Simple Habits to Improve Your Concentration and Enhance Your Productivity

When working alone or with others it can be difficult to focus on the task at hand. There are several techniques that you can use, such as a Pomodoro method, that can help you hone in during specific times, but that doesn’t always help. 

Sometimes it’s hard to focus when you have a million different things running through your head as well. To help you out, here are some simple habits to improve your concentration.

Schedule Concentration Time

Probably one of the best ways to help yourself is to actually schedule time to concentrate. You can do this with any sort of project management system, or you can use Google Calendar to do this or set reminders on your phone.

Whenever you schedule concentration time, make sure you stick to it. If you don’t stick to the time that you want to concentrate, you’re going to create a habit of avoiding that concentration time instead of creating a habit of concentration.

Get Lists Out of Your Head

This may not be for everyone, however if you have several lists running in your head of what needs to be done and lists that are for groceries, or taking care of a house, or what have you, then that list needs to be put on paper rather than kept in your head. 

If you keep the list in your head then it is harder to concentrate and maintain your productivity. You see, keeping things in your head makes it harder to concentrate because your mind will, without your permission, move to the lists and think about what needs to be done.

Use Music/Background Noise

This is not exactly for everyone, however music, especially classical music, has been shown to improve concentration as well as up productivity. Another type of music that can help is binaural music.  They operate on the idea that sound can help you concentrate as well as sleep and many other activities

Don’t Overwhelm Yourself

If you want to stay productive then you have to make a project easy to complete. You can take the biggest project in the world and parse it down to bite-sized pieces that can be completed over a period of time. 

Breaking down projects can help increase your productivity because you’re able to see each step and act on each step without having to look at the overall project every single time.

Utilize Sativa 

There are many marijuana strains that fall into two categories: indica and sativa.  Sativa is known to help increase focus and creativity as well as alter perspectives in a way that allows for thinking outside the box.  However, it can also cause anxiety.

If it engages your anxiety more than what you can handle to get things done, then utilize things such as deep breathing or HIBEGONE which greatly reduces the psychoactive effects of marijuana within 15 minutes.

Remove Distractions from Your Space

This can be difficult because more often than not we have our office spaces decorated with items that remind us of things that we enjoy. However if you are easily distracted by items or staring off into the distance at different pictures, it may be best to remove them from your office space.

Substitute Caffeine

There are several healthier caffeine alternatives that can increase your concentration rather than just increase your ability to act. There are several different mushroom mixes, Yerba Mate, ashwagandha, ginseng, and maca.  Each of these are known to help with energy, as well as improving brain function.

Communicate Boundaries

When you work around other people, it’s important to communicate the boundaries that you need in order to be productive. If people are unable to respect your space and your need to complete work, then you need to stick hard to your boundaries until they are able to understand that you need your time to work. 

This isn’t always going to be viable for every single job, but for most jobs placing boundaries regarding your time and concentration works fairly well.

Body Double

For those that are neurodivergent and those that aren’t, using a body double, someone who sits with you and does their work alongside you, can heavily increase productivity. 

It can be extremely helpful to have someone sit with you in order to keep your mind on the prize and your goals in front of you. Plus if they know that you get easily distracted, they can also help you refocus on your work.

Conclusion

There’s always more than one way to improve the way that you think and to help your concentration. While there are several methods listed here, there are always going to be more and perhaps there are some that maybe you have found as well. 

Comment below if these helped  improve your productivity or if you have found other ways to help increase your concentration.