Definition
Attention or focus is key for most cognitive functions. Being able to focus is one of the most essential skills to success.
Training your ability to focus could greatly improve your overall productivity and mood. Whether it is working on a presentation for work, driving a car, or reading a book, your ability to focus on what you are doing at that moment is very important.
How to Do It
There are 3 ways to improve focus:
- Build habits that will improve focus such as: Meditation, Adequate Sleep, Reading, Painting and listening to classical music
- Try a Focus training exercises and apps:
- Here are some examples of exercises you can do:
- Sit still on a chair with a blank piece of paper on the ground. Visualize numbers from 1 up on that paper. See how far you can get up to without getting distracted. Try to beat your record each time you do the exercise.
- Sign still on a chair and concentrate on opening and closing your fists slowly. Count each time you do it without getting distracted. Try to beat your record each time you do the exercise.
May Improve
- Focus;
- Decision Making
- Memory
- Productivity
- Mental sharpness
- Creativity
Time Commitment
10-15 minutes
Why it works
Attention is a key process involved in nearly all higher cognitive functions such as learning, memory, and decision making. By training your attention and focus, all other mental faculties improve as well.
Suggested Frequency
3-4 times per week.
Side Effects
None
Required Equipment
- Cognitive skill apps
- Puzzles
- Healthy diet
- Proper Sleep
Gurus/Celebrities/Doing it
Selena Gomez
Oprah Winfrey
Related Products
Painting, meditation, exercise, sleep, hydration, yoga, food/drink habits
Rating
Key habit
Category Health/Productivity/Focus:
Productivity/Focus/Mood
Suggested Time of Day
Any
Notes
- When you need to get important work done, put your mobile into flight mode to reduce distractions.
- Soothing music with soft tones may help to block background noise
Supporting Studies and Articles
Expand Collapse- Chun, M. M., & Turk-Browne, N. B. (2007). Interactions between attention and memory. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 17(2), 177–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2007.03.005
- Harris, D. J., Wilson, M. R., & Vine, S. J. (2018). A Systematic Review of Commercial Cognitive Training Devices: Implications for Use in Sport. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00709
- Knowles, M. M., Foden, P., El-Deredy, W., & Wells, A. (2016). A Systematic Review of Efficacy of the Attention Training Technique in Clinical and Nonclinical Samples. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 72(10), 999–1025. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22312
- Savulich, G., Thorp, E., Piercy, T., Peterson, K. A., Pickard, J. D., & Sahakian, B. J. (2019). Improvements in Attention Following Cognitive Training With the Novel “Decoder” Game on an iPad. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00002
- Wadlinger, H. A., & Isaacowitz, D. M. (2011). Fixing our focus: Training attention to regulate emotion. Personality and Social Psychology Review : An Official Journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc, 15(1), 75–102. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868310365565
