10 Tips to Improve Concentration and Stay Focused

May 8

Knowing how to work on and improve concentration in the often-frantic world of freelancing is vital if you want to keep your head above water.

As you know, freelancing involves a LOT of work, especially when you find yourself juggling any number of projects, random requests, communication, and just the regular challenges of everyday life.

That’s why knowing how to improve your concentration is vital.

In his book Deep Work, author Cal Newport explained the importance of being able to put yourself in a state of intense concentration if you want to stay on top of your work and projects. It’s this intense concentration that we’ll be discussing in this article.

Keep reading to see how you can increase concentration and stay focused for longer!

BONUS: Check out the key lessons from Deep Work here.

Why is Important to Improve Concentration?

Before we jump into the tried-and-tested techniques for improving concentration, we should take a look at why you may want to do this.

Below, are just three of the reasons that you may want to spend some time improving your ability to concentrate for long periods of time.

Improved Performance and Productivity

The ability to concentrate is vital for enhancing productivity and performance, whether at work, or just in daily activities. When we’re focused on a task, we’re much more likely to complete it effectively and efficiently, which leads to higher-quality outcomes.

In contrast, when we find ourselves working on a project, constantly battling procrastination and distractions, our work will suffer. Improving concentration can help us accomplish more in less time and with less effort, which can lead to greater results.

Reduced Stress and Anxiety

When we are unable to concentrate, we may feel overwhelmed and stressed, leading to anxiety and other negative emotions. Improved concentration can help reduce stress levels, as we become better able to manage our tasks and responsibilities.

I know that the times when I’ve found myself feeling overwhelmed with the amount of work I have in front of me, I could almost always have been able to avoid the situation by focussing on getting things done beforehand.

It doesn’t take long for those tasks you can “leave until tomorrow” to begin to pile up, soon leaving you buried under a mountain of work.

Improved Memory and Learning

When we’re focused, we’re more likely to retain information, and our ability to recall that same information later is enhanced. Because of this, improved concentration can help us learn new skills and retain knowledge, then apply them in practical ways.

By improving our concentration, we can become more efficient learners, which can lead to greater success in our personal and professional lives.

Tips to Help Improve Concentration

Now that we know improving concentration can lead to enhanced productivity, less stress, and better knowledge retention, it’s time to look into ways that we can start training our brains to focus more effectively.

Below, you can check out ten of the things that I’ve personally found helpful during my freelance journey!

1. Improve sleep

Sleep deprivation can be absolutely detrimental to your ability to focus and concentrate for long periods of time. Not only that, but missing out on those vital hours of rest can also have a huge impact on other cognitive functions, like memory and attention.

Whilst the occasional late night in the office or super early morning won’t cause too many issues, doing this for prolonged periods will soon catch up with you. In fact, not having a regular sleep schedule can even slow down your reflexes, affect your driving ability, and alter your moods.

If you take anything from this list, it should be getting yourself into a regular sleep pattern that ensures you’re getting the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep each night.

I have a lot of trouble getting off to sleep, so if you find yourself in the same boat, some good tips for improving your sleep quality are:

No screens an hour before bed – that includes phones, so no more scrolling through TikTok at night!
Keep your room cool with plenty of airflow
Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day
Avoid caffeine after 2pm
Integrate these evening routines into your life

2. Spend time in nature

Feeling stressed and snowed under with work, annoyingly, has hugely negative effects on your concentration. The more stressed you are, the less you’re able to concentrate, which causes you to avoid work, making you more stressed.

Something I’ve found incredibly helpful is just simply getting out in nature. I’m lucky enough to live on the South Coast of the UK, so I have pretty easy access to both a beach and woodland. However, you don’t need things like that to get the benefit of being in nature!

Simply a walk around your neighbourhood, the local park, or even sitting in your garden for a few minutes can help to mitigate stress levels.

And if you have a bit of a green thumb like me, you can bring the benefits of the outdoors inside with some low-maintenance house plants, like succulents and cacti.

3. Exercise regularly

Like the above, this is one that helps to reduce stress, which in turn helps you focus.

I’d always heard people extol the virtues of lifting weights, with many friends saying they get the “lifter’s rush” after a workout session, which helps them control their stress levels.

I didn’t believe them, until I started lifting heavy stuff too.

Honestly, if you find yourself feeling stressed, joining a gym, going for regular walks, and generally getting your body moving is a fantastic way of managing both your stress and anxiety levels.

4. Train your brain

Playing certain types of games can keep your brain in tip-top shape! Things like sudokus, crosswords, jigsaws, and chess all force you to focus entirely on the task at hand.

