6 Simple techniques to improve focus and motivation
Doesn’t it feel great when you’ve had a good day of work, having achieved what you set out to? Even better when you know you worked hard at it, maintaining a focused and active mind. The trouble is maintaining focus isn’t always easy.
We all experience moments of difficulty concentrating. You might be trying to learn something new, working through a difficult task or finding it hard to get started in the first place. With modern life being set up for immediate rewards, many of us find it much easier to plan the work and then struggle to maintain the focus and motivation needed to finish.
Many variables affect how well you can focus, from how well you’ve slept and what you’ve eaten to how you’ve prepared yourself to concentrate that day. With the science of neuroplasticity, we’ll look into how we can rewire our brains, improving focus and concentration in the short and longer term. Through regular repetition of certain habits and exercises, you will be able to work more efficiently, learn new skills and improve your overall feelings of accomplishment.
The science of focus:
Our brain uses 3 different neurotransmitters to focus:
Adrenalin (also called epinephrine) which makes you more alert
Acetylcholine which highlights specific nerve cells in the brain, narrowing your focus to what’s important
Dopamine which helps maintain motivation, so you can focus better for longer
You need all 3 to sustain focus and concentration over a period of time. Below we look into simple habits and daily exercises that can help improve your focus by encouraging the release of these neurotransmitters. Over time, your brain will get used to the feeling of being more focused and you will believe it to be more possible too!
How to improve your focus
Get alert with caffeine and deep breathing
There’s nothing new to suggesting caffeine can help with concentration but it’s worth saying again. By ingesting caffeine regularly you also increase the number and efficacy of dopamine receptors. As we have seen above, it is dopamine that maintains motivation through a bout of work.
How much caffeine you need depends on your tolerance – which also varies on whether you have it with or without food. Usually about 100mg - 400mg of caffeine (coffee, tea, yerba mate) will noticeably improve alertness. Though be cautious, if you’re not used to caffeine, it can make you feel very anxious and sweaty.
When to use it: Caffeine is best consumed at least 90 minutes after waking and best avoided in the afternoon and evening.
Another way of quickly increasing alertness is with deep breathing. This brings more oxygen to your brain and calms the sympathetic nervous system – making you less anxious and more prepared to concentrate. Try a quick breathing sequence like the Wim Hof method before a period of focus.
2. Prepare to focus with binaural beats or white noise
Our brains can’t go directly into focus, they need a warm-up. This warm-up shows up as a gradual increase of the neurochemicals adrenaline, epinephrine and dopamine which take you from shallow focus to deep focus. Both binaural beats and white noise (or brown or pink noise) have been shown to improve concentration in multiple studies. These sounds help decrease the transition time into focus by releasing those all-important neurochemicals.
Playing 40htz binaural beats – specifically a combination of 2 different frequencies played into each ear at the same time through headphones – increases levels of dopamine and acetylcholine.
When to use it: Try playing binaural beats for 5 mins prior to work. Or listen to it during your focus time if you’re feeling particularly distracted.
You can find both white noise and binaural beats on YouTube or certain apps like Brainwave.
3. Train your brain to focus and refocus
A study by Suzuki Lab found that 13 min meditation practice every day, for a period of 8 weeks, significantly improved focus and mood, and reduced stress. Meditation is all about concentration. And like any skill, practice makes (almost) perfect. Try the following focus exercises.
Focus meditation
Set a timer for around 10 mins. Sit comfortably with your eyes closed. While focusing on breathing through your nose, bring your awareness to a point inside the forehead. Each time your attention drifts elsewhere, refocus on this point and on your breathing.
When to use it: Don’t do this practice within 1 hour of bedtime as it can lead to sleep difficulties.
Our ability to stay focused is partly directed by our visual system. In fact, part of what directs our focus when we ingest caffeine is our pupils dilating which narrows our field of vision. This so-called ‘tunnel vision’ drives cognitive focus. Studies have shown that visually focusing on one thing for 3 mins, trains your brain to be able to concentrate in other situations too. This exercise uses your prefrontal cortex to direct your gaze to things in your visual space – helping you drop into a focused state.
