Topic Details

Improper Sleep

Sound sleep is one of the most critical factors that determine concentration. At least 7 hours of sound sleep is required every day. Anyone who cannot sleep well will experience a lack of concentration. Lack of sleep results in bad memory and low power of concentration. A sleepy mind is slow and lethargic. It cannot focus on its environment. The absorbing power of the mind is reduced.

Thus, if your kid study late at night, chances are they might not remember the material in the morning. Improper sleep also results in irritation. Children might be irritated and not concentrate in class or at home. You must ensure that your child gets at least 7 hours of good sleep daily.

Food is very important for a healthy brain. It improves concentration power. School going children need proper nutrition. Unfortunately, children now do not take a well-balanced diet. The school canteens do not sell healthy food. Rather, they sell junk food which may taste good. However, this is unhealthy for the child. This junk food acts as comfort food for them. A lot of children have a lot of sugars during studying. It causes both obesity and slows down the brain. It is important for parents to make sure that they pack a nutritious lunch for their kids.

Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day. Eggs and milk should be included in breakfast. Healthy fats and carbohydrates should be included as well. Vitamins are important to improve the circulation in the body. Roughage keeps the digestive system healthy and the body system clean. A well-balanced diet would help the kids focus better.

Focus Game

Kids learn more when they play or do fun activities. Giving them colorful toys, puzzles, blocks would help in building the concentration. A common trend among working parents is that they do not give much time to their children. They prefer to engage their children in activities like watching a cartoon or playing video games.

Various studies conclude that spending a long time on gadgets reduces concentration and memory. Dependence on these devices in the formative years can have an adverse effect on the child's health. There are various other games to indulge a child in. You select the crossword puzzle, card games, jigsaw puzzle and so on. There is another category of sequencing games where the kids can choose from different games such as putting things and setting tables, setting alphabetic and numerical sequences, etc.

Breaks are as important as sitting down and focussing. We usually make the mistake of allotting the time for each activity by the kids. For instance, the time of playing football would be fixed from 5 pm to 6 pm and after that homework and studies. We do not allot time for breaks between studies. Parents need to understand the fact that kids need planned breaks between the studies.

For instance, if your kids have finished homework of the day, then it would be better to give him stretching or water break in between for 10 to 15 minutes. This would refresh his mind and help him concentrate better. Further, sitting for a long time is as injurious to health. It has the same effect as smoking. Sitting for long periods slows down metabolism. This causes weight gain. The slow metabolism also slows down the thinking power. This usually results in lethargy. You would definitely not want your kid to gain weight and become a house of different diseases related to weight.

Exercise is as important as a healthy diet. Exercise improves blood circulation and focus. Kids love to play and to add up little fun workouts. Stretching would help them relax their muscles and concentrate better. There have been studies concluding that stretching helps in blood circulation and therefore helps in focusing. Few exercised would help in unclogging the mind and stay fresh.

The fresh air would be good for their brain circulation. This improves brain functioning. Specific exercises can also help build concentration. You can do them with the child to set an example. Yoga is also one of the ways the kids can stretch themselves. The exercises in yoga can also help in concentration building.

Another old saying, “Hard work pays,” goes for a toss in the present times. It is being replaced with a new adage, “Smart work pays.”

What do you think?

Each person comes to this world with a particular purpose.

But not everybody knows the purpose of his or her birth immediately.

For some, it may take a few years; for others, it could be an entire lifetime to realize their purpose of existence on earth!

Practice makes the man perfect! But you need to know how to focus better during that practice session to get the best results. In other words, you need to practice smart in whichever skill you want to imbibe.

Most experts feel that the concept of natural talent is overrated. Research and personal experiences have highlighted the fact that it is with a smart practice that one can excel.

But its new-age version would read – Smart Practice makes a man perfect!

Practicing without focusing will not give any results. According to a leading psychologist, Anders Ericsson, the perfection of an art or skill can be achieved with 10,000 hours of focused practice.

“I’ve never tried to hide the fact that it is my intention to become the best,” said Cristiano Ronald, the great football champion who is considered to be the greatest player of all time. Having a mindset like this could lead any person with a set of goals to achieve the pinnacle of success!

WHAT SETS A CHAMPION APART FROM A COMMON MAN?

His/her wins? Achievements? A wardrobe filled with medals? Bank accounts in every country?

No!

It is self-belief to achieve the goals set no matter what! It is also the mental toughness behind human achievement.

CHAMPION’S MINDSET

“I really think a champion is defined not by their wins but by how they can recover when they fall.” – Serena Williams

Champions possess the following characteristics that they attribute to their success –

• Talent,
• hard work,
• perseverance to win
• And most importantly mental toughness

They begin with a dream – a passion and self-believe to achieve against all the odds. Moreover, champions can refocus on goals in spite of hardship or past failures.

Here are some methods that can help you face any situation

Be positive

Always have a positive state of mind. Focus on positives but also be ready to learn from the adverse outcomes.

Keep your finances in order

Save for a rainy day. There is a lot of truth in that statement. You can face any eventualities, especially health issues or losses in business or funds for a new enterprise if you maintain some savings.

Health

Another important way to be prepared for all types of situations is to be fit and healthy because if your health goes down and the issue becomes complicated.

Practice mindfulness

Being mindful means to focus on the present moment, Understanding your thoughts, feelings, and sensations such as breathing.

Professional help

The times we now live in are highly stressful. This stress affects health, sleep, productivity, and personal relations. It would be a good idea; hence, to visit a therapist before the stress shadows your life and causes severe harm. You can visit a therapist once a year to be precautious.

Preparing for an expected or unexpected situation

Being prepared is the best way to mitigate any eventuality. For foreseen situations, you can use your experience and advice of others to be ready. For unforeseen eventualities, you should guess or cover using Insurance.

