Do you feel like you can’t take in anymore information? Does your brain feel like jelly? Are your eyes straining to focus on your computer screen?
Well then, why not take some time out of your day to learn how to relax, refocus your attention and recover.
Paying attention to what you are doing is one of the most important keys to success. If you are not able to hold your attention on one thing for some time, how can you accomplish anything?
Successful people are able to focus their mind on their goals day and night, until they accomplish them, be it money, fame, power, self-improvement or meditation. How can you improve your ability to focus your mind on your goals, when there are so many things that distract your attention?
Here are a few simple exercises that will help you allow your brain to relax and focus on the task at hand.
1. Eye Closing
Close your eyes and cup your hands in front of them, making sure that the palm of your hand isn’t touching your eyelid, that your fingers are resting on your forehead and your pinkies are touching each other. Breathe regularly and relax for about 2 to 3 minutes. This will cut out the light and let you relax your “computer eyes.”
2. Messaging temples
Massage your temples. Use your index and middle finger on each hand and gently massage your temples in circular clockwise motions. Do this for one minute, and then repeat for another minute, counter-clockwise. This is good for headache and fatigue relief.
3. Pressure applying on back neck
Place your hands, fingers crossed and elbows out, at the back of your neck. Starting at the back of your neck, gently apply even pressure on both sides of your neck with the heel of your hands. Continue down towards your shoulders and back up again for about a minute.
4. Massaging your neck
With your fingertips, massage your neck, concentrating on the muscles on both sides of the spine, from the base of the skull towards the shoulders, do this for 1 to 2 minutes. This exercise, along with the previous one, will relieve the accumulated tension in your neck and shoulders.
5. Environment control
If you fail to control your environment, you will harm your ability to focus. Even if you think you are focusing well, you will be using some working memory resources to filter out distractions. Those resources are better utilized in the activity on which you have focused your attention. Do not worry too much about what other people will think including your family. Some people are offended if you put on headphones or go into another room. As if your job at work or life is to be on instant response alert to their needs. Get over it. If you are truly needing to focus then you should give it your all and give your coworkers or family the full attention they deserve some other time.
6. Control Your Emotions
Too much adrenaline prevents you from controlling your focus. Too much cortisol (stress hormone) and you lose the ability to focus on much of anything as well as inflicting long term damage on important parts of your brain
