In order for work to be productive, you need to know how to concentrate on work and not be distracted. For this, many organizations even conduct special trainings. However, you can do it yourself without them, following a series of tips. It is often difficult for a person to concentrate on work due to extraneous thoughts or distractions. The brain is made up of many neurons that form different connections that change as you think. If the case is difficult or unfamiliar, then this process is more difficult.

When a person just starts work, certain connections of neurons are created. This process is completed in a few minutes. After 15-20 minutes, a person is already completely delving into the task.

When the brain is tired, it is already difficult to concentrate on work. A person begins to think slowly, labor efficiency is greatly reduced. This is a signal that the body needs a break. You can just temporarily do other things, and then return to the main task.

In order to concentrate, you need to properly equip the workplace. On the table, leave only what is needed in the coming hours, remove the excess. Everything you need should be within reach so you don't waste time looking for the right tools or things.

For productive work, it is better to make a to-do list in advance. All tasks are sorted by priority. First you need to write down the most important, then - what can be done a little later, etc. At the same time, you need to allocate time to complete the task with a small margin. Other tips for staying focused at work:

1. You can’t be distracted by calls, skype, e-mail, etc. Otherwise, the brain’s work goes astray and then it needs time to concentrate again. If a person is often distracted, maximum productivity will not come out. Therefore, while working, you can ask colleagues and friends not to distract. Answer all calls and messages after the task is completed or during a break.

2. Remove unnecessary items from the table. They are very distracting.

3. Use a timer. It is installed on certain time. You need to persuade or order yourself not to break away from work until the signal sounds. The timer is set approximately for the time when the brain needs to rest and it starts to get tired. For some it can be 30 minutes, for others it can be several hours.

4. Wake up early. For most people, the most productive time at work is in the morning hours. That's when it's easiest to focus. It is better to start with difficult tasks.

5. Entertainment. You should not start the working day with chatting with colleagues, watching the news, the Internet, TV, etc. Otherwise, the work will seem unattractive and you will have to force yourself to do it.

6. Making a plan for the day. This process can be carried out both on paper and in thoughts.

7. The left hemisphere of the brain is responsible for logic and work. You can activate it by performing logical puzzles, shake your right limbs. You can twist an object in your hands.

8. Remove from the field of attention everything that moves. Otherwise, attention will be concentrated on these objects. This is the instinct of self-preservation inherent in nature, since all moving objects for the subconscious are a potential danger. In order not to react to movements, you can simply close the door, sit with your back to it. If you are working from home, please do not enter the room. Remove animals from it (birds, snakes and an aquarium with fish can be left).

9. It is important to learn to control your arousal. It is directly dependent on adrenaline. The higher it is, the greater the excitability and the less concentration. To work with documents, adrenaline should not exceed the “3” mark. Calm music, walks in the fresh air, pleasant thoughts and images will help relieve overexcitation. If the level of adrenaline, on the contrary, needs to be raised, then an energetic melody, coffee, muscle warm-up will do.

10. Ensure silence while working. You need to turn off the players, TVs, you can do this with phones or doorbells. When working at a factory or in a team, earplugs will help.

11. If possible, then work while standing. The more muscle contact with the body, the easier it is to focus. It is advisable to limit the use of confectionery products during work. They contribute to the appearance of fatigue, lack of energy. As a result, the desire to work may disappear altogether, the person becomes distracted, concentration may drop to zero. When a person works in an enterprise, the question may arise: “How to focus on work in a noisy office?”.

1. Concentrate on a specific goal. To do this, you need to be aware of it. Imagine what will happen when the goal is reached.

2. The task must be realistic and achievable.

3. Set a specific time frame for yourself. Even if they are violated, then “agree” with yourself to finish the work in any case.

4. Set the right pace for the day right away - start working quickly. Start your duties as soon as you come to the office, do not pay attention to the little things.

5. Take breaks. It takes 10-15 minutes to get started. Gradual exhaustion begins in about an hour. To return attention, a 5-minute break is enough.

6. Use concentration techniques and exercises. You can perform them in any place and position.

How to focus on one thing

Lighting is also important for concentration at work. It should not be overly bright, but it should not be twilight either. In both cases, this leads to rapid eye fatigue. The lamp should be with a soft even light.

