Concentration: Easy does it.

Concentration is the ability to keep attention on a “desired object”. If you are reading a book and are lost in your fantasies/thoughts after ten seconds, that would be a weak concentration; whereas if you are enjoying the book and fully grasped into the plot and characters for many minutes at a stretch that would be a strong concentration. The question is what factors lead to a strong concentration and how can we develop them? I will discuss two major ones: interest and playfulness.

Concentration is never an issue if we are really interested in the pursuit. When we see an attractive person on the street our senses become sharp and we don’t lose any concentration until the person is out of sight. Why? Because the “desired object” is interesting and exciting to us. If you are reading a long boring essay because “you have to”; you may have the urge to check your phone very frequently. Lack of concentration is not the problem. It is a symptom of a lack of interest. Concentration is naturally higher if we like what we are doing. If there is a certain area of your life where you lack concentration, ask yourself: why are you doing it? Is it really needed?

As Nietzsche said “He who has a strong enough why can bear almost any how.” If you find yourself saying “I have to do this” “I should do this” etc., you are putting too much pressure on yourself. It is not needed. See if you can think about the activity in a different way. A heartfelt sincere meaning will easily and effortlessly lead you to a high concentration.

Or stop doing that activity altogether if you can afford it.

Often, we don’t have the luxury of stop doing something we are not interested in. Having a playful attitude work wonders for our concentration. When we say to ourselves: “I need to this boring work for three hours straight” - our brain revolts. Eventually, we will be distracted by coffee breaks/mobile etc. The brain revolts by distracting because it cannot see anything fun and exciting in near future. A revolting brain is like an unruly crazy dog no one wants. But we can easily doggy train our brains by being gentle to ourselves : (1) Working in 30-minute cycles i.e. work – break – work – break – work - BIG BREAK. When there is a break time, don’t push through it. This is crucial. The break is the reward your brain needs to see to work for 30 minutes continuously. Break activities can be anything fun: reading a book, listening to music, phone-call or walk in nature. (2) Planing the day/week ahead. Make a list of work activities and break activities BEFORE the start of day (or week). So that the brain can clearly see where the fun is and becomes more willing to co-operate in the boring tasks. (3) Breaking big projects into bite-size pieces so that your brain is not overwhelmed. Overwhelmed brain leads to procrastination. Small chunks of work are manageable to brain and it doesn’t revolt. (5) No more than 20 quality hours of works every week. Please do not under-estimate the power of 20-quality hours – It is too much time for a lot of work.

If you are fun and easy with your brain, it will cooperate with you.

What is the point of being harsh on ourselves if it doesn't work?

Overall, it is best if the work is meaningful to you. Then you will never have any issues with distraction. Else, you can train your concentration like a puppy by being playful and having fun with the process.