How To Improve Your Concentration

How To Improve Your Concentration- Hey everybody.

Today I'm gonna offer up some helpful tips

on how to improve your concentration.

Now, with school starting and work never really ending, spoilers, we can all find ourselves
struggling to stay focused

and to finish all that we need to do.

If you're like me, you can
continue to put off tasks

that are gonna take more time

or even ignore small tasks because,

you know, you mentally already
finished working that day.

Also remember that depression and anxiety

can make concentration
at times feel impossible.

And if we aren't interested in
the thing that we have to do,

ADHD can pull our brain into
a million other directions.

But the good news is, that
we can take some steps

to help us keep focused and to turn our

to-do list into a to-done one.

So let's jump into those tips.

Number one: set up a study/work space.

I've talked about this before,

but we know through psychological research

that mixing our areas can
cause all sorts of issues.

Like if we study in our bed,

our brain begins to
associate our bed and bedroom

with being alert, awake and focused.

Which is great when we're trying to study

but terrible when we're
trying to fall asleep.

So setting up a comfortable,
but not too comfortable, area

that is free from distractions,

don't try to work on that boring project

while your room mate or spouse is watching

Brooklyn Nine-Nine or Law & Order show

or anything like that,

and making it the space where
you always do your work.

It'll help you sit down, stay focused

and complete all that you need to do.

Number two: set up realistic goals.

You're not gonna finish
that entire 10-page paper

or 40-minute presentation in one sitting,

or in one day, for that matter.

So make sure you take into consideration

just how long you can usually focus.

Hint, hint: the average person,

sans ADHD, anxiety or depression,

can only focus on one task for about


So maybe your goal for that paper

should be to write three
pages before dinner.

Even as I prepared this video,

I was preparing five videos that week,

I gave myself breaks every
time I completed my research,

then I completed the outline,

I rewarded myself at the end
of the day with dinner out.

So, set up some goals you can achieve

and reward yourself with
something that you love

so when you meet those goals,

you get to do a really fun thing.

Also, doing this just keeps us
feeling good about ourselves

and our ability to complete the tasks.

I love putting checks in boxes.

I'm like, "Ooh, I
completed something, yay!"

And therefore, it'll keep us motivated

to keep going and do more.

Number three: set time limits.

Just like I said, our brain
can only focus for so long.

Recognize what that limit is for you

and set a timer to go off so that

you get to take your break.

Or, if you just can't focus
anymore for whatever reason,

give yourself a five minute
break to do something you enjoy.

I love to take a break to watch

part of an episode for Law & Order,

that way I allow myself
to watch the ending,

which let's be honest is
the most exciting part,

when I complete the task that
I had originally started.

Number four: break down larger tasks.

Do not put do project
or release seven videos

down on your to-do list.

You'll just feel defeated
before you even get started

'cause that's a lot.

Instead, we need to break it into smaller,

more achievable tasks.

For example, going back to
my video creation example,

if I was to break it down,

I'd give myself one task for

coming up with the articles and research,

then another task for
reading that research,

next I'd put together
the notes for that video

and key points that I wanna make,

then I'd schedule a
film day, then I'd film,

next I'd edit, you get the idea.

There are a lot of little
tasks inside those larger tasks

that we can complete each and every day.

So break it down and then
create your to-do lists.

And also, as a side-note, and
I've mentioned this before,

our to-do lists should never
be longer than seven things.

We find that daily that's about all

we're able to see, absorb and complete,

so just keep that in mind too.

And number five: use
mnemonics or songs and rhymes.

I still remember the mnemonic,

Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally.

Anyone learn that one?

Well, it was for math
class and it's, you know,

it helps you remember the order

to do certain portions of the equation,

like, you do parenthesis
first, in the Please,

the P, parenthesis.

And that's still in my brain.

I learned that in high school, you guys.

I'm 34!

There's power in mnemonics.

So come up with one
that helps you remember.

If there are a lot of
steps you need to remember

or things you wanna talk
about during a presentation,

creating a mnemonic can help you

recall the information when you need it

and possibly, in my case,
never allow you to forget it.

Number six: move around.

Not everyone can sit
and focus on a project,

especially if we have
ADHD or anxiety symptoms.

Moving around while we read,

like pacing around your study or workspace

or using a fidget toy
while we work on a project

can help us stay focused longer.

Maybe even while you sit,

you move your feet around on a foam roller

or one of those spiny
balls that's made to,

like, you know, if you have a achy muscle,

it breaks down the fascia, or whatever.

Movement can help us keep us brain focused

on what we're working and
allow us to get more done,

so see what type of
movement works for you.

Number seven: get enough sleep.

If we don't get enough sleep,
we really can't do anything.

Trust me.

Sleep is the time our brain gets to

clean out all of the bits
it doesn't need anymore.

Just for some cool science stuff,

our brain increases the amount of fluid

that can flow through it at night,

it increases by 60% in a sleeping brain.


That extra fluid allows all the
dead bits to be washed away,

to pull them out and to dispose of them.

It's the time when our brain processes

all that we did that day, by
consolidating our memories

and filing them away.

We've talked about Inside Out a lot,

but you know, like, the marbles?

Sleep is a time that it, like,

completely forms those
and rolls those away.

And also sleep, it heals our body.

If we aren't giving our
brain the time it needs

to do all of that, which is a lot,

it's only gonna get bogged down,

be filled with all those dead cells

and it's gonna struggle to
concentrate when we need it to.

So make sure you're getting

enough sleep each and every night.

And if sleep has always
been an issue for you,

I have a video that can help with that.

So, click the link in the description,

you could check that out.

Eighth and finally: see a professional.

Let's be honest, you
knew this one was coming

because if you're doing all you can,

trying all the tips and tools I've offered

and you still find yourself
getting easily distracted

and forgetting all you've read or studied,

it may be a good time to see
your doctor and to reach out to

a mental health professional in your area.

There are so many reasons we
may struggle to concentrate

and if we just can't seem to
make it better on our own,

getting assessed is an
important next step.

As always, the sooner
we know what's going on

and what's causing our upsetting symptoms,

the sooner we can work to fix it.

This video has been brought to you

by the Kinions on Patreon.

If you would like to support

the creation of these
mental health videos,

click the link in the
description and check it out.

I hope those tips and tools were helpful,

but as always if you have
any that work for you,

please share those in
the comments down below.

And I will see you next time. Bye!