By regularly putting your brain to work on challenging tasks like the above can help improve concentration.

The Bezier Game is a great way to both train your brain to concentrate and also improve your graphic design skills at the same time.

I’m personally learning Spanish with Duolingo, so for about fifteen minutes a day, I’m essentially playing a learning game that’s helping to keep my brain active.

5. Try meditation

Meditation is one of those things that you often hear people saying works wonders for them, but haven’t tried yourself. If that sounds familiar, I was in your position not so long ago.

But the reality is that meditation, and practising mindfulness, can provide a whole range of benefits, not just improved concentration. A review of 23 individual studies found evidence that mindfulness training can increase focus and attention, as well as improve memory and cognitive abilities.

Mediation feels like one of those subjects that’s hard to crack, so if you’re looking for a place to start, this 10 Minute Guided Mediation for Focus is one of my favourites.

6. Take regular breaks

Our brains can only remain focused for so long. The average time a person can remain focussed is around 25 minutes (more on this in point 8) so it’s important to take regular breaks.

I’m sure you’ve been in the situation where you’ve been working on a project for hours, with that time being interspersed with succumbing to distractions like checking your phone, scrolling through Instagram, etc.

The reality is that when you know you have a short break coming up, you can almost trick your brain into concentrating when you want it to. Additionally, taking regular breaks allows you to mentally recharge, avoiding stress, overworking, and burnout.

7. Drink caffeine (but not too much!)

Believe it or not, caffeine has been shown, in some cases, to aid in the temporary improvement of concentration and focus.

Obviously, avoid drinking coffee or energy drinks later in the afternoon – especially if you value the sleep we discussed in point 1 – but when you’re feeling your focus drop, there’s no harm in a small cup of coffee to get you going again.

There’s even caffeine in things like chocolate and chewing gum, so if you’ve got a bit of a sweet tooth, but also need a jolt to the system, this could be the way to go.

8. Set a timer

There’s this thing called the Pomodoro Technique that was developed in the 1980s by Italian student Francesco Cirillo. After struggling to remain focused on his work, he decided to use one of those classic tomato-shaped kitchen timers (hence the name) and use it to time himself working.

The idea is that you work on a single task for the entirety of the 25 minutes (the standard length of those tomato-timers), and remove all potential distractions whilst doing so. That’s one Pomodoro. Then once the timer’s up, you take a break for five minutes.

Once the break is finished, you repeat the process for a total of four Pomodoros, or 100 minutes, and then take a longer, more restorative break for 15-30 minutes.

When we have a timer running, and we can physically see the minutes counting down, we’re much more likely to focus and not succumb to distractions.

You can learn more about the Pomodoro Technique – and seven other productivity methods – in my full course here!

9. Avoid multitasking

Picture this: You have an endless list of things to get done today, so instead of tackling one task at a time, you decide to jump from job to job. Maybe you work on a project for a few minutes, then reply to an email, hopping on a phone call right after.

Whilst you may find you get your work done (although I’d bet not), you’re actually harming your brain.

The more we tell our brains that not focusing on anything for more than a few minutes is a good thing, the worse we get at focusing when it counts.

Avoid multitasking at all costs.

10. Timebox

This is similar to the Pomodoro Technique, but without a timer.

The idea works in the same way, but instead of working in 25-minute chunks, you split your day up by tasks.

For example, in the morning you take a look at your to-do list, and notice that you have five different tasks that are pressing, but each requires intense focus. Instead of randomly picking one to work on, or working on them all at once, you plan out your day.

The time between 9:30 and 10:00 is dedicated to answering emails, with 10:00 – 12:00 dedicated to writing, and so on.

Much like in the Pomodoro Technique, our brains find it easier to focus when we know there’s a definite end point, and a much-needed break, on the horizon.

Conclusion

For some, the ability to concentrate for long periods of time is just something they were born with, but for others – myself included – it takes a lot of work to train your brain to focus on one thing.

In this article, you’ve learned why remaining focussed can help you to be more productive, reduce stress, and retain information more effectively. And, more importantly, you’ve learned how to train your brain to improve concentration, using methods like timeboxing, meditation, playing games, and much more.

And now that you’re a concentration wizard, it’s time to take things to the next level.

In my productivity course, you can learn the methods and techniques that some of the world’s most productive people use to remain focused and get stuff done.

Check out the full course on Gumroad to level up your productivity!

PS: If you send me a DM and say you came from this article, I’ll give you a special discount!

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