Psychology Tricks to Focus Better.

Focusing in a world of endless distractions.

Photo by Sangga Rima Roman Selia on Unsplash

As I am writing this…

There are kids laughing and crying simultaneously. Dogs barking at one another. Cars zooming around town. ACDC playing across the hall.

All in my overly-priced apartment in Sunny California.

But somehow, I am still able to complete my urgent tasks.

But how?

(None of that actually happened but you get the point.)

Understanding my Brain.

Now this definitely took some time but one thing I’ve learned is:

Patience is truly a virtue.

See what I did there?

Not all schedules work for everyone.

Some people are naturally morning people and they just magically get out of bed with enthusiasm and joy.

And some people are night owls where they get the majority of the focus for the day when the sun sets.

It’s important to understand how your brain focuses throughout the day. Try journalling and tracking the times when you feel lazy or procrastinating, and the times when you feel motivated and inspired with endless amounts of focus.

Understand your laziness and procrastination.

Where does your laziness come from?

Is it the endless amounts of work that needs to be completed which causes an endless amount of anxiety?

Or is it because there’s a social event you don’t want to miss and you told yourself, “I’ll get it done after the event.”

Whatever it is, it’s very crucial to understand the source of laziness or procrastination (or even both) and to find a solution that matches your personal scheduling.

Journalling in this field is crucial to keep a record of where the sources come from and how they became.

Again, patience is truly a virtue!

Taking a further stance on changing your mindset.

Journalling is the first step of action and taking action will give results. The results may not come back the way you want them to, but at least it gives you something.

With the mindset of simple action-taking, you’re training your mind in a way that creates Dopamine from actively trying and getting results from it.

Now Dopamine is a very complex chemical in our neural circuitry, but the TL;DR is:

Dopamine can create a sense of happiness and addiction from that initial source.

Think of it as a game or a puzzle.

You Should Use Time Blocking.

It’s a magical technique I wish I knew when I just started Undergrad.

Being specific with time brings reasoning.

When I see something that just seems menial, I tend to procrastinate and tell myself, “I’ll do that after (insert excuse).”

But when I introduced time blocks, no matter how menial that task is,

I see my time as the most prestigious asset I have and I am not willing to risk my only asset at the ripe young age of 20.

25 minutes of work. 5 minutes of break.

While time blocking is important, we need to add time blocks within the time blocks in order for the time blocking to work as efficiently as possible.

What a doozy.

In short, I use the technique called Pomodoro Technique which focuses on 25 minutes of focused work, followed by a quick 5-minute break from doing anything that doesn’t require strong mental focus.

My own special take is I go for a quick 5-minute bathroom break that accompanies a nice, full-body stretch.

You know, those types of stretches that you feel dizziness afterward.

Easy-Tasks First.

Sometimes, we just need that initial boost in the beginning no matter how simple or insufficient it is.

If you need to throw that trash out, throw that trash out!

By starting to complete tasks, we are going back into that mindset of doing work and completing goals.

This all refers back to the gaming analogy if it works for you.

Sometimes, we need a longer break.

Because the world is moving faster than ever before.

It’s okay to take a break longer than 5 minutes.

The “5-minute break technique” only works for a certain amount of time until our brain recognizes it as redundant.

In the Pomodoro Technique, it states that:

After 4 consecutive 5-minute breaks, it is best to take a longer break of around 15–30 minutes.

Now there are plentiful things to do within this break time bracket, but we should still be careful of harmful actions that can completely derail our productivity mindset with shifts of dopamine.

So here are some quick things to do (and not to do) while on a longer break.

Things to do while on break:

Your favorite artistic hobbies.
Going out for a 15–30 minute walk.
Meditate.
15-minute nap.
Breathing Exercises.
Log your thoughts.
Listen to your favorite podcast.
Drink some water.
Wash those dishes.
Do the laundry.

Things not to do while on break:

Social Media.
Requires Mental Focus such as Gaming.
Entertainment.
Using any sort of bad substance.
Eating high amounts of Sugar and Processed-Food.
Letting your thoughts wander.
Not in a quiet place.
Not drinking water.
Not washing those dishes
Not tracking your break time.

My Best Investment? Better Sleep.

Gotta have that good sleep.

The Importance of Sleep.

Yes… this is an obvious one, but one that is overlooked dramatically.

