This article will discuss how to develop attention. In the network you can find many articles on this topic and a lot of useful exercises for the development of attention. To bring something new to this topic, I will come to the problem of concentration of attention from the side on which many information sources do not focus, but which, nevertheless, is an important component of the ability to focus attention.
I used to think that attention was something like an isolated muscle. Or you have it developed, and you can at any time direct attention to the desired point and keep it on it. Either it is not developed with you, and you are constantly distracted and you cannot keep attention on one thing for a long time.
It seems to me that this is quite a popular opinion. And people who want to learn to concentrate better think that all they need is to simply train this muscle with all sorts of exercises.
Exercise is undoubtedly good, attention needs to be trained. But this is not enough. What else to do, I will tell in this article. This is my "new" view of the problem of attention.
What does your attention depend on?
Attention can really be compared with muscle. Only this muscle is not isolated, its work is very dependent on the work of other "muscles". And the muscle of attention is very difficult to strain and use in the work, when the other muscles are not in good shape.
For example, it is difficult to concentrate when you are excited and nervous about something, when you have strong desires that distract you from work, when you are too tense or tired, when you have not thought about an important problem, and thoughts about solving this problem go to your head ...
Attention depends on many things, and not just on how well trained this muscle is. And the problem of attention must be approached comprehensively, which I will try to do in this article.
For good concentration, the following conditions must be met.
Method 1: Let your thoughts and experiences digest
Sometimes I wake up on a day off in the morning and, after doing my exercises and taking a shower, I immediately take up the book. This book may not be the most interesting and fascinating, but, nevertheless, in the morning reading is easy, and I'm not distracted.
But if I start reading right after I was engaged in some other activity that requires a lot of involvement in the process (for example, wrote an article, answered comments, corresponded with a friend, played poker on a computer, etc.), I can hardly concentrate, especially if the book is boring.
By the way, I have to read such books, since boring books are not necessarily bad. It could just be some scientific, educational literature. Not so interesting, but useful.
Why does it happen that at one time it is easier to concentrate, and at another it is more difficult to do? This happens not only because in the morning the brain is fresh and rested and ready to absorb information.
The fact is that in the morning the head, as a rule, is not yet clogged with some thoughts and concerns. And therefore, from activities requiring concentration, nothing distracts. But, if the brain has already started processing some information and has not finished it, then "raw" thoughts and experiences will constantly distract you from reading, work and other activity.
Therefore, before starting, for example, reading after two hours of continuous writing of an article, I spend 10 - 15 minutes alone and give the information a little "digest". Otherwise, I will not be able to read normally and I will constantly be distracted by thoughts, like: “as I poorly constructed the structure of the article, you need to redo it,” “you could write better in that place of the text,” “this is superfluous, we must remove” you can add "etc. etc.
Creating articles is a laborious process in terms of mental costs. When I do this for a while, my brain switches to a specific mode that corresponds to this activity. And it takes time for him to come out of this regime and think about those things that he did not have time to think about during this process.
Therefore, I allow my brain to rest for a while so that all "undigested" thoughts can be absorbed, and I would then be able to start reading normally.
You will not be able to concentrate on any process if there are a lot of repressed emotions, raw information, “hanging” problems in your head, to which you have not paid enough attention. For many people who live at an emergency pace, there is little rest, they are rarely left alone with themselves, and abruptly jump from one process to another - this is a constant problem.
They get a lot of information, and the brain does not have time to digest it, because it simply does not allow it.
Therefore, more often take breaks in the work, during which try not to do anything. It is not necessary to purposefully evoke any thoughts that you want to think about to the end. Just relax. Thoughts that your brain wants to think about and which, later on, can cause you concentration problems, come to you yourself.
The same applies to emotions. If something bothers you, try to understand the causes of your emotions and solve unsolved problems. Otherwise, suppressed experiences will disturb you and interfere with your concentration. Even if you understand that you can not solve any problem, then take it at least some time. Let the emotions inside you wake up a bit to subside, give them a little time, instead of immediately driving them deeper, turning away from them, distracting for something else.
If any emotions or desires do not go away, just sit a little calm. While you are sitting, try to be aware of these desires, without being involved in them. For example, you do not focus on sexual desire. Any thoughts about work are constantly interrupted by all sorts of fantasies and pictures in my head.
If you just drive these thoughts away from you, they will come back as a boomerang and may become even more annoying. Instead, just watch the desire arises from the side. Try while less thinking about something and something to represent. Just watch how desire arises and slowly disappears. Give him a little time and attention, not yielding to him, and then it will go away.
