“Where your focus goes, energy flows.” — Unknown

If you find it challenging to finish a project, get through work tasks, study for exams, or concentrate on something, you may be looking for ways to improve focus. Staying on task can be difficult, but it can be particularly challenging when you are surrounded by constant distractions. In today's always-connected world, diversions are nothing more than a click away.

The ability to concentrate on something and direct mental effort toward it is critical for learning new things, achieving goals, and performing well across a wide variety of situations. First let’s assess what your current mental focus is, at present.

Your Focus Needs Work If...
- You daydream regularly
- You cannot tune out distractions
- You lose track of your progress

Your Focus Is Good If...
- You find it easy to stay alert
- You set goals and break tasks up into
smaller parts
- You take short breaks, then get back
to work
One of the first steps is to recognize the impact that being distracted is having on your life. If you are struggling to accomplish your goals and find yourself getting sidetracked by unimportant details, it is time to start placing a higher value on your time. Here are some tips and tricks that can help you improve your mental focus and concentration.

“Starve your distractions and feed
your focus.” — Unknown

Eliminate distractions. While it may sound obvious, people often underestimate just how many distractions prevent them from concentrating on the task at hand. Minimizing these sources of distraction is not always as easy as it sounds. While it might be as simple as
turning off the television or radio, you might find it much more challenging to deal with an interrupting co-worker, spouse, child, or roommate. One way to deal with this is to set aside a specifictime and place and request to be left alone for that period. Not all distractions
come from outside sources. Exhaustion, worry, anxiety, poor motivation, and other internal disturbances can be particularly difficult to avoid.

Limit you focus. While multitasking may seem like a great way to get a lot done quickly, actually research has shown that people are actually rather bad at it. Juggling multiple tasks at once can dramatically cut down on productivity and makes it much harder to hone in on the details that are truly important.

Think of your attention as a spotlight. If you shine that spotlight on one particular area, you can see things very clearly. If you were to try to spread that same amount of light across a large dark room, you might instead only glimpse
the shadowy outlines.

Live in the moment. It is often tough to stay mentally focused when you are ruminating about the past, worrying about the future, or tuned out of the present moment for some other reason. It is all about putting away distractions, whether they are physical (your
mobile phone) or psychological (your anxieties) and being fully mentally engaged in the current moment. The notion of “being present” is also essential for recapturing your mental focus.

Staying engaged in the here and now keeps your attention sharp and your mental resources honed in on the details that really matter at a specific point in time.

Regain Focus Exercise. Have you ever tried to focus on the same thing for a long period of time? After a while, your focus starts to break down and it becomes more and more difficult to devote your mental resources to the task. Not only that, but your performance ultimately
suffers as a result. Start by taking several deep breaths while really focusing on each and every breath. When you feel your mind naturally begin to wander, gently and uncritically guide your focus back to your deep breathing. Continue for five to ten minutes. By building your mental focusing skills, you will find that you are able to accomplish more and concentrate on the things in life that truly bring you success, joy, and satisfaction.

“Our focus is our future.” — David DeNotaris