Whatever be the outcome of a situation, one should keep calm, be positive, be financially sound, and practice mindfulness. In case you are not able to handle it yourself, it is better to seek the help of a professional person to do so.

Everything changes, over a period! Life begins, soars, and ends. The weather changes, bringing bounty or destruction. Businesses commence – touch heights, survive setbacks, or falls out to the competition.

Eventualities are routine

When there is a high, there is also low. Hence, the wise always prepare themselves for situations or eventualities by taking certain steps. Some examples:

1.Teachers preparing students for exams;

2. Ingredients readied by cooks for the feast;

3. Prevention is better than cure is followed seriously by the health-conscious

4. Planning for the future is done by Companies

The need to be prepared

There is no end to the probability of situations that may arise in the future. Some of these may lead to negative results even. In such a scenario, being prepared can help you correct the wrong or handle it without being affected by it. Some such scenarios are that you may face

The tough project at work

A family crisis

Preparing for an interview

Public performance

Camping or an outstation tour

Loss of a close family member

attack by aliens(a hypothetical situation), in which case keep a survival kit ready

Be positive

Always have a positive state of mind. Focus on positives but also be ready to learn from the adverse outcomes. Learn from these experiences to be stoic and not get upset or anxious quickly when you divert your focus and attention on positive aspects than you will see the best aspects of a situation.

When you see the better aspects, you will have the confidence to negate or use that situation in your favor. When you are concentrating on negative aspects, you will only be left with disappointment and stress that will block your progress.

Develop the right mindset. Whatever the situation, learn to accept and move forward. Life is ever-changing. This change can help you learn and grow. Understand that external details keep altering. You cannot control external events but can change the way you respond to them.

Internal events are what you should be worried about. Keep yourself strong. Save yourself from the depths of depression due to untoward situations by remembering that you can come out of the situation soon. Do adopt philosophical doctrines if you find them helping you positively.

Save for a rainy day. There is a lot of truth in that statement. You can face any eventualities, especially health issues or losses in business or funds for a new enterprise if you maintain some savings.

Start setting your finances right by first clearing your existing debts. Start paying back today, even if in small payments. Complete paying as quickly as possible so that you are debt-free when an eventuality occurs.

Next, turn your focus and attention towards saving. Plan on how to reduce spending and increase savings. Keep an emergency fund ready so that you need not approach others for financial help when needed.

“Success at anything will always come down to this: focus and effort. And we control both”. – The Rock

To become a champion in your set field, practice mindfulness.

• Focus on your surroundings
• Let your thoughts and emotions directed towards positivity
• Eat, work and sleep mindfully
• Mediate and reap benefits of it such as inner peace, inspiration and additional energy

Mindfulness helps to improve concentration while

• Became aware that your body needs to achieve success
• Appreciate your surroundings and even competitors
• Accept situations and not be bogged down by extreme

Selective working refers to taking up a few tasks and performing it with utmost focus and attention for fruitful consequences.

For example: Assume you are a General Manager of a big firm. There is a simultaneous issue to resolve in two departments – Sales and Production. You can ideally take up one issue and delegate another.

In case you can delegate both, then do the same and involve yourself only at the final stage when you can only make a significant decision. This way, you save your time and energy for any other pressing matters or just concentrating on your firms’ long term goals in the position of a General Manager.

At one point in time, human multitasking was hailed as the most excellent solution for improving productivity. Recent studies have found that multitasking may not be as productive as thought earlier but may cause an increase in errors, reduction in productivity, and ultimately generate immense frustration.

During performing many tasks together, if one task goes wrong, its effect will spill over to other tasks as well. You might also experience severe stress in the process.

But when you do one task after another, you will experience overall efficiency. Hence the need of the hour is to take up one task and do it effectively before going to the next one.

Of course, the most important thing to be useful is to Focus on the task at hand.

Paulo Coelho rightly said…

“Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate, and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed.”

If you take up more than one job and are not able to give your utmost attention, then the output will not be what you desired. Doing less, i.e., taking up only a particular job and giving your all will help in doing it better and producing better results.

In the process, strictly avoid distractions!

1. Ignore co-workers who want to chat
2. Avoid social media
3. Let non-urgent emails wait
4. Keep the notification button switched off temporarily
5. Use the Internet only to give you solutions to reach your goals. Let it not be a distraction that is deviating you away from your vision or purpose

Example: If you are a homemaker planning to upload a cooking video on YouTube, focus on it, and avoid the juicy gossip going around the neighborhood.

FOCUSING – helps you notice/recognize obstacles and remember how to overcome them in the future when the time comes actually to use those skills.

ONE THING AT A TIME – focus on one mistake – correct it and only then go to the next one.

CURIOSITY – to know what is happening in practice – it helps you realize the change that you need to adapt to perfect it.

PATIENCE – try, try, and try again till you succeed. THEN YOU PRACTICE MORE!

We lead busy lives, and time for practicing becomes difficult. So whenever we get some time, we must practice smart.

Practicing smart means undertaking short, intense workouts with extreme attention to minute details, focusing on the basics, getting the techniques right, and practicing again when you have excelled in it.

Repeated practice gets us to a level where our skill becomes our reflex. The skill is acquired but at mediocre levels.

Dedication and enthusiasm at the start are high, but we tend to lose focus in later stages as the tasks become repetitive and routine. Consecutively, minute details go unnoticed.

Examples: cooking, driving, washing clothes, cycling, etc.

Taking a single example…

Most of us know cycling. But professionals who take part in cycling competitions build up their knowledge of this skill to higher levels such that they can win races using various strategies and techniques imbibed through smart practice.