4 Things That Kill Your Ability to Focus

Focusing can be hard work when your brain is working against you. It’s extremely common to find yourself more distracted on some days than others; you can’t seem to stop browsing Facebook rather than doing your work, or even just staring out the window.

But what is it, exactly, that’s causing this issue? What is it that’s keeping you in constant distraction? In this article, we’re going to discuss the four things that are killing your ability to focus on the task at hand, be it work, homework, being present in the moment, or even your housework.

1) Lack of Sleep

Believe it or not, the amount of sleep you’ve had can lead to your inability to focus. Sleep is crucial to rest your body and mind, allowing you to take on all that the next day has in store for you rejuvenated and energized.

Not getting the proper amount of sleep each night can lead to poor performance, distractibility, and even crankiness. Lacking sleep impairs your short-term memory and attention, making it difficult to focus enough to get your tasks done.

The ideal amount of sleep for most adults is seven to nine hours of sleep every night. If you find that you’re often tired at work, distracted easily, and maybe even a little bit cranky, try going to bed earlier at night.

If you go to sleep at approximately the same time every night and strive to wake up at the same time every day, your body will adapt naturally, developing better sleeping habits.

2) Your Phone

Many people think that their phone isn’t a distraction for them, but the fact of the matter is that it is. As long as your phone is on and within reach, it’s a distraction for you. We’ve all had “phantom vibration” moments when we think our phone has gone off and checked it repeatedly, but it never did. This is that constant distraction coming back to bite you in the butt.

The constant attention our phones demand pulls us away from our tasks. The notifications we receive all day keeps distracting us from our work, one buzz at a time, and it’s often hard to get back into the right mindset and focus of the task at hand.

A good way to start overcoming this is practicing silencing your phone while you’re trying to complete a task, allowing you to stay focused until the completion of your task. Then, once you're done, you can take a small break to catch up on the notifications you may have missed.

3) Dehydration

Water is so important for your body to function optimally. You should be drinking eight, eight-ounce glasses of water each day; a number to which most people never come close. Getting the proper amount of water is essential for proper brain function and keep you focused throughout the day.

4) Social Media

Social media can be a huge distraction for people. Many people constantly have a social media tab open when they’re on their computer or surf Facebook or Instagram on their phone every time they pick it up.

This distraction can be easy to eliminate; simply don’t open the app or the webpage while trying to complete a task. We’d also recommend turning off the push notifications. This will keep the temptation of browsing social media far away from you so it can’t so easily distract you.

Focusing is important but can often be difficult due to the circumstances we’ve listed in this article. By eliminating these distractions from our lives, we’ll stand a better chance at focusing throughout our day.

RONĖL M HARRIS
Author 'Break Free'




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