How can you improve your concentration and focus?

First, have you gotten enough sleep? Lack of sleep is the Number One reason that human beings make mistakes when trying to concentrate or focus on activities or studies! Kids and teenagers need between 10 to 12 hours of sleep in one night to recharge their bodies and stay healthy - adults need 6-8 hours. If you're not getting enough sleep, it's time to decide what you need to cut out of your busy life so that you can be more healthy!
Next, make sure you start the day with a decent breakfast that will provide fuel for your brain during the day. This means healthy food, not junk food full of sugar and caffeine - those will burn off in about an hour, leaving you even more tired and hungry than you were to start! Even if you do eat later in the day, missing this first meal sets up a train of events in the body that is hard to recover from. Learn about low GI eating habits which provide your body with fuel for the longest possible time and provide you with a consistent level of blood sugars. Symptoms such as trouble concentrating, feeling tired, and "zoning out" are typical of low blood sugar levels (NOTE: if you continue to have these problems even after eating a healthy mean, or if you have symptoms like excessive thirst or frequent urination, you need to see a doctor to check for diabetes!).

Some Specific Tips from Our Contributors

• Focusing in school and in life is a learned skill. Popular thought is all about multi-tasking or doing several things at once - reading, listening to music. texting and driving all at the same time as an example. It does not work. Distractions are the cause of as much as 40% of automobile crashes - you cannot really concentrate on doing something else when you are talking on the cellphone, listening to loud music, or chatting with your friends.
• When you leave one task for another, the mind has a lag time to "file" the previous task and pick up the next. This leaves you with a lot of dead air where nothing is being done mentally. To focus you must work at the one task either listening or learning or asking questions, or getting instructions, or watching the science experiment. Not all at once.
• To get into this practice, make deals with yourself. Think "I will pay attention for 10 minute without doing any other task. If I succeed I will check my text messages (some small reward). If I fail I will turn off my phone for half an hour (some small punishment)"
• It is not too different from improving muscle strength. Through repeated attempts at mental concentration, the strength of the mind increases and thereby improves mental concentration.

The first thing you need to do to improve your concentration and mental focus is to want to improve. Having a desire to concentrate more will improve your ability to do it. Here are some more tips for increasing concentration.

• Avoid distractions. If you are in a classroom, stay away from the students who are talking and passing notes. Sit close to the front so that you can focus on the teacher. If you are studying, turn the music down low enough so that it does not distract you. Cut off the cellphone, computer chat rooms, IMs, and anything else that is taking your attention from your work.
• Take notes. Yes, even if you are just studying. Writing information down will fix it in your mind more than if you just heard or saw it. It also focuses your attention on what you are writing, which improves your concentration.
• Tune in. If you are listening to a lecture or speech, face the speaker so that you can hear best. Sit in a comfortable position and pay attention to what they are saying. If you find yourself thinking about other things, shift your position a little bit and re-focus. Think about what they are saying and make sure you understand it. You can usually ask questions if you have trouble, too.
• Practice. If you really have problems concentrating (for example, if you have Attention Deficit Disorder), you can improve your ability by practicing. Start at home, where you can set a timer - watch an educational video or tv show and set your timer for short intervals like 10 minutes for beginners. Once you can hold your attention for that long, set the timer for longer and longer. You will be able to learn how to keep your attention focused on what you are trying to learn.
  

• Concentration depends a good deal on your motivation - if you want to concentrate, you will do better. Concentration includes focusing on the material, listening and watching, and thinking about what you are learning. Focusing involves "tuning out" any distractions, or moving away to a quiet place where you can concentrate better. Pay attention to what you are studying, and if a distraction occurs, either move away or re-focus your attention to the study material. Listening and watching seem obvious, but you can improve your observation skills by pointing your eyes toward what you are listening to - this points your ears in the right direction so that you can hear better! You can improve your watching skills by ignoring any distracting sights around you, and focusing on whatever you are supposed to be studying. As you study, think about what you are learning and make sure that you understand everything - use a dictionary or glossary to look up terms that you don't know.
• Most of all staying focused is about controlling the fluttering of your mind. The mind can be compared to wild horses pulling you in all directions. If you can control these wild horses and hitch them to your carriage then you can travel long distances at high speeds.

These are few ways which you can look upon to improve your concentration :

1. DO FIVE MORE :here are two kinds of people -- those who have learned how to work through frustration, and those who wish they had. From now on, if you're in the middle of a task and tempted to give up -- just do FIVE MORE.

2. ONE THINK AT A TIME

"If I look confused, it's because I'm thinking."

-- make your mind a deal it can't refuse.


Write them down on your to-do list so you're free to forget them.


Don't feel like concentrating? Are you putting off a task or project you're supposed to be working on? That's a form of procrastination. "