Why Worrying Affects Your Concentration
Feel as though you are unable to focus on anything?
It takes a lot of mental effort to concentrate. And worry has a way of draining our brain capacities. It is nearly impossible to focus on the work at hand when you’re experiencing intense worry. Additionally, it may significantly lower your quality of life.
How worry affects your concentration?
Worry has been shown to have an impact on the brain regions necessary for concentration, according to new research on the subject by psychologists.
Researchers at the Department of Psychology, including Professor Paul Allen, have studied how worry affects areas of the brain known to be crucial for attention. Higher worry levels were linked to increased activity and decreased connectivity in areas of the brain crucial for attentional control. This was apparent particularly in the frontal cortex - the brain area we do most of our thinking from.
“Worry can lead to less efficient use of neural resources and may explain why worry affects our ability to concentrate on everyday tasks.”
- Professor Paul Allen
How to Improve Concentration
Finding the source of distractions (other than worrying) and refocusing your attention on your task are keys to improving concentration. It can be challenging, depending on your level of worry, but you might find some comfort by attempting the following tips:
Stimulation of the senses
It's interesting to note that adding small distractions, like turning on the TV, a podcast, or the radio, may help some people minimize their need for distractions. These “little distractions” serve as sensory stimulation, which makes it more difficult to obsessively concentrate on worrying thoughts, helping you focus better on what you need to do. A recommendation will be to play white noise in the background or pick nice repetitive music that makes you feel good and keeps you focused.
Putting your thoughts down in writing
Write down any persistent ideas that are keeping you from concentrating. Many people discover that, despite their best efforts, they are unable to stop thinking about the many things on their minds. Your mind won't focus as much on attempting to remember your thoughts or worrying about an appointment if you put them in writing since you’ll be aware that they’re noted down in a safe place and you can always refer back to this list again.
Use timers
Setting a timer for focused work and break time is an effective technique. Even when your mind is actively thinking about other tasks or responsibilities, remember that research has shown the people who find themselves working under a strict deadline to have an easier time focusing.
Create Sub Tasks
Determine what it is that you specifically need to do, and then set out a number of smaller activities that you can complete one at a time. This way, even if you get overwhelmed with the huge list of to-dos, you’ll always know what you're concentrating on and remember that you’re making progress.
Get in touch with your breath
Breathe more easily by drastically slowing down your breathing and resisting the impulse to gasp for air. Be sure to inhale for at least 5 seconds, hold for 2 seconds, and exhale for at least 7 seconds. Doing this practice for 5 minutes every 1 hour of work time can help recalibrate your stress level, and calm your nerves down even on a hectic work day!
Remind yourself of the only control you’ll ever have: your thoughts. When you set yourself up for success with the proper systems in place, you’ll have less time for worries and more time for productive work, and full focus. Your concentration level will improve.
Want a better system towards Time Management? I might have just the solution for you, but before that you’ll need to know if you are making the 3 biggest mistakes even productive gurus make! In this free download I break down the 3 expensive mistakes we all make about time, and how dismantling them would bring you more peace, connection and greater productivity!
