How To Concentrate

Concentration means directing one's attention on whatever one intends. We all have a natural ability to concentrate. Have you noticed how difficult it is to get young children's attention when they are playing? Do you remember the time when you were completely engrossed in an interesting novel, a super film, an exciting match or an exhilarating piece of music? You were concentrating then. At this very moment you are reading these words, you are concentrating.



It helps to know what it is like to concentrate, so that you can get back to that state of being.



What is poor concentration?



When people say that they can't concentrate, it usually means that they cannot stay focused on one thing for as long as they would like. Most of us experience lapses in concentration every day. We are not usually concerned about it; we may not even notice these lapses in concentration. They only become a problem when we find that we cannot get things done as quickly as we would like, or when they cause us to make mistakes.



You do not concentrate when you allow your environment to distract you, and/or your thoughts and feelings to interrupt you. Your thoughts are scattered; your mind jumps from one thing to another like a monkey. It helps to learn and to practice concentration strategies, to harness your monkey mind, so that it works at your will. If you know the causes of your poor concentration, you can learn to control these factors.



Factors that may cause poor concentration



Lack of concentration is one of the frequent complaints among students mainly due to distraction. There are two types of distractions: external and internal.



External Distractions



External distractions are related to the physical environment of your study area. Once you have identified these distractions, it is often easy to deal with them. Some of the common external distractions are:



a. Noise; conversations

b. Inappropriate furniture; inadequate lighting

c. Interruption from other people; telephone

d. Television

e. Work: paid or unpaid; housework

f. The Internet; email



Internal Distractions



Internal distractions are related to you: your body, your thoughts and your emotions. Some of them can be easily dealt with once they are identified. Others can be managed with practice and/or with a little help. Some of the common internal distractions are:



a. Hunger; tiredness; illness

b. Lack of motivation; boredom; lack of interest

c. Personal worries; stress; anxiety

d. Negative thinking

e. Daydreaming

f. Lack of organization; dyslexia

Tips to improve concentration and attention:
1. Never tell yourself you cannot concentrate. Telling yourself that you cannot concentrate only makes it more difficult. By doing so, you program your mind to lack concentration and attention.

2. Whenever you need to focus your mind, tell yourself over and over again that you can concentrate. Tell yourself that you can develop this ability.

3. Remember that in order to improve your concentration you need to train it, like any other skill. If now you cannot fix your mind on one subject for more than a few seconds, in time, if you persevere, you will be able to fix the mind on anything for a longer time.

4. Make deals with your mind. If there is something that is distracting your attention, such as emotional problems or unresolved business problems, tell your mind that all these problems can wait for a little while, and that you will attend to them after you finish what you are doing. If this does not help you, then write down on a piece of paper what problems you have to think about or solve. This will, to some extent, temporarily remove the problems from your mind.

5. Do one thing at a time. Jumping from one thing to another will only teach your mind to be inattentive and lose attention quickly, besides that this kind of mental restlessness can be tiring in the long run.

6. When you focus your attention on anything, be alert, and when you find yourself thinking on something else, try to stay patient, and bring your mind to the subject again and again.

7. Often, when you remember, try to fix your attention on whatever you happen to be doing at the moment.


“I think the one lesson I have learned is that there is no substitute for paying attention.”
Diane Sawyer

“Where attention goes, energy flows and results show.”
T. Harv Eker

“Excellence is in the details. Give attention to the details and excellence will come.”
Perry Paxton