Train your mind to stay on task
We all have the potential to tune out when someone is talking, mind wander when reading, multitask, or be in a constant state of partial attention. The problem is, it is happening a little too often these days. Our attention spans have been burnt up by an information-rich and technology dependent world. And we are missing out.
Cognitive neuroscientists (Michael Posner and Mary Rothbart) describe attention as the means to be aware of the world around us and to control our thoughts and feelings. Because of neuroplasticity, our brains can re-organise themselves by creating new neural pathways and pruning unused ones. This process makes it possible for us to build the necessary skills for staying focused. Think of it as ‘attention fitness’, training a mental muscle for a marathon of attention. If we increase our ability to focus and improve our attention spans, we could thrive in all areas of our lives.
What does a brain fitness session look like?
Interval training: 10 minutes of intense focus followed by two minutes rest. Monitor how distracted you were during the focus periods then increase your focus period by minute increments when appropriate.
Set an intention for what you wish to accomplish before you start the task.
Ensure your environment is conducive to focusing and remove distractions (technology, people, noises and smells).
Inhibit distractions by being aware and catch the wrong impulse before they arouse you. For instance, once you look at your phone and see there are messages, it’s harder to stop yourself from reading them. (Due to the time it takes for our brains to notice something, process it and respond to it, we have under half a second to stop ourselves before the distraction takes hold.)
Practice Meditation to build control over attention and gain a quality of awareness. You can have a formal practice and / or integrate Mindfulness Meditation into your daily life. This can be achieved by finding a moment while standing in a cue or sitting on a train for example, to take a few deep breaths. Notice how the body feels during this moment, whether your breath is deep/shallow, fast/slow. You could also focus on being present while ‘doing’, even doing the most mundane of tasks. Be an observer of your own actions and thoughts and become mindful of any thoughts that take you away from your task.
Through training our mind to stay on task we can increase our awareness of what’s happening in our world and what we are thinking and feeling. Training our minds to stay on task could therefore enable us to live as Dr Russell Harris, ACT Mindfulness describes it, “a rich, full and meaningful life”.
