Attention works like a muscle: if you do not use it, it atrophies, if you train, it grows. The difference with the muscle is the same: attention training takes 10 minutes a day, not an hour in the gym. Here are five exercises you can do every day.
Francesco Cirillo invented this method in the 1980s when he was studying at the university. Idea: you work for 25 minutes without being distracted by anything, then you rest for 5 minutes. Repeat 4 times, then take a long break for 15β30 minutes.
Why it works: short intervals do not give the brain time to get tired, and mandatory rest does not allow it to go into overload. After 2 weeks of practice, the concentration time increases from 5 to 20 minutes or more.
What to do: Set the timer for 25 minutes. At this time, the phone is in another room, notifications are turned off, social media tabs are closed. One thing, one time.
You don't need anything esoteric. Just sit down, close your eyes, watch your breath. Every time you notice that the thought has run away (and it will run away in 5β10 seconds), gently return attention to your breathing.
Why it works: This exercise is fitness for the anterior cortex, which is responsible for controlling attention. In people who meditate for 8 weeks for 10 minutes a day, MRI shows an increase in the density of gray matter in this area.
What to do: 5 minutes in the morning, right after waking up, and 5 minutes in the evening. No need for an app, just a timer.
This is a classic grounding exercise that simultaneously trains both attention and reduces anxiety.
What to do: Stop and say:
The exercise takes 2 minutes, but sharply "reboots" the attention. You can do it anywhere β in transport, at work, in the queue.
Computer games for attention training are not magic, but they give a concrete result: you become better in these games, and at the same time support the habit of concentrating.
There are four games in Gage that directly train attention:
What to do: 5 minutes a day. Better in the morning β the effect of vivacity lasts for 1β2 hours.
Multitasking is a myth. The brain cannot do two things at the same time: it switches between them. Each switch costs up to 15 minutes of concentration. As a result, a person who "works on five projects at once" makes them 3β5 times slower than if he did one by one.
What to do: One case rule. If you write, you don't check notifications. You read β you don't listen to music with lyrics. If you're talking, don't look at your phone.
This is the most difficult exercise and the most effective. After 2 weeks of such practice, the time of concentration on one task is doubled.
βΆ Start training in Gage β 13 games for attention and memory Β· free
The first improvements are visible after 7β10 days. Full effect β after 6β8 weeks of daily practice. If you train "according to the mood", once a week, there will be no result. Attention, like muscle, likes regularity.
No exercise is instantaneous. If after the first day of meditation you did not become Sherlock Holmes β this is normal. Attention is trained slowly but steadily. After a month, you will notice that it is easier to read long texts, less distracted by the phone and better remember why you came into the room.