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Focus + Concentration Rebecca Yeung - Coggle Diagram
Focus + Concentration
Rebecca Yeung
what is attention?
the process of focusing your cognitive resources on one particular stimulus or source of information while ignoring all others in the environment
two main forms of attention
top-down/voluntary attention
based on task demands (ex. needing to read a page or solve a math problem)
when used to focus on something, your brain activates inhibitory mechanisms to block out competing stimuli, but it can't do this forever because these mechanisms eventually tire out which leads to directed attention fatigue
directed attention fatigue is part of what causes you to become more distracted and less able to focus on your work as time passes
the strength of your inhibitory mechanisms depends on your environment, tendency to seek novelty when bored, interest in the task, brain's current state, and how long you have already been focused
bottom-up/stimulus-driven attention
automatically focused attention due to stimuli in the environment
how to strengthen your attention muscle and focus better
stop multi-tasking
the brain can't truly do more than one thing at a time it just creates the illusion of multi-tasking by rapidly switching from one task to another
the brain is not good at this which is why when you switch your attention from one task to another, you incur a cognitive switching penalty
you lose the raw amount of time it takes to switch from one task to another and the time it takes for your brain to properly refocus its attention and get back into the flow of things
our brains take time to truly focus on a task in the first place and switching from one task to another creates attention residue
"when you switch from some task A to another task B, your attention doesn't immediately follow – a residue of your attention remains stuck thinking about the original task."
same thing as when you switch from the task you are supposed to be focusing on, over to a distraction, and then go back to the task after which causes the same disturbance
when you sit down and decide to work, choose one task and make it your only focus
tailor your environment for better focus and find the context that works best for you
find or create a space somewhere that is only for work and used only for studying to establish a spot for yourself that has just one context
when your location, the people you're around, and all the other pieces of your environment point to a single activity, you will be much more likely to do it
in general, the fewer things that are competing for your attention, the better so that you don't get distracted
after you have chosen a spot, prepare it for your current task by putting away and removing anything non-essential, unnecessary, and unneeded
includes removing unrelated books and supplies, closing out unneeded tabs or programs, and putting away distractions like your phone
break down the current task into smaller chunks/phases in order to decide what you need to have out during each step and what should be removed
anticipate potential distractions that might come up and get ahead of them to prevent it from distracting you while working
mitigate future distractions to help you stay focused and finish your work faster which includes putting your phone on do not disturb so no notifications can bother you
learning to resist cravings for novelty (the sudden urges you get to entertain distractions like checking your phone or watching videos)
you get these cravings because your brain, by default, doesn't like boredom or hard work
the strength of these cravings is set by how often you give into them because our actions create habits and expectations in our brains which become hard-wired patterns of behavior
every time you give into that craving for a distraction, you are ingraining that decision as a habit
train yourself to resist these cravings by acknowledging it and then deliberately ignoring it and getting back to work
this builds a tolerance for boredom and wean yourself off of that need for constant stimulation
by doing this, your ability to focus on your work strengthens and you build your attention muscle
even with training, your brain's ability to focus still diminishes over time because our brains operate on a cycle of work and rest
after a certain amount of work, you need to take a break
the amount of time will vary from person to person, but a good guideline to use is around 25-30 minutes
once you have spent that long on a task, if you feel your attention waning, take a break for a few minutes
during these short breaks, it is important not to switch to another task or get involved in something distracting, as you don't want to create that attention residue which makes it harder to get back into your work
after a few work sessions with short breaks in between, you can then take a longer break to recharge
during which it is fine to switch to something easier or do something fun for a while as long as you plan in advance when these breaks will happen
this way you are deliberately choosing when to work and when to indulge in distractions, rather than letting your mind be ruled by cravings for novelty
as time goes on, you will find that you can go longer and longer before needing a break which is a good sign that you are building those attention muscles
you will always have a limited amount of focused energy you can expend in a day
relaxation isn't the only thing your brain needs
to keep being able to focus and improve long-term, you need to take care of your brain's biological needs as well
the brain needs plenty of sleep, nutrients, and exercise to work at peak efficiency
taking care of your brain allows you to focus more intensely when you do decide to work
circadian rhythm: governs your sleep and wake cycle
you can also use tools to help keep yourself from getting distracted like apps or websites that block distractions and help you stay focused
when you don't need the internet to work, disconnect it to eliminate the potential of the distraction entirely