There are many ways in which you can work on improving your ability to concentrate on a task. Social media has taught us to blink and scroll without even giving something a second thought. Fair to say our attention spans have got shorter and shorter. So what can we do to expand them. How can we set ourselves up for success in productivty with better focus. Not forgetting ‘pandemic brain’ which sees us working from home, home schooling or any combination of multi-tasking in an unprediticible world which adds another layer of stress to our already wrung out brains! Here are some more holistic ways in which you can work on your levels of focus and hence productivity.
- Avoid the highs and lows of sugary foods
Sugary foods will set you up for focus failure! As you come off that sweet high the roller coaster of eating highly refined carbs within in a short space of time has you wanting more, as your energy wains, is a recipe for focus disaster.
As you can see from the image below the green line would be the ideal diet and the red line is one where you skip from sugary snack to sugary snack. Your body is always on a roller coaster and your energy level and FOCUS will match that roller coaster’s journey. If you are looking for ‘stable’ here’s your micro plan for the day.
MIRCO PLAN OF ACTION: Eat PROTEIN for breakfast. Start the day with a meal that really gives you a solid protein boost which will help slow down the impact of any simple carbs in the meal and stablise your blood sugars for a large part of the day. Scrambled eggs is quick and easy. Throw in some greens and some avocado and you’re good to go.
2. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate
Fogginess, fatigue and fogetfulness the 3 F’s of dehydration. Do you suffer these? Well when our brain is 75% water and we are not keeping up with our water intake we will suffer the consequances pretty quickly. In fact did you know that just 1-2% dehydration equates to about a 11-12% drop in productivity. You can substitue the word FOCUS in there for productivity. If we don’t give your brains the essentials of life it will send the signals it needs to to let us know we need to step in!
MIRCO PLAN OF ACTION: Drink a glass of water every hour. Sounds a lot, but add that up over a day and you’ll be about right. It also gets you out of your seat – have a stretch!
3. Give your meal the attention it deserves
When it comes to digestion, stress and movement are not your friends. Our guts are very sensitive to what state we are in and when we are on the run, in and out of meetings, on and off zoom, preparing reports we tend to be in fight/flight mode. Historically we have used this mode for survival and so our bodies shut down digestion and procreation as these functions are not needed when espaping the sabre toothed tiger! Today however, modern living has re-created the tiger with work and daily stressors of life.
We need to respect the meal as an opprtunity to slow down. Sit, breath, take time for ourselves for a moment and then digest the food infront of us. We need to chew well. At least 30 times each mouthful before we swallow. This gives the enzymes in our mouth enough time to start breaking down the food and beginning the digestion process properly. It also allows our brains time to think about how much we are eating, so it can trigger the release of the hormone leptin which signals that we are full at the correct time. If we ‘wolf’ down our food this becomes a much harder task for the brain to do well.
MIRCO PLAN OF ACTION: Take time to sit and eat your meals. Even do a little deep breathing before you begin. Be mindful of the colour, texture, flavour of each mouthful. Take the time to really engage with it so you feel the process has been restorative as well as mindful.
Focus really is our super power if we manage to reduce distractions. Once that is in place these 3 tips will take you to the next level I hope….
If you’d like more help with your nutrition or other areas of your life feel free to book in for a FREE session to see if we will work well together.