focusing seemingly unachievable that it’s not surprising to see people texting or emailing even in the midst of a meeting or a presentation. Are you guilty of this? If you don’t want your poor concentration skills to impede your productivity, then you may find these tips on training your brain to focus very useful.

A.S. Rafi:
1) Think Positive.

The term “frenzy” is defined as a state of being out of control, often underpinned by extreme emotions like anger, anxiety, and sadness. These emotions are powered by an almond-shaped gray matter found in the cerebral hemisphere—the amygdala. This wee structure in our brain reacts intensely to negative emotions, which it sees as signals of potential threat.

Functional brain MRI shows that as the amygdala deals with negative emotions, it also inhibits the brain’s ability to focus on and solve problems, and perform other cognitive tasks. Positive emotions, on the other hand, yield opposite results: they enhance the brain’s executive function, thus giving way to creativity and strategic thinking. So if you find your coworker annoying you, take a deep breath, dismiss it, and get back to what you’re doing. You can also respond to it by cracking a joke just to lighten up your mood.

A.S. Rafi:
2) Know Where You Focus Best.

Studies show that people are most able to truly focus (best) for an average of only six hours each week. Thus, you may want to be highly productive within those few hours. Results further reveal that people focus very well in the morning or late at night and outside the office. So know which places and particular times of the day are the most conducive for you, then allot your important tasks for those moments

A.S. Rafi:
3) Integrate the ABC and Spider Techniques.

Distractions are a form of alert that calls for your attention on to something that could be potentially dangerous. They come in many forms: sounds, emotions, wayward thoughts, and circumstances. Fortunately, you can train your brain to automatically stop them from derailing you and hijacking your focus. To be able to to do this, you must utilize your brain’s brake pedal—the ABC technique. “A” stands for awareness, which allows you to pause whatever you’re doing at the moment and recognize the distraction. “B” stands for breathing deeply and reflecting on your options. “C” for choosing mindfully and deciding on what to do with the distraction—either you deal with it or dismiss it.

Another deceptively simple strategy is the spider method, which was conceptualized from a spider’s ability to identify false alerts. Try holding a vibrating tuning fork right next to a web. You will notice that the spider will react and look for what is causing the web to vibrate. As you do it several times, you will see that the spider tends to wise up and recognize that there’s no bug trapped in its web at all, so it stays still. You can adopt this trick by training your brain not to give in to existing distractions. Like when someone rushes into your room and slams the door, choose not to react. Instead, ignore it or keep your focus on what you’re currently doing.

A.S. Rafi:
4) Stick to the Mantra, “Be Here Now”

For decades, mantras have been used by people to keep their eyes on the “prize.” Nowadays, educators recommend this technique to their pupils who find it hard to concentrate. A popular phrase that is proven effective in training your brain to focus is “Be here now.” Every time you find your mind wandering elsewhere, tell yourself, “Be here now.” When you find yourself drifting off again, say, “Be here now,” until you finally get used to doing it. Clear your head of all the distractions, so that you can attain the power to focus

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page