Having proper sleep and getting ready to sleep are the ultimate decision-makers if you are going to have a good night’s rest or not.

Think of it like this, would you sleep 8 hours of constant shuffling and getting out of bed for that late-night bathroom break? Or, getting an 8 hours sleep of relaxation of the body, mind, and soul without even having the need of taking a bathroom break.

It’s pretty obvious.

That’s why prepping for sleep and having high-quality bed materials such as a comfortable blanket along with a comfortable pillow are the ultimate deal breakers for having a wonderful night’s rest.

The “Pre-Sleep” Routine.

I’m just gonna make this quick and easy. Here’s a list:

Create my To-Do List for Tomorrow.
Journal my day.
Ditch electronics 1–2 hours before bedtime.
Don’t eat dinner 2-3 hours before bedtime.
Read a nice book or listen to a podcast.
Dim the lights with window shades on.
Take a warm bath/shower.
Make your night routine as consistent as possible.

The last one is probably the most important one there is. Having a consistent schedule of what you need to do next, signals your brain that it is time for this action to take place. Sleep.

Pillows matter a lot.

A comfortable mattress is also important, but from what I realized when I was sleeping on the floor with a mattress in my shared apartment, the only irritating thing there is was how uncomfortable my pillow was. Not the fact that I was sleeping ON the floor, but it was how my head felt when I was sleeping on the floor.

In short, investing in a proper, comfortable pillow first is a better investment than a whole new mattress with a brand-new bed frame (unless you want to sleep on the floor of course).

My Second Best Investment? Take a Shower.

Gotta be clean.

Taking a shower in the morning.

Besides taking a shower to be clean, taking a shower in the morning gives off this feeling of “readiness.”

The feeling that comes with taking a shower in the morning, is the same exact feeling of wanting to do something you enjoy.

Not only that, taking showers actually has some useful health benefits for both the body and mind.

Let me list some of them:

Improves blood circulation.
Decreases Stress.
Increases Immunity.
Increases Skin Health.
Relieves Coughing.
Washes away Toxins.
Alleviates Muscles.

In short, taking a morning shower, whether it’s cold or hot, proves to improve bodily function and the readiness of the mind.

Taking a shower at night.

This should be pretty obvious.

After a long day of work, you feel oily, disgusted, filled with dirt and brim from being outside. You want to feel clean in your home/workspace.

It is the same exact phenomenon as taking a shower in the morning. But rather than getting the day started, it helps you get started for the next day.

A great wash can relax the body and mind, which enhances the night routines and having a better sleep.

Sleep-related aside, having the feel of comfort and cleanliness in your home space is crucial to feeling relaxed and focused on other work you want to do.

Let’s Touch Some Grass.

Touching grass can tickle our brains.

The importance of sunlight.

While opening your curtains to get the morning sun rays in, it is also crucial to go outside and bask in the sunlight.

Exposure to sunlight increases the release of a hormone called serotonin in your brain, which is a chemical associated with boosting mood and helping you feel calmer and more focused, says Healthline.

After all, our greatest ancestors never worked inside a concrete square, but rather outside where the wind blows and the water flows.

The importance of breathing fresh air.

20% of the oxygen you breathe in is used by your brain to function. Increasing the amount of fresh air you have can provide greater clarity to the brain, promoting optimal function whilst helping you to think, focus and concentrate better.

Something about breathing in the nice, greenery air out in nature boosts this primal instinct of mine to just…relax.

The importance of seeing greenery.

Now, I’ve been told numerous amounts of times by my Asian Parents that you should go see more “green things” because it improves eyesight.

Now is it true? Not sure.

But what I know is that seeing natural green colors out in nature does reduce my anxiety and makes me feel grounded in time.

The importance of calmness in nature.

Yes, meditating is useful and it does get the job done when needed.

But going outside and listening to nature is something else…

Something about the sound of wind blowing through the trees.

Something about the look of grass smoothly waving along the mountainside.

Something about the smell of rain after a nice thunderstorm.

Something about the feeling of slight wind gusts from time to time.

All of this proves that nature is the best mediation method, anxiety-reducing, mental battery recharging, and gratitude to life.

Nature is the best way to get your day started, and the best way to keep your day going.

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Stay Humble Peeps. Time is Precious. ⏰