This is not the only reason why you can't focus. Rather, there are several different reasons for the lack of concentration. In this article, you will learn about the main reasons that prevent people from concentrating, and we hope that you will also be able to find out why you are not concentrating.
Causes of Difficulty Concentrating
1. Multitasking
When you have a lot of work and want to be more productive, it can be tempting to multitask, such as doing two tasks at the same time at work or doing a task while participating in an online meeting, but do you know that humans cannot multitask? You have to do one thing at a time; that is, the same way a computer works.
It will surprise you that the computer does not multitask. As you know, you can play a movie on the “Netflix” platform and a video on the “YouTube” platform and on “Spotify” at the same time, but what will happen?
It seems to us that computers perform several tasks because they move quickly between tasks, but the secret is that computers can do this quickly, which makes it look like it's running everything at once.
Your brain works the same way, except that switching between tasks is much slower, and switching between tasks costs a lot of mental energy, especially when those tasks are more complex. Do you multitask a lot and wonder why you feel tired and unable to focus? Perhaps multitasking is the reason. So, try to combine it to improve your productivity, and next week, just allow yourself to do one task after another, and make sure you finish the task before moving on to the next one.
2. Distractions
The number of distractions has increased dramatically since the beginning of the digital age, such as email, calendar reminders, and social media notifications, as well as advertisements and other forms of unsolicited communication.
There are a lot of things trying to get your attention; therefore, it is not surprising that many people suffer from a lack of concentration.
The solution is simple in theory. Research shows that if you eliminate all distractions, you will find it easier to stay focused. In practice, it may be a little more difficult, but you can try some of the following ideas:
- Social Distractions: Find a place where you can work alone.
- Environmental Distractions: Find a place where you can work without being interrupted by any environmental factors, such as construction work for example.
- Phone notifications: You can choose the flight mode at the moment.
- Online Distractions: If you work online, you can't put your device on airplane mode, fortunately; There are many online tools to reduce distractions.
3. Tension
Stress has been an important component to the survival of our species, but when it comes to focus, you've probably noticed that the two don't go together. The advent of the pandemic has added stress to our lives. In other words, there is a good chance that your lack of focus is a result of stress.
One of the effects of stress is that: it reduces the working memory of the brain, which is what makes the brain so efficient; Where low working memory capacity negatively affects your ability to focus, and the solution: The answer depends on what causes you the most stress; Because sometimes, you need to deal with the problems you are trying to avoid or maybe what you need is a break from the news and social media; So practice self-reflection to understand if stress is causing your difficulty concentrating, then figure out what is causing you the most stress using some self-awareness techniques, and then address those issues.
4. Lack of sleep
Recently, only 4 hours of sleep at night was considered effective for success. People have greatly exaggerated the idea that time equals money, and fortunately, this belief is beginning to change.
Many successful people sleep more than 7 hours a night, and most people would probably agree that lack of sleep is not a long-term strategy for success. As lack of sleep reduces your ability to focus, and when you can't focus well, this means that each task takes longer to complete.
In other words: adequate sleep increases productivity; As the number of appropriate hours of sleep depends on the person and age, and in general, adults are advised to sleep between 7 and 9 hours; So sleeping for 8 hours is a good starting point, and if you can't sleep that long due to other factors that's fine, naps throughout the day can help counter your inability to focus too.
5. Malnutrition
You've probably heard the saying before: "Your health depends on what you eat," and it's true; What you eat is used as energy and also to regenerate cells in your body, and unsurprisingly, this makes eating some foods better than others.
Sugar is a good example of a food that has adverse effects on your performance. Eating food that causes high glucose negatively affects your attention span; So if you're wondering, "Why can't I focus?" The food you ate in the past hours or days may give you the answer.
6. Ambiguity of objectives
Lack of focus can also be caused by vague goals and objectives; Where most of the tasks that you have to do become much easier when you know the purpose of it, for example: suppose you got a bunch of work to do at the end of the day, but your boss didn't tell you the purpose of it, and in addition to that you feel that the work is not important and you don't understand the extent of its importance, the result will be that you will find it more difficult to focus on the task, but if you are given a reason to do the work, the focus will become easier, you will no longer have to wonder why you are doing it, and instead, things will be clear.
According to writer Simon Sinek, starting with reasons is the secret to success. Understanding why you are doing something seems to improve your productivity, and in the same way you should work with your goals. You have to understand exactly what the purpose of your goals is, and if you don't know your purpose, that's why you can't focus.
7. Constant Busyness
Although we have the tools to be more productive, are we more productive? Or are we getting busier? A lot of times we are just busy. The problem is that most people think that being busy is essential to productivity. If the boss doesn't see that you are busy all the time, then your bonus may be at risk. What are the effects of this behavior on your focus?
This may not affect your focus directly, and your ability to focus may be excellent all the time, but the problem is that you focus on the wrong things; So this is a different lack of focus; As your busyness itself is a problem; So ask yourself the next time you lack focus: “Am I focusing on what matters?”
In conclusion
If you're wondering, "Why can't I focus?" Hopefully, the above reasons gave you some reasons.
As you may have noticed, there are a variety of reasons why you may lack focus. From physical causes such as feeling tired to being unprepared or just busy, in some cases, many of these causes can affect you at the same time. So find solutions for it.
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