Open any book on popular psychology and you will find tips on how to avoid distractions and finish your work faster. But only many of them are difficult to implement. How do you like the idea of ​​spending the whole day wearing headphones? Or turn off the Internet so as not to look at social networks? Maybe you are able to instantly switch and imagine that your work is the most interesting, inspiring and fun? But if the tips do not work, what will help you not to be distracted?

1. Unplug

Can't concentrate on important work? This may seem absurd, but - then do not try to do this. More and more researchers are coming to the conclusion that we spend a significant part of the day simply daydreaming and fantasizing. But this is not laziness, not a whim, but something necessary that helps the brain to function normally.

Concentration requires the concerted action of different parts of the brain, including the frontal lobe, which is responsible for countering distractions and controlling our natural drive to do more interesting things, among other things. It takes a lot of energy to keep this system running smoothly. So at a certain point we inevitably slow down and our mind starts to wander.

People who can turn off their brains are more successful at complex tasks than those who let their brains tell them when to work and when not to. Manage the process. Decide for yourself when you need maximum concentration, and when you can relax a little and switch off. And do not feel guilty about this - on the contrary, such switching will make the work more efficient.

Cats, videos, funny statuses that are copied and spread over the Web endlessly seem like a distraction to us. But some psychologists believe that such videos, on the contrary, allow us to successfully cope with the work.

In one experiment, people who watched a funny video searched for a solution to a difficult problem longer and more thoroughly than subjects from the control group, who were shown relaxing but not funny videos. The researchers concluded that in order for people to work effectively, offices need to create a relaxed, fun atmosphere. Of course, this does not mean that everyone should watch such videos all day long. However, it's good to break into jokes from time to time, especially when you're tired.

3. Load yourself up even more

As early as 1955, psychologist Nilli Lavy of University College London proposed a theory she called the Load Theory. According to her, there is a limit to how much information from the outside world our brain can process in a particular period of time. When it is overloaded, the attention system itself begins to choose what to focus on.

Levy's experiments have shown that we work more efficiently not at empty, clean desks and in complete silence, but in disorder and chaos. “Perhaps this is because when the cells of perception are filled, all the energy of the brain is directed to the most important task,” the scientist says. “Everything else just gets cut off.” The problem with implementing this idea is to provide the right amount of distractions and not over-load.

4. Take a break

When something urgently needs to be done, a break is the last thing that comes to mind. Everyone needs a little respite. We can focus on something for a maximum of 90 minutes, after which we need a 15-minute break.

Even a very short pause, lasting only a few seconds, can help - provided that you do not think about current case. You can look out the window, perform a few simple arithmetic operations. Even better - take a walk, do a little warm-up, meditate.

5. Don't stress too much.

"Take more breaks!" - advise Joe Degutis and Mike Esterman from the Boston Laboratory for the Study of Attention and Learning. Through a series of experiments, they found that the best way to stay focused is to work a little, and then take a short pause. Those who tried to work without stopping ended up getting more tired and making more mistakes.

Christian Olivers from the Free University of Amsterdam agrees with these conclusions: “If you are in constant stress, work without a break, the ability to concentrate gradually fades away. Load yourself less. And do not forget to take breaks more often - in the end you will have time for much more.

Single-tasking

First rule: focus on only one thing. We are all often distracted because modern society has unrealistic expectations of us. They want us to consume oceans of information without stopping. We must be constantly available to her. Many are responding to this alarming rise in demands by dividing their attention across multiple tasks at once. And this approach does not bring us good.

We suffer from a fundamentally wrong stereotype that it is necessary to do several things at the same time in order to cope with the load contemporary problems. But multitasking tactics usually lead to a dead end.

It's hard for us to concentrate. Our attention is scattered. We become impolite. Our productivity is declining. We lose control over the surrounding reality. We pretend to be able to do a lot. Why are we pretending? Because our brain is not capable of working with full dedication on more than one task at a time. Any neurophysiologist will confirm this.

Senseless worries about events that have already happened or unfounded worries about the future are the main and tireless plunderers of our time. We are also disturbed by thoughts about what others will say.

The first step towards overcoming all these obstacles is to achieve full awareness. Notice to yourself what your thoughts revolve around. Is this some specific "splinter" from the past? Or have you developed a habit of worrying about the twists and turns that might come your way?

