10 Questions to Increase Your Concentration

Take the Quiz and Learn What You Need to Improve

Whether you are studying for an exam, getting things done at work, or listening to a friend, concentration is a key to success.

This concentration question quiz helps you examine your concentration habits, and tells you 10 tips that you can use to improve them, including techniques that you can learn and practice after you are done.

2. Take a Look Around You

“Environment,” Paramhansa Yogananda said, ”is stronger than will power.” The people, sounds, and situations in your life make a big impact on your ability to focus.

Take a moment to look around you, listen, and notice what could be a source of distraction.

3. How to Improve Your Environment

The Serenity Prayer says, “Give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

We can't always change our environment, but we can always improve it. Take a moment to think about what you could do to improve your current situation.

3. Decide What You Want to Concentrate On, and Why

Knowing why you are concentrating makes it easier to focus, and easier to filter out things that don't matter to you right now. It helps to state this clearly — even out loud or in writing.

For example, you could say, “I am doing this quiz because I want to learn how to improve my concentration for an upcoming exam.” That will help you stay focused on your goals.

This technique is also used by speed-readers to get through text quickly without missing information that is important to them.

4. List the Distractions in Your Life

When were the last few times that you have had difficulty concentrating? Think about them and write down at least three things that were challenging.

These can be outside, like the sound of traffic, or inside, like thinking about a troubling situation in your life.

Remember, the quiz is to help you. You only need to add what you feel is relevant.

5. In Whatever You Do, Be Focused

Multi-tasking (trying to do more than one thing at a time), loud noises, and visual stimulation (such as from a T.V.) make concentration much more difficult, and being around them or doing them too much can put you into a habit of non-attention that can be hard to break.

The results of a 2009 study at Stanford University seemed to show that constant multi-tasking can actually train our brains to become worse at concentrating.

Make it a point to put your full concentration on whatever you are doing.

6. Learn to Increase and Control Your Energy

Deep concentration is a matter of increasing or directing your life-force or conscious, cosmic energy. The more of this kind of energy you have, the better. Scattered energy doesn’t help — it must be calm, focused energy. Learn to be calmly concentrated and be concentratedly calm.

Being in command of your energy is an important first step toward the ability to concentrate deeply.

An excellent technique for learning how to do this is the Energization Exercises of Paramhansa Yogananda.

7. Take Breaks

Concentration is like a muscle that we can strengthen, and like a muscle, it can get overworked.

Go outside and breathe deeply or take a brisk walk once every hour or two — or even more frequently. You’ll find that you can return to your task recharged and ready to focus more creatively.

A well-known time-management practice that uses breaks is called the Pomodoro Technique, especially useful in improving work and study habits.

8. Watch Other People Concentrate

Go see a good action movie. In the middle of it, look around at the people in the theater. What are they doing? They are absolutely still, eyes barely blinking, and their breath is slower. It would take a really major distraction to break their stream of attention.

These physical signs may give you a hint about ways to increase your own concentration abilities.

9. Do a Simple Breathing Technique

Our breath, our energy, and our mind are all connected. Because of this, controlling our breath makes it easier to control our mind.

The teachings of yoga include energy control, or pranayama, techniques. Doing one of these simple techniques—even just consciously slowing our breath—can improve our concentration.

10. Learn How to Meditate

We saved the best for last. If you learn a few simple meditation techniques and practice them at least five minutes daily, you will see your concentration abilities improve significantly. Meditation is the most powerful of all concentration enhancement techniques.

While meditating, watch your breath — don’t control it in any way, just observe. This teaches you to focus your mind on one thing at a time. As you observe your breath, it will slow down, along with your mind (this is a scientifically well-documented), and you move into a dynamic, peaceful (but not sleepy) state of being. Your mind will become recharged and creatively receptive.