How to build Focus
Hi everyone,
Here’s a question for you. Has it been more difficult these days to focus on anything for too long?
Because sometimes, I find myself trying to write or work, and every few minutes, I find my attention wandering. I get up to answer the door, and find myself arranging my bookshelf. I check the time on the phone, and get lost in an app.
Evolution is partly to blame.
We evolved at a time when new, interesting or useful information was hard to come across. So the brain would drop everything to focus on ‘the new thing’ in order to learn something potentially life-saving.
In today's world, distractions are everywhere, and uninterrupted attention is at a premium. Access to or availability of useful knowledge is no longer the bottleneck to survival. The ability to pay attention to information for long enough to remember, assimilate and apply that knowledge.. that is the game changer.
Today, the one skill that will make a difference in your life is your ability to focus.
So how do you acheive this? Here are 5 Neuroscientific ways that I have been using to focus better (which I also used to finish this newsletter)
1. Control your eye gaze
Be aware of how and where your eyes flicker to. Your gaze is key to controlling your attention. Having a steady gaze leads to a longer attention span. And learning to hold a gaze for a longer time lets you maintain deeper more sustained focus.
Practice holding a gaze to a fixed point, using an object like a candle flame. Breathe deeply while doing this, like you would in meditation. What you think about during this time is not the key here, rather what you are working towards is eye gaze.
2. Warm up
Just like in the gym, warm up is essential. It acts as a signal to your brain that it is time to gather resources and pay attention.
Your brain’s attention graph goes through two fundamental phases - exploration and concentration.
When your brain is in the exploration phase, it is paying attention to everything around, looking for ‘new things’.
When it's in the concentration phase, the field of attention gathers inwards, and there is a spotlight effect.
But your brain needs to know that it has to go into the concentration phase. Because by default it is in the exploration phase.
A ‘Warm up your Focus’ routine helps before you start your task.
Here is a routine that I would recommend for you :
Step 1: Say it out loud that I want to work for the next 10 minutes (or the amount of time you are comfortably able to concentrate)
Step 2: Consciously select the target of your attention. If its a book, or a screen, or an event. Anything that was not include in your target is not a priority for that amount of time.
Step 3: Take a deep breath - this helps to calm down your sympathetic nervous system, which in turn reduces your urge to look around for threat.
3. Escalate slowly
We think we already have the capacity to focus, and it's just circumstances that distract us. So if we could change our environment, we will solve the attention problem. But that’s not true.
Focusing is like any other athletic or physical sport. Just like in the gym, you have to start off with a light weight and gradually build it up.
Start by focusing for a minute, then focus for 2-3 minutes build up your time, build up your attention span and gradually try to hit the 20-30 minute mark. Conscious sustained attention is a skill that is transferrable, so practicing it on one object would make it easier to focus on others.
4. Wax and wane
Attention, like tidal waves, will wax and wane. This is a reflection of the natural noradrenaline ebb and flow in the brain. Be aware of this waxing and waning, so you don’t get frustrated when you are unable to focus even if you are trying your best. You might be in the waning phase.
When I went surfing last year, I learnt two things. One, that surfing is a painful sport to learn (there is no graceful way to fall headfirst into the ocean). And two, catching the wave in time is KEY to surfing. Catch it too early or too late and you miss it. Attention is like that wave.
When you feel your attention start to wane, don't push back. Take a break but do it mindfully. And more importantly, be aware of when you feel your attention coming back, and then you can go back into the flow. Which brings me to the last point.
5. Stay in Flow
How much attention you pay on a task is a reflection of how important your brain thinks that task is. And the tasks that you ‘enjoy’, is your brain rewarding you with a dopamine spike for what it considers to be a useful thing you just did.
Do things you enjoy.
Lean into the things that you instinctively find joy in, build schedules, hobbies, careers around those things. It makes the entire process easier.
Hope these pointers are as helpful to you, as they have been to me recently.
Will share more tips as I find them.
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Cheers,
Dr. Sid