What happens to each of us every day? And what distinguishes a modern person from a person who lived 30 years ago? The main difference is the amount of information, often unnecessary, which falls on us.
What Can We Do About It?
Besides abandoning unnecessary promotional mailings and spending less time on social networks or on entertainment websites, like bloodsuckersplay.com/ or Netflix, you need to learn to focus, to be in the moment, not to get distracted. This skill has become more important than it used to be. Scientists predict that for the next generations – the ability to choose and assimilate the right information will be the most important.
How to Achieve This
One of the most available options is yoga. Practice it, and everything will happen. During the class we concentrate on our sensations in the body, on the correct actions, and we listen to ourselves. The brain learns to be selective and focused. We rest from routine and different tasks, which means that we can perceive new things more easily.
Stand barefoot on the floor, put your feet together. Tighten your knees and hips, twist your pelvis. Straighten your arms along your body, pulling your elbows in, pull your shoulders and the back of your head back. Relax your face, look straight ahead. Breathe evenly.
Pressing the heels and the bases of the big toes to the floor, observe whether the weight is equally distributed between the feet, or whether the arms are equally stretched out. As you continue to perform these actions, feel your body steady, strong, and calm.
Feel the effects of yoga can be a simple breathing technique – ujjayi, doing it for about ten minutes. To do it, lie flat on your back (you can put a pad under your back and head), or sit with your legs crossed and your back straight. Turn your palms up, close your eyes, and relax.
At first, just observe your breathing. After a few breathing cycles, lengthen your breath. Imagine that you are lifting it up your body from the bottom to the top, filling your chest. Make the exhale calm. Then lengthen the exhalations as well, leaving your chest up and spread out.
With the practice of yoga, the skill of quiet concentration transfers into our lives. We begin to see something deeper in familiar things, to become aware of what is going on. Over time, we stop jumping from one thing to another and become more efficient. We sort of wake up. We find ourselves in the here and now.
Children can do yoga, too. Their classes differ from “adult” classes, but they are just as effective and fun. Yoga for children is an excellent tool for developing concentration skills, a strong nervous system and stress resistance.
Extra Ways to Focus
Take Scheduled Breaks
Both in sleep and in wakefulness, humans experience changes in brain waves – the electrical frequencies at which our brains work. Based on research, you can take into account the characteristics of these waves and work as productively as possible: take 10-20 minute breaks every 90 minutes of work.
Focus on One Thing
When one is trying to optimize time and simultaneously talking on the phone, sending emails and browsing messengers, the brain does not assimilate such a flow of information. The stress factor affects the quality of every action.
Make a Plan and Complete Tasks One at a Time
Make a to-do list, highlight the most important ones and start there. The brain will feel less stressed about the work ahead. When you plan the amount of time it will take to complete a task, budget an extra 30% toward the deadline. You won’t be stressed by the tight deadline and will be able to use the extra hours or minutes.
When we set big goals that take a long time to accomplish, the brain doesn’t see the results of its work and loses motivation. When you do the small tasks that make up the big goal, you see the results of implementing each step. It gives you the strength to move forward.
Motivate Yourself
Even in the most interesting and beloved work, there are tasks that cause anxiety or that you don’t want to get down to. Try to identify your personal motivation and think about how you’ll reward yourself when you complete a difficult or routine task. Buy a movie ticket, have a great dinner, sign up for a massage, think about a movie for the evening or your favorite meal.
