10 Fast Ways to Improve Your Concentration
In today’s digital world, distractions are all too commonplace. Whether it’s the constant dinging of incoming email, client phone calls, or putting out some fires on social media — it can be hard to sit down and get meaningful work finished without breaking your concentration.
Our high-quality Executive Assistants are a fantastic way to free up time and boost concentration levels. Below are nine additional ways you can hack your mood, body, and mind into concentrating better for longer!
1. Schedule Your Time to Focus.
What’s on the calendar is usually what gets done. If you block out your time specifically for a distraction free segment, you’ll see your ability to actually sit down and concentrate increase. Make sure to plan this time during your best hours too. After all, some people work better in the morning, others at night. We call this “Focus Time.”
By getting your Focus Time on the calendar for a time when you’re most alert and ready to focus, it will make concentrating much easier when the time comes.
Read more about how to schedule your work around concentration here: Scheduling Your Week to Maximize Your Focus
2. Rid Your Immediate Surroundings of Potential Distractions.
We’ve mentioned distractions above, and for good reason. They’re the number one reason why most people have difficulty concentrating. How often have you felt like you’re on the verge of a great idea or finally solving a problem when the phone rings? Us too! Try unplugging your office phone, closing out of email, setting your ringer on silent, and suspending those notifications. It can all wait!
Making sure you’re completely isolated for your scheduled concentration time will make those pesky interruptions will be a thing of the past.
3. Log Off or Use Apps to Stop “Zombie Browsing.”
In addition to turning off your ringers for outside distractions, also realize sometimes the distractions come from within. In the digital age our attention spans have been increasingly shortened, and many often find themselves mindlessly opening social media or checking email on autopilot. There are loads of fantastic apps and programs now to shut off access to certain sites for set periods of time. Try one out! Having even a mild popup or warning really helps stop that automatic “Zombie Browsing.”
4. Set a Sleep Schedule and Stick to It!
Lack of sleep is one of the top issues facing the workforce today. Sleep has been shown in numerous scientific articles to affect our attention spans, memory abilities, and — you guessed it — our ability to concentrate! Even minor changes in sleeping habits have been shown to be detrimental. Several studies have shown that the hour change from Daylight Savings Time increases accidents and even heart attacks!
It’s amazing how such a little thing like sleeping well can affect our lives, and it can be hard to get started on a sleep schedule. Here are a few quick tips on getting the rest you need:
When setting a sleep schedule, the most important part is waking up at the same time every day for two weeks, even if you get to sleep late.
Stop looking at screens an hour before bed. I know, it’s hard!
Wind down an hour before bed with a warm bath, a book, or soft music.
Avoid alcohol for two hours before bed and caffeine for six hours before bed.
Exercising has been shown to help with sleep, and increase concentration too, all by itself. Just don’t exercise within two hours of bedtime.
5. Chill Out a Little.
Okay, this one is a little weird, but you’re going to have to trust us… or rather, well, trust in science! Scientists conducted three separate experiments measuring the effect of temperature on participant cognitive abilities.
In each study it was found that a cooler room (67°F vs 77°F) led to much better decisions and more focused work. It makes sense if you think about it. You’ve probably heard the old saying, “It’s too hot outside to think,” before. Well, studies show that is actually true.
6. Listen to Music or White Noise.
Again, hard science comes to the rescue. Studies have shown that listening to white or brown noise (or any steady background noise really) has been shown to help people tune out potentially distracting thoughts and concentrate more efficiently. Similarly, music without lyrics can also aid in concentration. I’m personally listening to brown noise right now as I write this article!
7. Set Mini Goals and Accomplish Them One at a Time.
Everyone knows having specific goals helps you achieve more. Even modern psychology agrees they help. The same is true for increasing your concentration. You receive a boost in confidence and dopamine when you finish a goal, making it easier to focus for a longer time.
Number seven is actually a two-fer: focusing on one task at a time is also a great way to help you stay focused and increase your concentration. In our current fast paced world, many people multitask frequently. While that might be good for getting work done on several projects at once, it is not good for staying focused and increasing your concentration. Instead break your work into smaller goals, and achieve them one at a time.
8. Make Sure Your Diet and Caffeine Levels are Optimal.
Everyone knows their own body the best, so we don’t have any hard recommendations here for numbers of cups or calories. However, we do know that no one does their best work when they’re hungry — and the old magic black bean juice is a fantastic concentration aid!
The converse can also be true though; eating a huge meal at lunch can make it hard to focus on afternoon work and make you sluggish. Try eating smaller portion sizes more frequently for sustained energy, or taking a brisk walk after lunch to recover your energy.
9. Use the Pomodoro Method.
There are a few schools of thought when it comes to taking breaks. Some prefer to take a break whenever they feel fatigued. Some feel it’s best to take a break after completing a task. Others believe it’s best to set a specific time for breaks to give yourself a deadline and additional motivation.
We really love using the Pomodoro Method for breaks: select what you want to work on, set a timer for 15, 25, or 45 minutes, work until the timer dings, then take a timed break.This technique helps break up long, daunting stretches of work into manageable chunks, and motivates you with the promise of a break right around the corner.
However you feel about when to take a break, the benefits are very clear. Breaks help your mind relax and leaves you feeling refreshed for when you dive back into your next task.
Although breaks are very helpful, they can be distracting themselves! We recommend to set a 10 to 20 minute timer for your breaks to make sure you don’t get side-tracked from your set concentration time.
10. Enlist the Help of a World-Class Executive Assistant!
As we mentioned in the beginning of this article, 33Vincent’s talented remote Executive Assistants truly are the best option on this list for increasing your concentration levels. Instead of unplugging to focus, let someone else plug in for you… all the time!
Whether it’s monitoring your email and serving up only the important items, managing and organizing your CRM, planning entire events, or optimizing your logistics and SOPs, we offer much more than just standard remote assistant task-takers.
Our Executive Assistants are high-quality managers themselves. Experienced in optimizing productivity and backed by a community of administrative experts, 33Vincent coordinates the chaos for you. Our Executive Assistants are a turnkey solution to increasing your concentration — and so much more.
33Vincent has many other resources to help you maximize your time and communication with your executive assistant.