I understand that sometimes it is difficult to do. Often, instead of continuing to work and try to bring attention to the focus, giving the head a break, we start to get distracted by something: go to social networks, chat with friends on Skype, or do any nonsense. And the work at the same time will stand and not budge. The brain definitely need to rest, but for some reason he does not always want it. Some kind of intensive work seems to introduce him into a certain rhythm, and he wants to remain in this rhythm and continue to randomly absorb information, instead of resting.
At such moments, it is better to break away from the activity that sucks you into yourself. If you are sitting at the computer - move away from it, walk, knead the muscles, take a few deep breaths, let the brain calm down and “digest” all the information.
And when you then start working or studying again, it will be much easier to concentrate, you will see. There is no need to pay too much time to “raw” thoughts, otherwise you will not have time for everything else. Just give them a little attention every day.
In the article about attention deficit disorder (this article and the article that you are reading now complement each other), I advised you to engage in meditation to improve concentration. The practice of meditation helps you to train the "attention muscle".
But, not only this is its benefit for concentration. During meditation you try not to think about anything, but thoughts, as a rule, still come to you. Some people believe that the main purpose of meditation is to completely get rid of these thoughts.
But it is not so. As I wrote above, in the modern and intense city pace of life a person receives a lot of information every day. And often, the brain does not have enough time to process this information. Therefore, in moments of peace, you always think about something. And that's fine.
It is easy to completely get rid of thoughts, for example, if you live somewhere in a monastery, do not watch TV, do not go on the Internet, do not communicate with a bunch of people, do not have a large number of worries and plans. But in the conditions of modern life it is not so simple to do this: there is too much information! And meditation provides an excellent opportunity for the brain to “digest” a huge array of impressions. The fact that a modern city dweller receives many thoughts during meditation is not always a bad thing.
Sometimes, this “inner dialogue” is just a noise of undigested information that is currently being processed and frees your mind from yourself. This can be compared with the characteristic "crackle" of the hard disk of the computer when the system accesses it, for example, downloading some application.
So meditation plays several roles in the development of concentration. First, it trains your "muscle" of concentration. Secondly, it allows the brain to process the data. Thirdly ... I will talk about several other meditation roles later in this article.
If your head is full of thoughts and you can not concentrate on anything, try to meditate for at least 10 minutes. And then try concentrating again. You will see that it has become much easier to do. Your own experience will be much more convincing than all my explanations!
Method 2: Concentrate on one task
Scientists have proven that multi-tasking (the process by which a person performs several tasks at the same time) harms the performance of each process separately, which is part of a series of tasks performed by a person.
For example, drivers who talk to passengers while driving are much more likely to err than drivers who do not.
The execution of each process, according to research, goes more slowly and less efficiently if you try to carry them out several at once. Therefore, it is a mistake to think that if you do several things at the same time, you will make them faster and better.
In my opinion, multitasking can negatively affect concentration. It happens that your brain cannot hold the focus on a process, because it gets bored, and not because it has low ability to concentrate.
Many people are afraid of boredom and, therefore, they listen to music when they play sports, talk on the phone while driving, get distracted by social networking while working. Their brain gets used to multi-tasking, and it becomes even more difficult for them to concentrate on any one process for a long time.
To maintain concentration, you must train your brain to stop being afraid of boredom. If you constantly switch from task to task or perform them in parallel mode, the rest minutes will become even more unbearable for you, and you will strive to fill the resulting free "information window" with something.
But if you get used to boredom, then boredom will cease to be so "boring", I assure you. And then you can safely concentrate on boring work without any discomfort for yourself. And you will not be distracted.
It is just a matter of habit and discipline. Therefore, try to devote all your attention to any one process. During training, do not need to listen to music and watch TV! Teach your mind not to be distracted when it gets bored.
Read books for several hours, without interrupting your computer. Set yourself time limits when working, for example, promise yourself that you will not do anything except work for the next two hours. If you get tired, take a quiet break, go outside and relax.
You can also make boredom a sure ally of your attention! Try not to do anything. After some time of inactivity, information hunger will appear, a place for new information will be made in your head, and even reading boring literature will seem to you an interesting occupation.
Practice keeping your attention focused on the same process, constantly maintaining awareness. While eating, concentrate on the taste of the food, without being distracted by anything. During sports activities focus on the sensations of your body, try at least for a while not to think about anything third-party and stay in the present moment. (For example, when I run, I try to simply fix my attention on my body, on my breathing, on how I touch up, how my lungs work.)
And of course, meditate. Meditation will allow you to get used to the peace, inner silence that many people are so afraid of when they are trying to escape from them and find themselves in a space filled with worries, thoughts, deeds ...
Method 3: Relax
The more relaxed your body and mind are, the easier it is for you to keep your attention on any one thing. Tension, fatigue, strong emotions interfere with concentration.
