It’s normal for our minds to wander from time to time – it might even have led you here! But if you need better focus at work, clinical psychologist Dr Karen Keogh has effective tips for taking greater control over your concentration.

With so many things competing for our attention, it's natural to wonder about the impact that modern life is having on our concentration levels. Is it possible that our concentration "muscle" isn't quite as developed as it once was? Possibly – though there is little genuine scientific evidence to back that up just yet. On the flipside, modern technology can bring huge positives. For instance, phone reminders and instant online searches allow us to delegate some of the space we'd normally use to hold information to other tasks. Certainly, as human beings, we're wired to process a lot of different information.

So, there are pros and cons. And factors both external and internal that will determine how well-placed we are to benefit from those pros and mitigate against distractions. It means we can actually exert a good deal of control over concentration.

Before that, what do we mean by "concentration"? The precursor to all concentration is attention, which is our ability to focus on something. It’s like the spotlight or torch of our mind. We have all this data and stimuli coming at us, so the question becomes: what am I going to focus on?

Concentration is the next step in maintaining that attention over a period. It's almost like attention controls concentration: can I choose to focus on a particular stimulus at the exclusion of all others? How long can I maintain that focus at work? Some of this is answered by what we call “individual differences”. Though we're all wired for concentration, our innate capacity to do it varies from person to person. Luckily, there are things we can do to improve focus at work and maintain it.

1. Biological basics

Before anything else, you need to be taking care of the practical, everyday essentials for overall wellbeing. So, if you’re very tired, that’s going to hugely impact your ability to focus the spotlight of your attention. If you’re hungry, in pain or sick, that needs to be addressed before you can enjoy quality concentration. There’s a strong link between our physiology and our cognitive capacities.

So, start asking yourself those basic questions if you’re losing focus at work. Is the temperature in your office comfortable? If you’re freezing or boiling, that’s going to be all you can concentrate on. Then look to your wider state. Are you getting enough sleep? Are you eating properly? Are you well-hydrated? What are you putting into your body? Putting in place the right daily routine to ensure all those needs are regularly being met is the foundation for pretty much everything.

2. Your environment

Sticking with the physical, the actual space you are working in will have a massive role to play. If your desk is cluttered, it will catch your eye, interrupt your flow, and you’ll lose focus at work. Noise can be another disruptive stimulus. Are people constantly bothering you? Make a note of these stumbling blocks during the day and then get practical about minimising them. It could be getting your office desk organised. Adding a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign to your door if you are struggling to focus working from home. Or, if you have the luxury, moving to a dedicated space when working from home. Even simple tweaks like adjusting your view to a wall or out a window, rather than at that pile of laundry or the TV. Putting on a pair of headphones when you’re in deep work.

This brings us to the debate over whether music can focus the mind. The evidence base is mixed, so it comes back to individual differences and how you personally process information. If loud heavy metal is working for you, stick with it! There is certainly evidence around non-verbal sounds – like instrumental songs or classical music – being a help concentrating at work. By removing the lyrics, the part of your brain that puts energy into comprehending language can rest easy. Familiar music can also aid focus at work – you know it unconsciously, so you’re not really attending to it, even if there are words. For some people, that can be preferable to the spontaneous chatter that goes on in an office and help tune out more “random” auditory distractions.

3. Mindfulness

The term ‘mindfulness’ can be confused with general relaxation. True mindfulness-based cognitive therapy – a talking therapy combined with meditative practices – gets us to engage with the present moment, rather than just “chill out”. Initially developed as a treatment for things like pain management and depression, it’s essentially about honing your awareness with compassion. Practicing curiosity for the present moment without judgement.

The simplest way to practice awareness with an object of focus is to rest your attention on your breath. Sit still for a short period of time and, every time your mind wanders, simply bring it back to the breath. In that way, you’re training the mind to anchor itself and restore awareness when needed.

Then there are more involved techniques to practice and courses to take out there. But it all comes down to where you place your awareness and attention. Mindfulness will build up that muscle so that it becomes a conscious choice, rather than us reacting impulsively. So often we find ourselves reacting, not responding. Getting irritated and losing our train of thought when there’s someone banging on the door, for instance. The evidence base shows that mindfulness can be incredibly helpful at building our control, helping us to improve focus and concentration at work.

