Concentrate…

Over the next few weeks we will look at ways to improve your concentration. These are tips collated from a variety of sources, but I hope that putting one or more of these into practice will help you to focus – on whatever you are trying to do.

How many times have you sat at your desk and tried to focus on a task, only to find your mind wandering? Despite your best intentions, you get distracted and just can’t concentrate. We’ve all been in this familiar, frustrating situation, and it can really undermine your performance.

This first article in our series will look at environmental factors that can help you concentrate.

The more comfortable and welcoming your environment is, the easier it is likely to be for you to stay there and focus. Here are some ideas for improving your physical environment:

• Be comfortable – adjust your chair and desk to the right height for you to work comfortably. There are plenty of websites that will help you set up your equipment correctly and give you ideas for effective ways to layout your work area.
• Add some pictures – looking at a natural scene or wildlife can help improve concentration, and can also give your eyes a break from the computer screen (we’ve mentioned before some of the eye exercise apps you can use to help your eyes stay healthy).
• Shut out distractions as much as possible – listening to music can help, especially if it’s instrumental music. Some people find white noise machines useful – this steady background noise can drown out other noise, helping you focus better and ignore distractions.
• Maintain air flow – if you have a window open it for some fresh air. If not have a pot plant on your desk to help purify the air a little.