"Strategies to stay focused
To improve attention, consider the following strategies.
Mindfulness. "Mindfulness is about focusing attention on the present moment, and practicing mindfulness has been shown to rewire the brain so that attention is stronger in everyday life," says Kim Willment, a neuropsychologist with Brigham and Women's Hospital. She recommends sitting still for a few minutes each day, closing your eyes, and focusing on your breathing as well as the sounds and sensations around you.
Cognitive training
A healthier lifestyle. Many aspects of a healthy lifestyle can help attention, starting with sleep and exercise. "There is a direct link between exercise and cognitive ability, especially attention," Dr. Daffner says. "When you exercise, you increase the availability of brain chemicals that promote new brain connections, reduce stress, and improve sleep. And when we sleep, we reduce stress hormones that can be harmful to the brain, and we clear out proteins that injure it."
Aim for seven to eight hours of sleep each night, and 150 minutes per week of aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking." Reference
Next Steps
CBT
relaxation training
workbook plan
Health Tips
"Limit Your Focus
While multitasking may seem like a great way to get a lot done quickly, it turns out that people are actually rather bad at it. Juggling multiple tasks at once can dramatically cut down on productivity and makes it much harder to hone in on the details that are truly important.
Attentional resources are limited so it is important to budget them wisely.
Think of your attention as a spotlight. If you shine that spotlight on one particular area, you can see things very clearly. If you were to try to spread that same amount of light across a large dark room, you might instead only glimpse the shadowy outlines.
Part of improving your mental focus is all about making the most of the resources you have available. Stop multitasking and instead give your full attention to one thing at a time" reference