4. Time management

We can float off or daydream from time-to-time, so being a good clock watcher brings us back to the task at hand. That means assigning blocks of time to concentrated work and scheduling breaks, rather than spending an undefined amount of time half-working.

There are a lot of prescribed approaches out there. The pomodoro technique divides your workday into 25-minute chunks, separated by 5-minute breaks, while there are some schools of thought that emphasise “microbreaks”, where you pause for 1.5 minutes every half hour. But everyone’s capacity is a little different, so I’d recommend trialling different durations and identifying what works for you and keeps you comfortably on top of things. You’ll probably find that your cognitive capacity can even shift and change over the course of the day, so aim for that sweet spot – and then set a timer to keep you on track.

5. Adding some task variety

Multitasking is not only going to hinder your concentration, it’s also a myth; what you’re really doing is rapidly switching tasks. Without enough time to truly focus on any one thing, nothing of value is likely to get done and you’ll waste time in the long run.

However, adding variety at opportune moments can really help focus at work. If you’re mentally hitting a wall on a certain job, it might be time to shift your focus. Pick an entirely different task to give your brain something else to do. It will help you stay alert for longer, and the solution for the previous task can often present itself when you’re not pouring all your energy into it. Organising tasks into specific blocks can help in this regard – when you’ve already planned out your day and have tasks separated into different time boxes, you can move from one job to another in a more structured, productive way.

6. Movement

Sometimes if I’m really struggling, I’ll stand up in the room and shake my limbs or jump up and down. Regardless of how it looks, it really helps! If you’re in the office, simply walking around can help. It takes us out of a cognitive mode and puts us back into a “somatic” or body mode.

When you’re in a very cognitive-focused mode, you are mostly using the frontal lobe for attention or concentration. A different part of your brain – primarily your motor cortex – comes online when you move around. You come out of a verbal, hyper-conscious place into a somatic or body-focused one. It signals: “I’m still alive, I can move!” That provides a surge of energy that will refresh you and make it easier to get back into some concentrated work.

Similarly, if we’re very stressed or overwhelmed, exercise is great for decreasing cortisol and epinephrine, all those stress and anxiety hormones. The message is that our body is moving freely, operating as it should, and everything is okay. As a result, awareness and attention should fall more readily into place, helping to improve focus at work.

7. Don’t judge yourself, reward yourself

The final piece is to give yourself a small treat after a successful spell of concentration. This starts with the promise of something specific under the condition of completing work. Snacks are a powerful way of doing this, but it can be almost anything you derive enjoyment from: reading a magazine, scrolling through your phone for a few set minutes and so on. It’s important that the size of the reward matches the size of the task completed, of course! Major projects can result in bigger rewards.

Even keeping a record of your completed tasks will act as a “reward” psychologically. If you’re literally ticking boxes every time you have an uninterrupted period of concentration, seeing them add up over days, weeks and months will give you a sense of achievement and ongoing motivation. This kind of record can also help you incentivise longer-term goals with larger rewards.

A positive focus

If you notice a sudden, big change in your concentration levels, it’s important to touch base with a medical expert and get to the root of the problem. Things like stress and anxiety can also really impact your attention and concentration, so we always go back to that emphasis on overall wellbeing; how settled you are in yourself.

Otherwise, if your concentration is just lacking a little and you’re looking to boost it, the main thing is that you focus on any positive progress. Don’t beat yourself up over inevitable slip-ups. Concentrating at work is dependent on so many different elements, at any given time. So whatever amount of control we reclaim over it is a good thing. As mindfulness teaches us, it’s all about awareness without judgement.

Want to try mindfulness for concentration? Vhi members get €30 off an annual subscription to either the Headspace or Calm apps.

This content is for information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek advice from your GP or an appropriate medical professional if you have concerns about your health, or before commencing a new healthcare regime. If you believe that you are experiencing a medical emergency call 999 / 112 or seek emergency assistance immediately.