Massive information stream, unceasing connectivity, multi-channel communication, urgent messages, and near-aggressive calls to action from all sides… Today’s lifestyle can be rather challenging for one’s ability to focus, maintain concentration on one thing at a time, and ignore all the potential distractions on the way.

Contrary to popular beliefs, multitasking is not a superpower but a productivity killer. For example, research shows that habitual multitasking in the workplace can decrease productivity by 40%. The same goes for every process of education, learning, and managing new skills.

At the end of the day, concentration is the only way to improve both your mental well-being and your everyday performance in various fields of life. But once you try to spend time focused on one thing only, you will begin to understand that being perfectly centered is easier said than done. 

How to Work on Your Concentration Skills and Why?

The short answer to this complex question is that your work on this skill must be continuous and ongoing. There isn’t a single wonder technique or a magic button you can push and start being concentrated. Instead, you can think of your brain as a muscle – it needs to be trained daily and for long periods in order to get better and better at deep focusing. 

There are multiple exercises and practices proven to strengthen concentration and “teach” your mind to stay present without letting the distractions get in the way. If you follow your plan strictly, you will enjoy a smoother process, better results, and improved general well-being in multiple areas of your life. 

Put shortly: better concentration will not merely help you do better; it will help you feel better by reducing the chances of habitual burnout, generalized anxiety, information overload, and restlessness.

Concentration Improvement Techniques You Can Try Today

Your journey towards a more peaceful, better composed, and extra focused mind can begin at home with the help of some rather simplistic everyday habits and practices. These can include, for example:

#1 Active Listening

Have you ever found yourself making plans for dinner while attending a meeting? You’ve probably even planned a meeting while having dinner and talking with your family? That’s something you shall address and try to work on. 

Active listening is about paying attention to what other people have to say and engaging in mutually fruitful and satisfying communication with no smartphone scrolling allowed. Just try to think of nothing else than the talk you’re currently having. 

#2 Deep Reading

Rapidly scrolling through multiple sources of uncomplicated information is not exactly what you need to improve your focus skills. On the contrary – you can try and take your time to read something longer and more complex. 

This can be an expert article on a subject you fancy or a new exciting book. The longer the book, the better. The more pages in a row you are able to read without “leaving” the story – the better. As time passes, you will find yourself getting better at this and enjoying it to the fullest!

#3 Mindfulness & Meditation

There’s nothing better for your concentration than… Well, concentrating. Mindful meditation is all about experiencing the present moment to the fullest and paying attention to every little detail of your here and now. 

You can concentrate on your breathing, your bodily sensations, a chosen positive visualization, or even an object from your immediate surroundings. The important thing is to keep your mind free of all external thoughts, desires, or distractions. Stay focused for as long as possible – the longer you practice, the better you’ll become!

#4 Attention Games

In most scenarios, technology is seen as the primary “enemy” of concentration. Anyway, there are multiple interactive and gameful exercises you can include in your daily program to strengthen your ability to focus on a task. 

In Relaxify App, you can gain cognitive points by playing multiple games, including:

• The Concentration game, where you need to spot the inconsistency between color schemes and the colors they are labeled with, try it;
• The Odd One Out game, where you interact with an even more significant number of colors, patterns, and labels to point out the mistakes, try it;
• The Guided Body Scan game, where you are encouraged to focus on different parts of your body and fully encounter their sensations without losing focus, try it;
• The Mindful Breathing game, where you are encouraged to clear your mind and focus on your breathing to relieve stress and anxiety, try it.

At the end of each game, you will be given different bonus points for your cognitive performance, depending on your results. In this way, you can monitor your improvement live, and start noticing some tangible differences in how you interact with your environment.

Plenty of mental health apps have similar games and exercises but RelaxifyApp is unique due to it being based on science. You can read more other ones and the differences between them here: 11 free anxiety relief apps.

Once you spend enough time working on your focus skills, you will relish a more attentive mind, a healthier cognitive process, and the capacity to stay present where you’re needed most – here and now. 

RelaxifyApp is happy to be your guide through the path of a more healthy, content, and productive version of yourself. Because sometimes working smart is way better than working hard!