Visual Focus: Natural Ways to Increase Concentration & Focus

Concentration might sound simple word but it’s way more complex. Natural ways to increase focus and concentration exist but we need to find and execute them properly to get most out of them.

Since few days, my attention span has decreased, it didn’t happen all of sudden. I took a break and that break was a bit disadvantageous to me because I lost my momentum.

Through my lost (lost of productivity, focus, etc.) I realized how important it is to have focus.

Through this blog post I’ll share few natural ways to improve your focus. Yes, they require you to spend time with them.

Why Focus/ Concentrate?

Have you ever experienced difficulty in maintaining your attention on an assigned task, only to be drawn away by anything else within your vicinity? Everyone has experienced it before!

However, you may not be aware that having a strong capacity for focus is a critical factor for daily life. It aids in successfully accomplishing tasks, increasing our learning capabilities, and can even decrease anxiety. Taking a moment to improve our ability to concentrate can result in a drastic, positive change to our well-being.

Imagine, you are trying to get ahead in life, but since you can easily be distracted, you can’t. Because you could easily get involved in a lot of unnecessary stuff or better say, in more than one skill/work. And multitasking is distraction, you get nowhere (in most cases). Focus because of these benefits;

• Increased productivity
• Improved memory retention
• Clear decision making
• Enhanced creativity
• Reduced stress levels
• Greater self-awareness
• Improved overall performance
• More efficient learning
• Stronger relationships
• Higher levels of satisfaction and fulfillment

Andrew Huberman on Concentration

Andrew Huberman, a well-known neuroscientist, recently shared a simple yet effective advice on how to improve focus and concentration. He suggested that we should put away all distractions like our phone, and for just two minutes, focus on a single point on the wall.

During these 120 seconds, we should try to relax while keeping our visual focus solely on that point. Although it might feel boring and agitating at first, this short training exercise can help us develop a better understanding of our own impulses and tendencies to move and leave.

By practicing this exercise regularly, we can train our brains to focus better and recognize when we are about to lose our concentration.

And to this practice he called, VISUAL FOCUS.

Role of Attention & Focus in Life

Attention can be negatively affected by a variety of external and internal influences including stress, fatigue, anxiety, technology, medical conditions, and medications.

Read this: 6 Reasons for Stress: Why You are Stressed and Can’t Find Joy in Life

By investing time and effort into increasing our attention span, we can expect a boost in productivity, a reduction in errors, and improved memory and learning capabilities.

Enhancing attention can be achieved through activities such as mindfulness meditation, exercise, single-tasking, and creating an environment suitable for concentration by minimizing distractions and noise.

6 natural ways to improve your attention span

• Take a breath and bring your attention back to the task.
• Remove distractions around you (like phone, food, unneeded tabs on browser).
• Start practicing meditation ASAP.
• Get enough sleep to not feel dull while working.
• Don’t multi-task .
• And last, Train you brain to focus.

The two takeaway I’d recommend you to start as soon as you leave reading this post are, Practicing meditation and taking breath to remind you that you were distracted..

Most powerful thing you can do to dramatically increase your attention span is to start meditating everyday for at lease just 5 min. (initially, upto 30-60min.).

Well, not literally infinity, but a lot you can achieve. I haven’t experienced but that’s what studies and researches predict.

2 Minute Technique to Naturally Increase Attention Span

This two minute technique is part of visual focus. In this technique practitioner focuses on one point for at least 2 minutes and do nothing else, not even think about something else, because then you aren’t focused on point, you’ll be focused on thoughts in mind.

How to implement 2 minute rule?

• Sit somewhere comfortably
• Find a point to look on wall
• Not only see that point for 2 minutes.
• Remember to not think about something else.

You can use this technique a lot of times in a day. I’d recommend to practice it when you take a break off work.

How to approach building focus?

Just like any other skill, improving focus and concentration requires practice and consistency. It’s not a one-time thing that you can do and expect immediate results. It takes time and effort, but the payoff is worth it.

To make these techniques a habit, start small and gradually increase the duration and frequency of your practice. You can start by setting aside just a few minutes every day to do a focused breathing exercise or the 2-minute visual focus technique.

Another helpful tip is to create a conducive environment for concentration, such as a quiet and clutter-free workspace. Limit distractions like social media or emails during your designated focus time.

The main point is that we need to make these small practices to stick with us for long time.

What is visual focus & what else we can do?

Visual focus is the ability to maintain attention on a specific visual stimulus or object. It’s like when you stare at a beautiful sunset or your favorite painting and get lost in it. Your mind is fully absorbed in the experience, and you’re not distracted by anything else.

Imagine you’re trying to read a book, but your phone keeps buzzing with notifications. When you are practitioner of visual focus, your focus will remain on words of that book only.

In short, visual focus is an important skill that can help you stay focused, be more productive, and enjoy the present moment.

Few ways to practice visual focus;

1. Choose a specific object to focus on, like a candle flame or a picture on the wall, and try to maintain your focus on it for a set period of time.
2. Practice visualization exercises, like imagining yourself in a peaceful environment or visualizing a specific goal you want to achieve.
3. Use visual aids, like diagrams or flowcharts, to help you better understand complex information and keep your focus on the task at hand.
4. Try mindfulness meditation, which involves focusing your attention on your breath or bodily sensations to improve your ability to stay present and focused.

Recommended Books

Read here.

Conclusion

Visual focus is a skill, which if we practiced for long time, we can master our thoughts not anymore remain slaves of them.

We should never underestimate that with focus and more attention span we can literally get more done in less time and save a lot of time to invest in other valuable works.

There are tons of benefits if someone ask “Why should I focus?”

Andrew Huberman shared a simple 2 min technique, to look at a point on wall to improve attention span.

End note;