In today's world, being able to focus is almost
like a superpower. You rarely see anyone who's able to concentrate
on a single task for hours. And the individuals who are able to focus,
to nobody's surprise, get so much more done than other people. There are many areas where you could benefit
from better concentration. Whether it's for school, studying, work or
a hobby. If you're able to focus you can get your desired
results faster. So today I'll explain what's holding you back
from focusing and what you can do to improve it. And I know you're procrastinating at this
very moment by watching this video. But I'll make it worth your while. So grab a pen and a piece of paper. Make sure to write down a few key points about
whatever you learn in this video. This way you'll get the maximum value out
of your procrastination session. And buckle up, because it's going to be a
long one. Let's dive in. We have two types of focus. Scattered focus and directed focus. Scattered focus is broadly distributed attention. This is your typical multitasker, trying to
do many things at the same time. Cleaning the house, while talking on the phone,
while cooking dinner. Or someone who's trying to focus on one thing,
but they keep thinking about something else at the same time. And this is what most people do. They divide their attention towards many different
things. The problem with this type of focus is that
your brain is extremely bad at switching between multiple things at once. You see, when you switch from one task to
another, it's not an instantaneous switch. Instead your brain has to "load" the context
of whatever you're doing into your working memory. When you're constantly shifting your attention
from one thing to another, you're forcing your brain to load and re-load context over
and over. Essentially you end up wasting a ton of mental
energy switching back and forth, leaving you exhausted without getting much done. Now on the other side we have directed focus. You achieve it by directing your attention
to a single action, while ignoring everything else. This is what you should aim to achieve and
it's how high-achievers direct their focus. They concentrate on one thing at a time, like
a laser beam. And they do that thing to the maximum of their
ability while disregarding all other stimuli. So what can you do to avoid scattered focus? It's simple. You should aim to remove all distractions
and avoid any stimuli which could potentially harm your concentration. Let's look at it this way. Let's say you have 5 units of focus available
at any time. That means you can use those 5 units in any
way you like. For example you could use them all on studying,
thus achieving directed focus there. Now let's say your mom enters in your room,
while you're studying, and tells you that dinner will be ready in 45 minutes. Even if you were super concentrated and even
if that interaction only lasted for 10 seconds, your attention is now divided. Dinner will now be on your mind and your focus
will not be as good as it was before. One of the focus units was used on that dinner,
taking it away from your studying session. It's now going to take some time before you're
able to fully regain your focus and you'll end up wasting your mental energy in the process. Now the funny thing is you're most likely
carrying a similarly distracting mom with you all the time. Your phone. This tiny device is the biggest anti-focus
machine there is. It rings, it vibrates and whenever you get
a new notification it makes a sound. That beep is all it takes, to take your mind
off the thing you were supposed to be concentrating on. But even if your phone is on silent, you're
very likely to take a quick look at it, whenever you feel bored. Thus, dividing your attention. Of course, this doesn't mean you should throw
your phone away or anything like that. Instead I'm simply suggesting that whenever
you want to concentrate on something, you put it somewhere, where you know it won't
disturb you and you won't be able to look at it. That being said, cellphones aren't the only
thing that divide your focus. Anything can do that, but your phone is probably
the biggest contributor. The point is to become aware of the possible
distractions and to avoid them. Another thing that could be effecting your
ability to focus is your physiology. This is something that is not considered often. However if you want your mind to function
optimally, you need to take care of your body. If you're sleeping under 7 hours per day,
your concentration will suffer. On the contrary, it's been shown that getting
7-9 hours of sleep, leads to a better ability to focus during the day. Exercise is also something that should be
done on daily basis. Thanks to the release of dopamine, norepinephrine,
serotonin and other neurotransmitters, your ability to focus on difficult tasks improves. By exercise I don't mean going out and running
a marathon, but a short walk around the block is already sufficient. Bonus points if it's a walk in nature. Hydration is also very important. You might have noticed that when you wake
up in the morning you can't really think straight right away. One of the reasons is because you hadn't drank
anything for over 8 hours, so you're mildly dehydrated. Your diet plays another big role in your performance. If you're indulging and stuffing your face
with unhealthy food or drinking soda, you're doing your brain a disservice. Food that is high in sugar content leads to
brain fog and the inability to concentrate. You might want to look into some healthier
alternatives. So if you want to focus easier, make sure
to take care of your body. Now let's take a look at how to build your
focus. It should be noted that concentration is a
skill. You can actually train your focus, like you
would train for a sport. The more you do it, the better you get at
it. When you start, you might be able to focus
for just 10 minutes. But when you do that day after day, your ability
to concentrate will strengthen and you'll able to do it for longer periods of time. So if you can't concentrate for hours right
now, that's fine. You can train your directed focus over time. And the best way to practice your focus, is
to have a certain time in your day, when you concentrate intensely on just one task. Basically you want to make concentration a
regular habit. A lot of us are waiting for the opportunity