Remind yourself that such thoughts are not only useless, but also counterproductive: they prevent us from being “here and now”. We are unable to change the past, predict the future, or control other people. At this particular moment, we can only focus on solving a specific problem, which will make a positive contribution to our lives, our work and the reality that is seething around us.

to-do lists

When we try to remember all the things that we have to do in the foreseeable future, this often turns into an additional stress load. But if we transfer the list of tasks to paper, then we relieve ourselves of the burden of fear that we might forget something.

A person is able to keep 7-9 cases in memory at the same time. Making a list allows you to free up mental resources in order to focus on one specific task and not be distracted by anxious thoughts about other responsibilities.

By using lists, we can sort and structure a seemingly overwhelming mountain of tasks, focus on the most relevant of them, and achieve maximum efficiency.

The ugliest frog

Mark Twain once said that if you eat a frog in the morning, the rest of the day promises to be wonderful, because the worst of today is over. Your "frog" is the biggest and most important work, the one that you most often put on the back burner. However, it is she who at the moment will positively affect your achievements, and most importantly, your life.

The first rule of eating frogs: of the two proposed, you need to start with the most disgusting.

In other words, if you have two important jobs to complete, start with the larger, more complex, and most important one. Train yourself to take on a task without delay, to bring it to the end, and only then move on to another.

The 25 minute rule

To reduce the temptation to delay a task, each active phase of the project should take no more than 25 minutes.

This technique involves splitting the task into 25-minute periods, the end of which is tracked using a timer. Each such period is followed by a short break. Four periods of work are followed by a longer break.

The technique is especially effective when you need to do something that you don’t want to do at all. When we know that we will work on the task for 25 minutes, and as soon as the timer rings, we can distract ourselves, it becomes psychologically easier to do the work.

Distractions

You must create a positive work environment for yourself that is conducive to productive activities. Eliminate all possible interference. If you're having a hard time working on a project or task, distractions will be just excuses for you to take a break.

The Internet, co-workers always ready to chat with you, phone calls, email pop-ups all contribute to procrastinating. Eliminate all distractions for at least 25 minutes and get to work.

How to talk to colleagues

In most workgroups, it is impossible not to be distracted. It's hard to get back on track if the conversation you were interrupted with gets out of hand and you don't know when it will end. Therefore, you must immediately set a time frame. The best way to do this is to announce what you are currently doing to a person heading towards you, and then ask targeted questions. Here are some examples:

“I'm just trying to clear my mail. Are you visiting me for a while or should I make an appointment for another time?

“I need to make some phone calls. Is there anything specific you want to discuss or can we talk later?”

“I'm going to a meeting in about five minutes. Can you briefly tell me your problem in half a minute, or should I call you after the meeting?”

The magic word "no"

Why do we agree to lunch with a friend, although we are busy with an important project? Taking on additional responsibilities at the request of the boss, despite the fact that we were going to devote more time to the family? We come to the aid of a neighbor, even if it interferes with our plans? It's simple: we are afraid to let people down or ruin relationships.

But we forget that we have the right to choose. Shouldn't be converted own life into chaos, endlessly solving other people's problems. Say "no" and people will start to appreciate your time. And you don't have to regret your compliance every time.

Starting today, try to say no to all minor and “problem” requests, and use the free time to complete a more important task. Refuse unequivocally, but politely. "I'm flattered that you thought of me, but I'm afraid the download won't allow it" or "I'd love to, but I'm terribly busy." These forms of rejection will allow you to maintain a warm relationship with the interlocutor, and get rid of unnecessary small tasks that “clutter up” your day.

Diversity

Doing the same thing day after day can be terribly boring. Tired of monotony, we begin to get distracted at every opportunity. To avoid this, develop different modes for different days weeks.

This is exactly what Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter, does. Each day has a specific theme. Monday is reserved for meetings and company management. Tuesday is reserved for product development. Wednesday is dedicated to marketing, communications and development, and Thursday is dedicated to communication with developers and partners. Friday is the day of the company and its culture.

This routine helps you stay calm in the midst of chaos. On a daily basis, Dorsey focuses all his efforts on one topic, rather than dispersing them into several tasks. His work week always follows these rules, so it is easy for colleagues and partners to adapt to him.

Checking mail

Schedule what time you will open your email daily. For most people, the best option, the least disruptive to their workflow, is to check incoming mail four times a day and set aside no more than 15 minutes for each "session".

1. First thing in the morning. Most people start their work day by checking their email to make sure they haven't missed anything urgent.

