- Hey everybody.
Today I'm gonna offer up some helpful tips
on how to improve your concentration.
But before I jump into this important topic,
are you new to my channel?
Welcome!
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Now, with school starting
and work never really ending, spoilers,
we can all find ourselves struggling to stay focused
and to finish all that we need to do.
If you're like me, you can continue to put off tasks
that are gonna take more time
or even ignore small tasks because,
you know, you mentally already finished working that day.
Also remember that depression and anxiety
can make concentration at times feel impossible.
And if we aren't interested in the thing that we have to do,
ADHD can pull our brain into a million other directions.
But the good news is, that we can take some steps
to help us keep focused and to turn our
to-do list into a to-done one.
So let's jump into those tips.
Number one: set up a study/work space.
I've talked about this before,
but we know through psychological research
that mixing our areas can cause all sorts of issues.
Like if we study in our bed,
our brain begins to associate our bed and bedroom
with being alert, awake and focused.
Which is great when we're trying to study
but terrible when we're trying to fall asleep.
So setting up a comfortable, but not too comfortable, area
that is free from distractions,
don't try to work on that boring project
while your room mate or spouse is watching
Brooklyn Nine-Nine or Law & Order show
or anything like that,
and making it the space where you always do your work.
It'll help you sit down, stay focused
and complete all that you need to do.
Number two: set up realistic goals.
You're not gonna finish that entire 10-page paper
or 40-minute presentation in one sitting,
or in one day, for that matter.
So make sure you take into consideration
just how long you can usually focus.
Hint, hint: the average person,
sans ADHD, anxiety or depression,
can only focus on one task for about
30-45 minutes at a time.
So maybe your goal for that paper
should be to write three pages before dinner.
Even as I prepared this video,
I was preparing five videos that week,
I gave myself breaks every time I completed my research,
then I completed the outline,
I rewarded myself at the end of the day with dinner out.
So, set up some goals you can achieve
and reward yourself with something that you love
so when you meet those goals,
you get to do a really fun thing.
Also, doing this just keeps us feeling good about ourselves
and our ability to complete the tasks.
I love putting checks in boxes.
I'm like, "Ooh, I completed something, yay!"
And therefore, it'll keep us motivated
to keep going and do more.
Number three: set time limits.
Just like I said, our brain can only focus for so long.
Recognize what that limit is for you
and set a timer to go off so that
you get to take your break.
Or, if you just can't focus anymore for whatever reason,
give yourself a five minute break to do something you enjoy.
I love to take a break to watch
part of an episode for Law & Order,
that way I allow myself to watch the ending,
which let's be honest is the most exciting part,
when I complete the task that I had originally started.
Number four: break down larger tasks.
Do not put do project or release seven videos
down on your to-do list.
You'll just feel defeated before you even get started
'cause that's a lot.
Instead, we need to break it into smaller,
more achievable tasks.
For example, going back to my video creation example,
if I was to break it down,
I'd give myself one task for
coming up with the articles and research,
then another task for reading that research,
next I'd put together the notes for that video
and key points that I wanna make,
then I'd schedule a film day, then I'd film,
next I'd edit, you get the idea.
There are a lot of little tasks inside those larger tasks
that we can complete each and every day.
So break it down and then create your to-do lists.
And also, as a side-note, and I've mentioned this before,
our to-do lists should never be longer than seven things.
We find that daily that's about all
we're able to see, absorb and complete,
so just keep that in mind too.
And number five: use mnemonics or songs and rhymes.
I still remember the mnemonic,
Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally.
Anyone learn that one?
Well, it was for math class and it's, you know,
it helps you remember the order
to do certain portions of the equation,
like, you do parenthesis first, in the Please,
the P, parenthesis.
And that's still in my brain.
I learned that in high school, you guys.
I'm 34!
There's power in mnemonics.
So come up with one that helps you remember.
If there are a lot of steps you need to remember
or things you wanna talk about during a presentation,
creating a mnemonic can help you
recall the information when you need it
and possibly, in my case, never allow you to forget it.
Number six: move around.
Not everyone can sit and focus on a project,
especially if we have ADHD or anxiety symptoms.
Moving around while we read,
like pacing around your study or workspace
or using a fidget toy while we work on a project
can help us stay focused longer.
Maybe even while you sit,
you move your feet around on a foam roller
or one of those spiny balls that's made to,
like, you know, if you have a achy muscle,
it breaks down the fascia, or whatever.
Movement can help us keep us brain focused
on what we're working and allow us to get more done,
so see what type of movement works for you.
Number seven: get enough sleep.
If we don't get enough sleep, we really can't do anything.
Trust me.
Sleep is the time our brain gets to
clean out all of the bits it doesn't need anymore.
Just for some cool science stuff,
our brain increases the amount of fluid
that can flow through it at night,
it increases by 60% in a sleeping brain.
60%!
That extra fluid allows all the dead bits to be washed away,
to pull them out and to dispose of them.
It's the time when our brain processes
all that we did that day, by consolidating our memories
and filing them away.
We've talked about Inside Out a lot,
but you know, like, the marbles?
Sleep is a time that it, like,
completely forms those and rolls those away.
And also sleep, it heals our body.
If we aren't giving our brain the time it needs
to do all of that, which is a lot,
it's only gonna get bogged down,
be filled with all those dead cells
and it's gonna struggle to concentrate when we need it to.
So make sure you're getting
enough sleep each and every night.
And if sleep has always been an issue for you,
I have a video that can help with that.
So, click the link in the description,
you could check that out.
Eighth and finally: see a professional.
Let's be honest, you knew this one was coming
because if you're doing all you can,
trying all the tips and tools I've offered
and you still find yourself getting easily distracted
and forgetting all you've read or studied,
it may be a good time to see your doctor and to reach out to
a mental health professional in your area.
There are so many reasons we may struggle to concentrate
and if we just can't seem to make it better on our own,
getting assessed is an important next step.
As always, the sooner we know what's going on
and what's causing our upsetting symptoms,
the sooner we can work to fix it.
This video has been brought to you
by the Kinions on Patreon.
If you would like to support
the creation of these mental health videos,
click the link in the description and check it out.
I hope those tips and tools were helpful,
but as always if you have any that work for you,
please share those in the comments down below.
And I will see you next time. Bye!
(funky jazz music)