Overt visual focus exercise
Set a timer for 30 seconds and focus on one point directly in front of you. (Blinking is allowed.) Extend by 5 seconds every time.
Covert visual focus exercise
This one is a little harder. Set a timer for 10s. Focus your attention on one thing whilst looking at something else.
When to use this: Try doing this before you want to focus for a bout of time and see if it helps. (You can also try it if your concentration is drifting during this work.)
Expect your focus to wax and wane, especially at the start of a work session. If your focus drifts a lot, you haven’t failed, you are practising. It is this refocusing skill (bringing your attention back to the task at hand) that is important. Through neuroplasticity, you are wiring two key skills into your brain:
- The ability to drop into focus
- The ability to bring yourself back to focus
4. Rest and reset with NSDR or hypnosis
Defocus time is just as important for the brain. Practices like NSDR (non-sleep deep rest) or Yoga Nidra can help your brain rest and reset whilst restoring dopamine – that all important neurochemical associated with pleasure and motivation. You should emerge feeling refreshed and more able to focus. This tool can be especially helpful if you haven’t slept well – though it cannot replace real sleep. You can find scripts on YouTube, the Virtusan app, or my personal favourite, I AM Yoga Nidra.
Hypnosis is a unique brain state because you are at once deeply focused and deeply relaxed. Many peer-reviewed studies show that hypnosis can tap into neural circuits that improve your ability to focus over time. Explore hypnosis scripts on the Reverie app.
When to use this: Both hypnosis and NSDR can be done any time of day – as both put your brain in a relaxed state.
5. Don’t try to focus for longer than 90 mins
Much research shows that 90 minutes is about the longest period we can expect to maintain intense focus. For many people, it will be less. Similar to circadian cycles (24h), our brain also works in 90-minute ultradian cycles. (At the end of a bout of focus, it’s important to take at least 10 mins to de-focus.)
How many 90-minute ultradian cycles you can focus on during the day depends on how well you have slept, eaten, and how trained you are at focusing. Paradoxically the more deeply you can concentrate the fewer 90 mins cycles you can actually do. Because your brain is doing very intense work. Aim for no more than 2-3 deep work 90 mins sessions a day. You can spend the rest of the time doing things that require less focus like emails etc.
Don’t be too hard on yourself if you can’t concentrate for 90 minutes straight or for more than one 90-minute cycles a day. You can start with one bout of focus a day – seeing it as a workout for your brain. If you can manage one a day for a couple of weeks, increase it to more.
Note: It’s good to continue this practice at weekends with some lower-level focus tasks like reading.
6. Take boring breaks
The neural circuits that control motivation and the desire to pursue things are very closely linked to those that control brain chemical rewards. If we have dopamine-fueled breaks scrolling through social media, checking the news, reading emails and eating treat foods, then the breaks become the most rewarding part of our day. If on the other hand, our breaks starve the brain of dopamine then work becomes more inspiring and enriching. By taking boring breaks you can reach a flow state where the work itself is what gives you your dopamine reward.
What should you do on your break? Daydream, stare out the window, go for a walk or do some sort of mindless task like washing up, folding laundry etc. (My favourite reset is to stare at a blank wall for 5-10 mins.) In the same way that rest days help support an exercise training regime, this defocus time will allow your brain to rest, and better focus when you need it.
Last thoughts
As with many things, the ability to focus starts with a few healthy habits: a good night’s sleep, a varied, healthy diet and regular exercise. In fact, sleep is the single most important thing for focus. So if you’re struggling to get enough of it, read my sleep blog here.
Once you have that healthy foundation, try a combination of the above focus exercises, sounds and habits to maximise your ability to drop into and maintain focus over an extended period of time. Go easy on yourself. We can’t expect to stay focused for hours on end, and neither can we expect to switch on focus like a lightbulb. However, skills we repeat get etched into our nervous system and become stronger over time through neuroplasticity. So repeat the exercises, and you will start to reap the rewards.
You can, of course, make your life a whole lot easier by keeping distractions to a minimum. Turn your phone off and keep it out of the room, limit the number of tabs you have open, turn off the internet if you can do your work without it, drown out any office noise with headphones, and make sure the people around you know not to interrupt you!
