
For example, refrain from sending just one more email before going to bed and don't check your email if you wake up at night. Try taking an entire day on the weekend away from all digital devices. To develop your ability for deep attention, periodically take breaks from technology. The Internet is turning us into "chronic scatterbrains," says author Nicholas Carr in The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains, by promoting multitasking while quickly skimming for information and discouraging deep reflection, contemplation or more conceptual thought processes. The sense of release is sufficient for the moment, so you can focus on the task at hand. Joan Klagsbrun, a clinical psychologist and professor at Lesley University, says you can accomplish this by imagining that you're putting each concern or problem at a distance, such as in a drawer, or in a box placed at the right distance away from you, or on a boat while you imagine sitting on a beach. A first step for focusing is known as "clearing a space." It involves taking an inventory of the stressors you're carrying with you that day and "clearing them out" of your body. Stressors act as a magnet to draw your attention away from productivity. Instead of reaching for another cup of coffee, put your headset on and listen to this sample of 45 minutes of focus music. There's no doubt that the right kind of music can be a powerful and enjoyable mental tool. A recent study from Kyoto University shows that listening to a Mozart minuet, for example, boosts your ability to concentrate and shut out extraneous distractions. Numerous studies show that listening to music without lyrics can significantly enhance your ability to focus. Here are eight practical tips to help you manage sensory and emotional distractions so you can boost your attention span: 1. But emotional distractions, such as dislikes, disappointments, frustration, annoyance or aggravation, to name just a few, are the most challenging ones to manage for everyone. Some of us are able to tune out sensory distractions, such as loud chatter in a coffee shop while working on a spreadsheet or ads on Facebook while catching up with our news feed. The two main distractions that erode our ability to focus, says Goleman, are sensory and emotional.
#Focus booster reporting driver#
In his new book, Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence, internationally known psychologist Daniel Goleman writes about the impoverishment of attention most of us suffer from. A Harvard University study shows that 47 percent of people's waking hours are spent not being in the moment-not being focused on whatever they're doing.

Most individuals, however, have difficulty staying focused. As the saying goes, "The successful man is the average man focused." The ability to fully concentrate on whatever you're working on is a critical component of success.
