The concentration requires a great amount of effort and time.

Even if you practice it for one week or even a month, the result won’t be productive if your brain isn’t performing well. Still, there are fairly easy ways to improve your concentration quickly and effectively.

If you find it hard to concentrate, please try the tips below:

1. First understand clearly what concentration is: “Concentration is taking your mind off many things and putting it on one thing at a time.”

2. Take rest. The biggest factor affecting concentration is rest and this has been approved by research. Concentration requires your mind to be calm. But your mind will be scattered if you are not well rested. Make sure that you get the right amount of sleep at the right time. Also, have regular sleep time, and this can be the key step for concentrating. Sleeping too much is also not ideal. Oversleeping disrupts your natural rhythm and can make you lazy. Avoid this by having an alarm clock to wake you up in time.

3. Decide carefully what you want to concentrate on, for in many subtle and not-so-subtle ways, you become that which you focus on — that is, you take on the attributes of your chosen subject of concentration. Have you ever noticed how couples who have been married for many years start to look like each other, or how people often come to resemble their pets, their cars, their hobbies, or their work projects?

4. Make a Plan: Always have a plan for whatever you are up to. When you sit down to work without a plan, you may easily get caught in activities like checking mails, Instant messaging (chatting) and browsing the web. Without a purpose, you are wasting your time. You’ll find yourself distracted by a variety of nagging thoughts instead of devoting all your attention to one important task.

• To avoid this, make a clear plan that meets your needs beforehand. Take 5 or 10 minutes break in between, and use this time to check email, and then close your inbox and move on to your most important task. When making a plan be sure to allocate enough time for entertainment, studies and sleep.

5. Increase your attention span: Some of the enemies of concentration skills are constant sensory input, multi-tasking, trying to do many things all the same time, loud noises, and flashing light patterns. The human nervous system is a marvelous thing, but it is not built to function in the face of these things on a full-time basis. Attention deficit patterns come, at least to some extent, from the activities or situations which make concentration difficult to impossible. Then a habit of non-attention or inability to concentrate deeply is established and difficult to overcome.

6. Choose a place of your choice for concentration: Obviously, some places are better than others. School libraries, study lounges, and private rooms are the best. Above all, the place that you choose should not be distracting. Try to stay away from other people if you want to concentrate on your work.

7. Understand the essential connection between concentration and energy. Deep concentration is a matter of increasing or directing your life-force or conscious, cosmic energy. The more of this kind of energy you have, the better. Scattered energy doesn’t help. It must be calm, focused energy.Try a Reiki session or learn a Reiki course.It will help you to understand this energy connection better and increase your attention span and focus in life.

8. Prioritize tasks: C ListYou can improve your focus by tackling the big jobs first and leaving the small stuff till later. Make a list of what tasks are the most important. Your “A List” might include anything with a deadline of today or tomorrow. The “B List” would consist of projects needing to be completed next week, while C List” catches loose ends like checking your email.
9. Take breaks. Go outside and breathe deeply or take a brisk walk. Make yourself do this often and you’ll be able to return to your task recharged and ready to focus more creatively.

10. Limit other distractions: Persistent voice mails, the 24/7 availability of the Internet, and even casual conversations outside your office can drive you to distraction and away from the work at hand. As with emails, set aside specific times to check and answer voice mail messages.

11. Declutter your work space: Having a neat, clean work space can help improve organization and focus, but be aware that moving items around on your desk can be a double-edged sword. When cleaning your desk suddenly becomes a priority even with other deadlines looming, that could mean trouble.

12. Meditate: Meditation is the most powerful of all concentration enhancement techniques. Learn a few simple meditation techniques and practice them at least five minutes daily. A first step in the concentration aspect of meditation is to focus on watching your breath — not controlling it in any way, but just observing it. This helps to train yourself in taking your mind off of many things, and putting it on one thing at a time — in this case, the breath. As you observe your breath, it will calm down, your brain will calm down also (this is a scientifically well-documented, mind-breath connective function), and you automatically move into a dynamic, peaceful (but not sleepy) state of being. Your mind becomes recharged and creatively receptive.

Take a few minutes and learn a simple meditation technique. Try a meditation class. You’ll be amazed at how this affects your concentration during your regular daily life.

Hope you try these tips and get more focused in your life.