Can You Concentrate and be Focused?

"The weakest living creature, by concentrating his powers on a single object, can accomplish good results while the strongest, by dispersing his effort over many chores, may fail to accomplish anything. Drops of water, by continually falling, hone their passage through the hardest of rocks but the hasty torrent rushes over it with hideous uproar and leaves no trace behind."
Og Mandino

I have found that the following factors are the ingredients of concentration, a mental faculty: 

• Avoid distraction: If you are working on the PC close all browser tabs and show only the program that you are working on, be it a word processor or spreadsheet. Work in a quiet place with little or no people movements.  Install proper lighting which is soothing and bright. Clear your table of all unwanted items not relating to your work.

The effectiveness of work increases according to geometrical progression if there are no interruptions- Andre Maurois

• Do one thing at a time:  Your mind can only concentrate on one thing at a time. Do not shift focus from one thing to another. It is stressful and tiring and you will be prone to errors and mistakes.

To do two things at once is to do neither - Publilius Syrus

• Find meaning in things you have to do: There must be a purpose in doing a thing. If the reason is not compelling you may not be motivated to do the job. Thus, there are no concentration and focus.

• Interest: The easiest way to concentrate and pay full attention and to be in the flow is by doing things you are passionate about and interested in.

• Peace of mind: It is a state of mind that you are in the present. You are not thinking about the past or worrying about the future. You just concentrate on the task at hand mindfully.

• Sleep: Insufficient sleep will reduce the power of the mind to concentrate. Don’t burn the candle at both ends and expect yourself to work in peak mental efficiency.

• Exercise: Exercise is more than good for health and physical fitness. You get a calm mind and you can concentrate well. Do aerobic exercise such as jogging to send more oxygen to your brain.

• No unsolved problems: This is a major hindrance to mental concentration. Your mind is on the problem and there is no way for you to work on the project at hand with full concentration. Solve the problem quickly to get it out of your mind so that you can work at ease.

The secret to success in any human endeavor is total concentration - Kurt Vonnegut