Difficulty focusing can come from a variety of sources but there are also some common causes of poor concentration. The most common reason someone has trouble paying attention, according to doctors and psychologists, is multitasking.
Does that sound implausible? Consider this: the number of people reporting trouble focusing has gone up consistently along with the rise in multitasking in our society. Almost everyone multitasks these days and almost everyone has trouble concentrating. Research has proven that this is a case of causation rather than correlation.
Why does this happen? When we try to multitask, we inevitably split our attention between multiple tasks at once. This means that we are not paying full attention to any one thing. This makes it difficult to narrow your focus to just one thing when something requires your full attention. The more you multitask and the longer you do it, the worse it gets.
The answer to this problem is simple: stop multitasking. Pay attention to one task at a time. Get it done and then move on to the next one on the list. It is going to require some practice, but you will get better at it with time, and the quality of your work will go up as well!
Underlying medical conditions are another major cause of attention problems. This does not just mean ADHD, either. That is a separate concern that of course should be addressed. The conditions referred to here are things such as anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, and hearing or vision loss. Studies of brain fog following Covid (even if it was mild for you in the acute stage), show that it can last for up to two years or more. It’s just one of the reasons why I still have multiple safety precautions in clinic. The way to correct these issues is to seek medical attention and safeguard against catching Covid again.
Information overload causes a lot of attention issues as well. We have more information than ever before coming at us these days and our brains can only handle so much, and then they literally shut down as a protection mechanism. How do you fix this? Reduce the amount of information you expose yourself to.
Lifestyle and environmental issues make up the majority of other cases. Those can be adjusted for as well. A few adjustments might be all you need to improve your ability to concentrate and focus. We’ll be looking at our environment in the next article and finding ways to address some of these common causes of poor concentration.
Remember, however, that concentration is a skill, and you may just need more practice to develop it. Even if you have other issues, practicing and implementing new techniques will help improve your concentration, along with taking action in other areas.