when everything is perfect, when we're feeling motivated and when all the planets are aligned,
before we go and try to focus. But that's the wrong approach. Instead it's way better to have a dedicated
time in the day, where you sit down and just concentrate on one thing for as long as you
can. You then want to protect that block of time. The best time for focus is in the morning,
about 1 hour after waking up. Usually that's when you're fully awake and
your mind is not yet occupied with other things that require your attention. Plus, at that time you typically have no distractions
and you have all your focus units ready to be distributed. This time of the day has been utilized by
many historic artists, writers and philosophers. But what about the afternoon? Well you see, if you've had a busy day, your
attention has been already been scattered in many different directions. And your brain is heavily stimulated. That's why it's so much easier to focus in
the morning. Your brain has been resting for 8 hours after
all. So if you decide in the middle of a distracted
afternoon, to switch your attention to a cognitively demanding task, for example studying, you'll
have a hard time directing your focus. Your mind will already be occupied with other
things. Such attempts will therefore frequently fail. But that doesn't mean it's impossible to focus
late in the day. You just need to un-stimulate your brain. And you do that by taking a proper break. You see, it's very hard to concentrate on
something for a longer period of time, without getting mentally tired. And it doesn't matter if it's scattered or
directed focus. Both are exhausting. That's why you need to take a break and give
your mind a rest after a while. However, this is where most people slip up. You see, taking a break doesn't mean pulling
out your phone and browsing Instagram, Youtube or whatever. You're still stimulating your brain and you're
still mentally engaged, therefore draining your mental energy, instead of recharging
it. What you should do instead, is go for a walk,
meditate, or maybe take a nap. These activities allow you to un-plug and
start recharging your mental energy, because they're not as stimulating. I know it might sound boring, but you should
allow yourself to be bored to give your brain some breathing room. Of course taking a mental break isn't just
for when you want to switch from scattered focus to directed focus. It's also very useful when you want to extend
your ability to continue focusing intensely. Another way to look at it, is to imagine you've
been running for an hour without stopping. Then you have a 15 minute break, before you'll
be running for another 1 hour. You can choose to: A.) sit down, relax and
do nothing for 15 minutes. Or B.) jump rope and do burpees for 15 minutes. Obviously you choose the option A, as you
don't want to exert yourself even more. You want to have enough energy to run for
another hour after all. In this case running is an analogy for focus. When you've been focusing for 1 hour, you
don't want to add more stimulation to the mix. You'll just tire yourself out mentally if
you watch TV or browse the internet. So find an activity that suits you, that's
not mentally stimulating and it helps you to disconnect. Personally my favorite thing to do is to go
for a short walk. It helps me recharge mentally every time. Now the perfect technique that ties intense
focus and mental breaks together, is the Pomodoro technique. I already made a video on this method, but
I'll go over it quickly. It goes like this: You choose a task that
you want to focus on. Then you set a timer for 25 minutes and do
nothing but concentrate on that task. When the timer rings, you take a 5 minute
break and restart the timer. When you've completed four 25 minute sessions,
you take a longer break, usually consisting of 30 minutes. Of course, it doesn't have to be so rigid. 25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of rest are
just recommendations. You can do it for however long you feel like,
depending on the complexity of the task. For example when I'm creating my videos, I
usually set the timer for 45 minutes and then take a 15 minute break. So you should experiment a little and find
out which combination suits you best. If you made it this far into the video, good
job. Your focus is already better than most people's. Because this was a long video, I'll quickly
summarize everything I just talked about. 1st. We have two types of focus: scattered focus
and directed focus. You want to achieve directed focus, while
staying away from scattered. 2nd. The best way to avoid scattered focus is to
avoid distractions. Every time something interrupts you, it takes
from your focus units. And your brain has to re-load the context
over and over, leaving you mentally drained. 3rd. Take care of your body. If you want your mind to function properly,
you need to take care of your physical health. That means getting enough sleep, exercising
regularly, keeping hydrated and watching what you put in your mouth. 4th. Concentration is a skill. If you can't focus right now, that's fine.You
can train your concentration like you would train for a sport, and over time, you'll get
better at it. 5th. Make focus a daily habit. Don't just wait around for motivation, instead
set a time in your day when you're going to focus intensely. Mornings are the most optimal, because usually
there are no distractions and your brain is not yet occupied with multiple things. 6th. Un-stimulate your brain. Meditate, go for a walk, or take a nap. Allow your brain to be bored and don't do
anything stimulating like browsing the internet. This is especially important if you want to
focus later in the day. 7th. Take regular breaks. Focusing gets exhausting real fast. So give your mind a rest and you'll be able
to focus intensely for longer. And make sure you're actually resting and
not low-key stimulating your mind. 8th. Use the Pomodoro technique. It's the perfect method that ties intense
focus and regular breaks together. If nothing else, make this technique your
daily habit. This is it for this video. Thank you so much for watching till the very
end. Hopefully you've enjoyed it, and if you did,
give this video a quick like and subscribe if you haven't done so already. Hopefully you'll be able to focus better than
yesterday.