Therefore, learn to relax, get rid of stress. If you feel that you can not safely do your job and are constantly distracted, move over in a chair and take a few deep breaths and exhale stomachs, equal in duration. During this, focus your attention on the breathing process, counting the duration of inhalation and exhalation to yourself. This will bring your nerves in order and set your mind to concentrate.
Do not hurry anywhere. It is better to have a little rest and recover in yourself, having started work later than starting it earlier and constantly being distracted. If you spend a little time relaxing, you end up doing work faster and more productively. The 10 minutes of rest that will keep you focused will be a much more productive time than 10 minutes of erratic work.
Method 4: Maintain tone
Also keep your body in shape. Drink more water, stay outdoors more, get enough sleep, meditate. Body tone, satisfactory health - the necessary conditions for concentration.
Method 5: Get rid of irritants
This is how our mind works, that it is constantly distracted by something, especially in the presence of external stimuli. Therefore, to prevent this from happening, get rid of irritants.
Disable mail, Skype, when you work.
What to do when you are distracted by something?
In this article, I advise you to concentrate on one task, to maintain awareness during eating and playing sports. But it will not be so easy. You will be constantly distracted and this is normal. At such moments, just catch yourself on the fact that you are distracted and calmly return attention to the starting point.
So you gradually train your attention. Yes, it will still be distracted sometimes, but you will quickly notice it and re-focus attention.
For example, if you are reading a book, and your mind is constantly visited by some extraneous thoughts, sometimes it is better to think about these thoughts, resolve them, instead of suppressing them, trying to turn your attention to reading. If thoughts can not be resolved and they still climb into your head, just sit quietly for a couple of minutes. Watch these thoughts as a bystander.
And if that doesn't help you, just keep reading. The mind is distracted, so be it. Just return it to its place, without scolding yourself for not being able to concentrate. (Yes, yes, the same should be done during meditation).
And then gradually over time, your brain will enter the "concentration mode". And your mind will stop leading you away. Only for this you need patience. Do not drop the case right away if you cannot concentrate. Attention comes with time.
I feel the biggest temptation to be distracted when I just start writing an article or doing any other work. But, as soon as I enter this working rhythm, how to concentrate becomes much easier. The main thing is to overcome the "resistance of the start."
Conclusion Willpower, self-control and attention
Attention is not only what needs to be developed, it is also what should be supported in every possible way, creating favorable conditions for it. And this is the main idea of your article.
Attention concentration is not a constant force that is always with you. It depends on so many factors.
No concentration exercises will bring you much benefit if you daily saturate your brain with information, do not allow yourself to rest, jump from task to task without interruption.
(But the exercises are also very useful. You can find a collection of entertaining games of attention on this site)
It is necessary to adhere to the "informational hygiene", the main stages of which I tried to describe here. Some of my advice can be attributed to the development of memory. It is very difficult to remember some information, if after you have received it, you immediately start doing something else and do not let it "digest".
The ability to concentrate is a very important skill. Оно помогает не только лучше выполнять работу или внимательнее читать книги. Концентрация внимания подразумевает способность не обращать внимания на посторонние мысли, цели, задачи, желания!
Если вы хотите бросить курить, то вам очень потребуется удерживать внимание на вашей цели (избавиться от зависимости, стать здоровым и т.д.), а не отвлекаться на, связанный с отменой никотина, временный дискомфорт в вашем теле или всякие посторонние мысли ("а не выкурить ли мне последнюю сигарету").
Если вам нужно научиться выступать на публике, вам очень пригодится внимание для того, чтобы сохранять фокус на вашей презентации, а не обдумывать мысли вроде: "что обо мне думает публика".
Если вы хотите назначить свидание девушке и переступить через неуверенность в себе, то лучше вам думать только о своей цели, не отвлекаясь на страх.
Такие понятия как «сила воли», «самоконтроль» и есть, с определенной точки зрения отражения способности удерживать внимание на одной цели, отсекая все лишнее. Если и нельзя обозначит полное тождество между этими понятиями, то точно можно сказать, что они очень сильно взаимосвязаны.
Как вы думаете, насколько сильна эта связь? Буду рад, если вы напишите свое мнение в комментариях.
Хорошая концентрация внимания позволит вам не отвлекаться на сиюминутные желания и достигать долгосрочных целей. Она поможет вам осознавать свои эмоции и эмоции других людей и глубже их понимать. Она сделает вас способным абстрагироваться от мелких будничных мыслей и научит мыслить в перспективе.
Должно быть, поэтому, медитация, как упражнение по управлению вниманием имеет такой глубокий и разносторонний эффект. Потому что внимание - это все!