2. Before lunch break. Lunch time is a perfectly natural pause in your business activities; to make this time more productive, you can check your email.

3. Mid afternoon. This is another natural pause when you need to take a break or are about to leave for a business meeting.

4. End of the working day. If you empty your inbox as much as possible before you leave your workplace, then the next morning you will immediately go to viewing new messages.

Concentration - the ability of a person for a long period of time to keep attention on the only thing necessary for this moment, object. Usually, if a person is interested in an object, then concentration is not a problem.

A person focuses all his attention on one thing and at this time all other objects surrounding him fade far into the background, thoughts are connected with perception and directed to a specific thing or work that requires concentration.

How does concentration work?

Not everyone is able to boast of the ability to concentrate, to control their consciousness and attention. But the problem is not that they do not have this quality, but that they do not develop these abilities in themselves.

Interesting and important things for a person - communication with the right people, as if transferring it to a special state. Here he is under a kind of "cap" and is completely fenced off from the surrounding things. In such cases, a person does not need to make an effort to concentrate his attention.

A person, without realizing it, can calmly concentrate if the object, work, hobby or phenomenon is of serious interest to him. It turns out that concentration is not the effort of a person, but the effort of his psyche, when an interested brain perceives and processes the necessary information with special attention and at an increased speed.

But there are situations where a person concentrates involuntarily. Circumstances force the human brain to adapt to conditions, focus attention and disconnect from external environment. This happens in stressful situations or in pursuit of their pragmatic goals. For example, when passing exams or a moment before a possible emergency. The brain connects all its resources and thanks to special concentration at such moments, a person gets out of a difficult situation without loss.

How to learn to concentrate?

The inability to concentrate makes a person uncomfortable. The inability to get together interferes with work, study, and, if necessary, focusing on the desired object. Function training is useful at any age.

We have already found out that if an object is interesting to a person, he concentrates on it without making any effort. But, unfortunately, study, work are routine and uninteresting things, in comparison with the same or reading a book. And the brain is constantly switching to something else, in order to somehow unwind from the depressing pastime.

You can change the current situation and learn to concentrate your attention even on boring things by pulling yourself together and understanding some of the features of brain activity.

Thanks to the research, it was possible to find out that in order to fully concentrate on a task, a person needs at least ten minutes for the brain to switch to one task. As soon as this phase is completed, the second one begins - active working capacity, lasts forty-fifty minutes, but this time is enough to understand some details, to reveal some facts. Then a recession sets in - a person gets tired, he needs a break, and no motivation will help to achieve the set results.

Therefore, try at the initial stage not to give up all undertakings, thinking that nothing comes out of you. Keep working, you need to go through this stage, then there will be nowhere to go and the brain will be carried away by the process that is slipped to it. Without going through this stage, you will not be able to full force concentrate on what is important to you.

What prevents you from concentrating?

There are many distracting things around, especially if a person is not interested in what he is doing. Desk neighbors, colleagues at work, the desire to get some air, drink tea, and other situations unsettle and do not allow to concentrate.

No less distracting from important matters that require concentration, clutter in the workplace, a mess in the room, extraneous smells and sounds. Lack of sleep, poor health also affect. Also, a working TV, a turned on computer often become an interfering factor.

It is advisable to move away from annoying and distracting factors, but at the same time, you do not need to accustom yourself to complete silence. Life is so busy that a person must be able to abstract in any situation. Otherwise, having become accustomed to concentrating in some conditions, it will be difficult to concentrate in others.

How to learn to manage your attention at work?

To gain the ability to concentrate at work for a long time, learn to control your attention.

Self-discipline at work is the main factor that develops concentration, and it depends on the ability to manage oneself, one's thoughts and thoughts.

The first thing to do to develop self-discipline is:

Clean up where you work. Close the tabs on the computer, turn down or turn off the music. So that nothing distracts you from your work.
Do not overwork the body, give yourself a ten-minute break every hour. Breathe in fresh air at this time, do exercises or be distracted by some other object.
Communicate with people around you during breaks, and during working hours, ask them not to disturb you.
Tune in to the amount of work in advance, think over a plan of action. This way you will retain an understanding of the process itself and will be focused on maintaining your own set plan.

Perseverance, understanding why you need to focus - these qualities will lead you to the ability to concentrate your attention at the right time for this. Be persistent in your desires and aspirations.