8/19/2019 11 Easy Ways to Boost Your Willpower and Concentration

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11 easy ways to boost your

willpower and concentration

• SHANA LEBOWITZ

 

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• Aug. 17, 2015, 5:24 PM

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 Daniel Goodman / Business InsiderAvoid the siren call of email and Facebook.Few things are more frustrating than knowing you need to finish aproject and absolutely not  being able to focus on it. In these moments,everything — email, Facebook, tying your shoe — seems more exciting

than the task at hand.

Fortunately, there are dozens of ways to filter out distractions andimprove your ability to concentrate for extended periods of time. o findout what some of these strategies are, we sifted through the !uorathread, "#ow do I improve my concentration and willpower$" andhighlighted the most practical techni%ues.

&ome of them involve small tweaks 'think changing the way you write your to(do list), while others involve a bigger commitment 'like a daily

meditation practice). *ll of them will make you more productive in both your professional and personal lives.

 

View As:One Page Slides

1. Create a quick-hit agenda.

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 Flickr/john.schultz 

Keep your to-do list short.

If you+ve got - items on your to(do list and half of those are things that need to happen

sometime this week, it+s no wonder you feel stuck.

 * better bet is to give yourself some super(short(term goals. !uora user avi

/andliya suggests creating a list of things you+d like to finish in the next 01 minutes.

hat forces you to be realistic in thinking about how much you can actually accomplish in a

limited time frame, so you don+t end up with something vague and intimidating like "write

three project reports."

2. Work on your most pressing projects first thing in the

morning.

2ach day is chock(full of experiences that can sap your willpower, from turning down a

coworker+s freshly(baked brownies to ignoring the siren call of your overflowing inbox. 3y

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the time p.m. hits, it may be hard to muster up the cognitive resources to focus on

anything work(related.

hat+s why 4ince Favilla says, "5ou need to work on your most important tasks early in the

day, while you still have the focus and willpower to complete them."

6sychologist 7elly /c8onigal offers another reason  why willpower may be highest in themorning9 he brain is refreshed by sleep. 'hat+s also why an afternoon nap may work to

 boost your willpower and productivity.)

3. Practice concentrating for long stretches.

 REUTERS/Gil Montano

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Learning to play chess can improve your concentration and memory.

&teve :enton recommends playing chess 'or a similarly complex game) with challenging

opponents to develop your ability to concentrate for extended periods of time.

In fact, educational organizations across the globe advocate adding chess instruction to

school curricula. hat+s because it helps increase concentration and memory — skills that

can improve performance in other areas of life.

4. Start an exercise routine.

6hysical activity has myriad benefits — but one of the less obvious is that it helps sharpen

focus.

hat+s because, according to one study  mentioned  by /ukul &hukla, regular aerobic exercise

may spark development in parts of the brain related to attention and memory.

;ther research suggests it might not take too long to reap the cognitive benefits of exercise.7ids who engaged in <-( to 0-(minute bursts of exercise showed an immediate increase in

concentration and mental focus, probably because of improved blood flow to the brain.

5. Figure out why you're distracted.

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 jazeck/Flickr

Don't beat yourself up for getting distracted.

It+s tempting to beat yourself up when you find yourself scrolling through your Facebook

news feed instead of answering client emails. * better bet is simply to accept that you+re

having trouble focusing and move on to figuring out why.

"I think the biggest thing is just acknowledging that you+re distracted and facing it head(on

rather than trying to suppress it," says  4inny Inverso.

Inverso says it+s important to understand whether it+s a physical or mental distraction that+s

getting you sidetracked. If it+s mental, try putting away your phone or using a plug(in that

 blocks certain websites. If it+s physical, consider taking a walk or having a snack.

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he point is not to waste time getting upset because you+re struggling, but to get to the root

of the problem and eliminate it.

6. Take regular breaks.

 * growing body of research highlights the importance of incorporating regular break timesinto your work schedule.

hat+s possibly because prolonged attention to a single task  hurts performance. 

;ne study  found that people who took two breaks during a 1-(minute cognitive task

performed much better than those who worked straight through.

he %uestion is9 #ow long do you have to toil away before you can take a respite$

&ome research suggests the perfect formula involves working for 1= minutes and then

taking a <>(minute break.

2ric 6epke recommends more fre%uent pauses9 "ake a five(minute break at least every =-

minutes, get up, walk around, and reset your brain. It not only makes it possible to do ?the

task@ for a longer time, but it makes every =-(minute chunk much more effective."

7. Check emails in bulk.

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 Shutterstock

Wait until you have ten messages to check your email.

Aan 7ulisek says he only checks his email and Facebook when he+s got at least ten new

messages. hat way, he+s able to resist the urge to continually refresh his inboxes instead of

 buckling down on whatever project he+s supposed to be working on.

;f course, you should probably tell your coworkers that you+ve instituted this rule, so they

know to instant(message you or stop by your desk if something+s urgent.

8. Practice mindfulness.

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/indfulness is the general term for cultivating greater awareness of your experiences in the

present moment, and it can help you stay focused on the task at hand.

;ne simple mindfulness practice is to "do what you are doing with full focus," says 6aras

rehan. For example, rehan says, pay attention to every bite of food you take, including the

taste, the temperature, and the texture. 2ventually, you+ll get accustomed to zeroing in onsingle tasks, while minimizing external distractions.

9. Learn to meditate.

 Flickr/mrha!ata

Find a quiet place to sit and concentrate on your breath.

 *s meditation gains a foothold in Bestern societies, more people are starting to appreciate

its psychological benefits. ;ne study  found that people were better able to concentrate after

they spent several months at a meditation retreat.

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For those who aren+t interested in dedicating that much time to their meditation practice, an

anonymous user outlines an exercise you can do for a few minutes every day.

Find a %uiet space, sit in a comfortable position, and start breathing. Count to six as you

 breathe in and six again as you breathe out. 7eep doing this for as long as you can. he key

is to notice when your mind is wandering instead of focusing on the task at hand. 'here are variations on this techni%ue, but counting your breaths is a basic meditation practice.)

10. Take an interest in the task.

:eepak :ev has a clever strategy for getting better at focusing9 Find out why the task is

important.

"If it+s a +dry+ subject, get to know the applications of what you+re studying or the history of

how the concepts of the subject ?have@ evolved," he  writes. "hink about what you could

contributeDachieve in your field after you ac%uire deep knowledge in the subject."

&o if your current assignment involves inputting numbers in an 2xcel spreadsheet, remind

 yourself how this task fits into your company+s work as a whole. #ow is your work on this

project helping to advance the organization+s mission$

11. Be patient.

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 "lert Gea/Reuters

It takes time to develop a new cognitive skill.

 *bhisek ai *rrant says that when he started playing chess, he would lose some games

simply because he couldn+t concentrate for hours at a time. 2ventually, through meditation

and simply more practice playing chess, he was able to increase his ability to focus.

From this experience he learned that developing any new cognitive skill takes time — and

 you can+t be too hard on yourself.

"Bhile you+re busy increasing your concentration span, you shouldn+t give up on yourself,"

he writes. "3e optimistic and enthusiastic about the progress."

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Read more:http://www.businessinsider.com/easy-ways-to-improve-concentration-2015-

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