It's hard for me to concentrate: why and what to do?

Are you having a hard time concentrating? Do you try to pay attention when you do activities and you don't get it one hundred percent? It is not unusual, the complaint about lack of concentration is very common. In addition, it is a symptom of some psychological disorders so it is convenient to explore each case and determine the cause.

In this Psychology-Online article we explain the causes of lack of concentration so that you can know why you have trouble concentrating and what you can do to improve your concentration, as well as techniques and exercises to work cognitive functions such as concentration, attention and memory.

Index

1. Why am I having trouble concentrating?
2. How to improve lack of concentration
3. Concentration exercises
4. Concentration techniques to study

The concentration is the capacity we have to focus our cognitive resources on a task or encouragement. We all have it to a greater or lesser extent, however, sometimes you may notice that it is difficult for you to concentrate and you forget things.

What is the reason for the lack of concentration? In this capacity the degree of motivation we have in the task greatly influences. It costs us much less to focus on something we like than on something we do not like or interest. Let's see some factors that influence concentration:

• Lack of rest. When we are tired or have not had enough sleep, our brain notices it and is not in the best condition to focus resources on a task. Here you can see in detail how lack of sleep affects our brain.
• Work overload. As with lack of rest, overwork diminishes the effectiveness of cognitive resources.
• Distractors. Distractors can be noise, dependence on social networks (check notifications often), disorder... countless things that catch our attention and interrupt our concentration.
• Disorganization. When we have several pending tasks and we do not have an organization to carry them out, it is likely that thinking about the rest of the tasks prevents us from concentrating on the one in front of us. It is difficult to focus when there are many open issues.
• Recurring worries and thoughts. Any problem that worries us, be it economic, sentimental, work, etc., can affect our concentration. The thoughts that break into our minds distract us.
• Repetitive jobs. When work is repetitive, we employ sustained attention, and it is not easy to maintain for long. Therefore, after a while in a monotonous task our ability to concentrate diminishes.
• Motivation. As we have already mentioned, the motivation generated by the task is one of the keys to being able to concentrate. In the following article you will find more information about the concept and theories of motivation.
• Disorders. The suffering of some disorders such as anxiety or depression influence our concentration and cognitive functions in general. Lack of concentration and memory is one of the symptoms of depression.
• Aging. The attention span and concentration diminish with age.

All these factors can explain a decrease in the ability to concentrate considered normal. We consider that lack of concentration is pathological when it influences different areas the normal development of our lives, when it remains for a period of time of more than 6 months or when it occurs as a result of a mental disorder (ADHD, Alzheimer's, Dementia…).

To increase the ability to concentrate, we recommend following the following guidelines:

1. Get enough rest. Try to get 7-8 hours of sleep each day to keep your body and mind rested.
2. Organize your workspace. Eliminate the things that distract you and arrange your table so that it looks uncluttered. Save what is not useful for the task, close social networks and put your mobile on silence or vibrate if you expect important calls.
3. Look for motivation in what you do. If you have lost it over time, remember what you liked about your job or what benefits you get from doing it. You can also use the premark principle: establish a pleasant activity that you can do after completing the task that is not so motivating. Here you can see personal motivation techniques at work.
4. Take care of a single task every time. Carrying two or more things at the same time reduces concentration on all of them. Multitasking has been proven to decrease our efficiency and productivity. It's best to focus on one task and move on to the next when it's done.
5. Practice physical exercise. Physical exercise brings many benefits, among them, it improves the ability to concentrate. If you are not very athletic, you can walk daily, ride your bike, practice yoga or take dance classes.
6. Learn psychological techniques to reduce recurring distracting thoughts.

Like other abilities, concentration can be stimulated. Try these concentration exercises and you will notice how your concentration improves.

1. Math. Calculation improves concentration. Doing exercises such as simple operations or sudokus will strengthen your concentration. There are apps and games to practice.
2. Hobbies. Word searches or finding differences allow you to improve concentration while having fun.
3. Mindfulness, mindfulness or meditation. They work attention and concentration. Here you can see how learn to practice mindfulness.
4. Descriptions. Look at an object or landscape for a few minutes and then try to describe it in detail.
5. Tell Back and forth. First one by one, then two by two, three by three ...
6. Read and write. They are two activities that improve concentration, attention, creativity, vocabulary ...

To study better, it is important to work on concentration as follows:

1. Read for 20-30 minutes a history alien to what we have to study guides our concentration.
2. To start the state of concentration before studying you can fixate on an object for a few minutes of the room and analyze it in detail.
3. Rest for 5 to 10 minutes after each hour of study it helps us focus on the next activity.
4. Start the study session with the most difficult subject or that we like least, because it is when we have the best level of concentration, then an intermediate level and finally the subjects that are more enjoyable or motivate us more.
5. Deep breaths before the study session. As you do them, notice how the air enters and leaves your body.

If you want to know more about the subject, read the following article in which we explain how to improve memory to study.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to I find it difficult to concentrate: why and what to do?, we recommend that you enter our category of Cognitive psychology.

• Johnson, A. and Proctor, R. W. (2015). Attention: Theory and Practice. Madrid: Ramón Areces.
• Kahneman, D. (1997). Attention and effort. Madrid: New Library.