Increase Your Powers of Concentration in 7 Easy Steps

We’re all looking for that edge. That thing that separates us from the herd. One aspect that you may be interested in is increasing your powers of concentration. Have you ever been at work and had a brain fog that just wouldn’t go away. Or you sit at your desk with a million things that you could do, yet a half hour goes by and you’re still thinking about it, while at the same time googling shit that has nothing to do with your essential tasks at hand. Maybe you have too many thoughts running through your head. Or possibly you have writer’s block, and the creative juices just won’t flow. Whatever the symptoms may be, I bet that at some point in your lifetime you have experienced a lack of concentration of some sort.

Well, I have compiled 7 detailed tips that will allow you do more in one day than you ever thought possible. And then you can use this formula to repeat this and over and over again. This consistency will allow you to win in life!

1. Identify your underlying emotional issues and attack them: A lot of times, the reason we can’t concentrate is because we have repressed feelings about a situation that occurred in our recent past. An example might be an argument you had with your significant other the night before. It may still be resonating with you the next day. Being proactive and calling to set things straight, will immediately clear that negative energy and brain fog you had a few minutes before. You’re welcome.

2. Daily meditation: Meditation can do wonders for increasing your powers of concentration. Concentration is a skill, and with practice you can enhance that skill. Think of your mind, like a canvas. It’s very difficult to create new art if your canvas is filled. With a clear mind, you can process one thing at a time, much more efficiently.

Try this technique. Have you ever seen the movie "Limitless"? While NZT-48 may be the work of fiction, nootropics (smart drugs that increase your cognitive function) are very real. If your goal is to increase your levels of concentration while pulling out all the stops, then supplementation could be the way to go. I have used the following brain drugs and supplements at different points in time. Do this for 2-5 minutes and then breathe normally. Envision that you are expelling thoughts from your mind and clearing your mental space. Do not think! Just let your body’s natural processes take over. You may only need 10 minutes, but don’t keep track of time. Afterwards, you should feel a difference.

3. Nootropics: Have you ever seen the movie limitless? While NZT-48 may be the work of fiction, nootropics (smart drugs that increase your cognitive funcion) are very real. If your goal is to increase your levels of concentration while pulling out all the stops, then supplementation could be the way to go. I have used the following brain drugs and supplements at different points in time.

• Caffeine (increases alertness, energy, and focus)

• Ginseng (increases energy)

• Ginko Biloba (said to increase memory)

• Creatine (increases concentration yet also puts you in an aggressive state)

• Focus Factor (I have used this and found it effective in mid-sized doses. This one is a bit strong and can give you a headache after a couple hours if you take too high of a dose.)

• Irwin Organics Brain Support (This one has all natural ingredients and includes Ginseng, Ginko Biloba, grape seed extract and other natural ingredients.)

I would say the strongest of all nootropics is Adderall, however unless you have been diagnosed with ADHD, this one is off-limits. Personally, when I really need a boost in concentration, I will have a cup of coffee and pop two pills of focus factor and one pill of Irwin Organics Brain Support. I will then listen to binaural beats when I’m working, and I get into a zone like no other.

4. Binaural Beats: Binaural beats entrain your brainwaves so that you essentially can go into whatever state you wish. To give you a little background, there are 5 types of brainwaves, Gamma, Beta, Alpha, Theta, Delta. Gamma waves move at the highest frequency while Delta waves are the lowest frequency. For peak concentration, you would want a binaural beat to totter between Beta and Alpha waves. Beta waves put you in an alert state and alpha waves put you in a relaxed state. The combination of the two allow you to be alert while also thinking clearly without all the mental chatter.

Typically, you can find hundreds of different Binaural Beats on youtube. You have to listen to it with earplugs as speakers will not provide the desired effect. As I mentioned earlier, the combination of the nootropics and listening to binaural beats while doing any type of work where you’re sitting down for an extended period of time, is very effective.

5. Have goals and task lists: This will help you organize your thoughts. I normally write my daily tasks on my notepad. However, I write my goals on a whiteboard. The whiteboard is a constant visual reminder of what I am working towards.

6. Beware of multitasking: The biggest enemy to concentration and productivity is multi-tasking. You need to avoid this like the plague. You will find yourself picking up and putting down 10 different things throughout the day and getting nothing done. With your concentration spread across multiple arenas, it opens you up to making errors, getting burned out mentally, and overall just having lower quality work products.

7. Prioritize: It’s great to have task lists and goals, but you need a starting point. Prioritization provides you with an order of action. Without this, you may fall into a paralysis of analysis trying to figure out what to do first. To prioritize, you want to ask yourself a series of questions. How immediate is the need for this item? Is there a hard deadline or a soft deadline? Who is relying on this work-product? Is this item correlated with personal goals and/or enterprise goals? How long will it take me to complete this task? Questions likes these will help you get your task list in order.

Well, there you have it. This is for the extreme individual in all of us. How far are you willing to push yourself? Until next time.