improving focus

[insanit_e]

Hello healthy living, this is actually the very first time i've posted in here and it feels pretty good

But yeah, to the question: I realised today that many of my problems come down to a general lack of focus. I've had this my whole life. I always "space out" and go off in to my own world at work or even during conversations, and i always forget things or forget what i'm talking about. During class I honestly can't listen to the lecturer for more that about 1 minute before I start thinking about other things or just going fuzzy-headed, and then I snap back to focus about 10 minutes later and realise that i've missed everything the teacher's been saying for the last ten minutes.

It also applies to more general things in my life. I have trouble keeping with my goals, or staying on track with new things i want to implement in my life. I am very visually unobservant about things around me, (such as not noticing that somebody shaved their moustache, or not knowing what colour the house next door to mine is, just little things like that). Basically, its a lack of mindfulness and lack of focus.

What kinds of things could I do to improve this? Whether it's some sort of spiritual or physical practice, or a medication, or a natural remedy... i wanna hear about it!

 

[ebola?]

mmmm...some of this might prove obvious, but it will be less obvious than whoever suggests adderall/dexedrine/ritalin (which is usually just bad advice too).

1. Adequate sleep, with healthy REM sleep content. Alcohol, cannabis, and benzos all suppress REM, so using these daily is likely not a good idea.
2. A healthy, balanced diet containing only sparing refined starches and sugars (these cause spikes and crashes, to a certain extent...y'know, the 'sugar rush') but a good amount of whole grain foods.
3. (maybe 2b) Consume adequate omega-3s, as these are implicated in neural function.
4. same with b-vitamins.
5. you can try dmae/choline/lecethin + piracetam (or an analogue). These boost cholinergic activity, and many find them to improve focus, motivation, and memory. They don't do shit for me.
6. regular aerobic exercise.

ebola

 

[Binge Artist]

Hello healthy living, this is actually the very first time i've posted in here and it feels pretty good

But yeah, to the question: I realised today that many of my problems come down to a general lack of focus. I've had this my whole life. I always "space out" and go off in to my own world at work or even during conversations, and i always forget things or forget what i'm talking about. During class I honestly can't listen to the lecturer for more that about 1 minute before I start thinking about other things or just going fuzzy-headed, and then I snap back to focus about 10 minutes later and realise that i've missed everything the teacher's been saying for the last ten minutes.

It also applies to more general things in my life. I have trouble keeping with my goals, or staying on track with new things i want to implement in my life. I am very visually unobservant about things around me, (such as not noticing that somebody shaved their moustache, or not knowing what colour the house next door to mine is, just little things like that). Basically, its a lack of mindfulness and lack of focus.

What kinds of things could I do to improve this? Whether it's some sort of spiritual or physical practice, or a medication, or a natural remedy... i wanna hear about it!

Wow, this pretty well describes my problem.

One thing you could do is choose a field of study that sorta caters to people who are "off in their own world". I found mathematics to be a pretty good fit .

Granted, you'll still be unable to follow or pay attention to the lectures, but it won't matter because A the professor will likewise be in his "own world" and not actually lecturing about mathematics anyway, and B math is something you can teach yourself on your own time.

 

[yougene]

A consistent meditation practice will improve your focus. The "beginner" methods are primarily concerned with cultivating focus.

Getting daily sunlight.

>ebola
I'm curious why you specifically list aerobic exercise?
To #2 I would add that ideally you want to keep your meals light.

 

[p-mo]

Caffine+choline+ALCAR+DMAE helped me study for exams but I don't know how well it would hold as a daily regimine.

+1 for adequte healthy sleep.

 

[ebola?]

I'm curious why you specifically list aerobic exercise?

Oh. Just that in my experience, the post-exercise period is calm and clearheaded, not antsy and fuzzy.

ebola

 

[wizekrak]

Regular sexual activity is another one to add to the list, works for me but not sure about others. I have a ahrd time staying focused as well. I find unless I'm really interested in a class I'll get distracted very quickly or just zone out all together.

Coffee tends to help and being well rested.

 

[Chimeric]

@OP:
do you smoke weed very often? when i smoke weed heavily for a several days i go through experiences similar to yours -- i lack focus, space out a lot, drift into headspace, etc.

regardless, meditation helps me with focus. so does forcing myself to do something productive (anything really; just make sure you aren't wasting time with useless stuff.) sometimes it's a state of mind more than anything. staying focused isn't easy for everybody -- it wasn't as easy for me before as it is now -- but i think it gets better with practice. discipline yourself.

 

[Dtergent]

In a nutshell, practice a routine to give you long-term focus and discipline:

*A proper, nutritious diet, eaten at relatively regular hours.
*Exercise and stretch.
*Time to synthesize your day, and to plan at the start. Passing out while doing something else makes you more likely to jump out of bed and forget things, be stressed out.
*Meditate, or have some equivalent that brings you to a "good zone" while you are sitting down or in stressful situations. Not many may be suited to this, but it is good to have an internal, self-produced tool to call on in situations where you only have yourself to depend on. Although you do seem like you need more stimulation than relaxing

Listen to your body. This is the most important part! Get to know your body. Overeating and waking up looking like shit? Try to do some self-massage, remove gas from your stomach, stretch, and the like. You will be surprised how your eyes stop to be puffy and you begin to look a bit more attractive/less like shit. Getting sleepy after a meal? Chew your food well or eat smaller meals to have better performance at school during afternoons.

Everyone has a different constitution and different things make us react differently. The best thing to do is experiment with your routine to see what triggers you to be drowsy or full of energy.

 

[KStoner6tb]

some self-massage, remove gas from your stomach, stretch, and the like.

What exactly do you mean by that? Was that just a polite way of saying what I think you meant, or you mean something different? I'm serious.

Good advice terg and like others have said, I think diet has a lot to do with it. At a close second would be phsycial activity. My brain feels so much more "crisp" throughout the day if I get up and run in the morning.

 

[Dtergent]

^Yes, expelling it by burping or farting, to be more frank.

Oftentimes, when you are experiencing some haziness related to digestion, releasing the gas will relieve it. Try pressing the palms of your hands for tender spots or the bottoms of your feet, or simply get some exercise (give it awhile after eating so you don't vomit or get indigestion) to shake things up a bit.

 

[Ximot]

plenty of good advice here, such as excercise, sunlight, sleep... make sure you do not oversleep and your sleep is of good quality. What helps with that is reduced alcohol intake, melatonin (do not use it regularly though!), perhaps also consider stopping cannabis if you do use, it's the no1 brainfuzz-producer for me.

medication? I respond extremely well to modafinil and centrophenoxine.

 

[Ximot]

meditation

and hypnotherapy

might also help

I see little difference (next to none actually) between the techniques used in hypnotherapy and those used in guided meditation. It's a lot to do with visualisation, self-belief, focus. Having someone at your side who can help you find out what it is you want to focus on can be very helpful.

I have had the same problems as you, perhaps because i wasn't doing what I really wanted to do. Finding out what it is what you really want to do and weighing the pros and cons of that desire and then deciding whether you want to pursue it might be hepful.

And if you are not sure what to choose because you cannot focus, let your intuition (heart, spirit, inner voice, guiding light, whatever you wanna call it) be your guide. It always speaks, all you have to do is be quiet enough to be able to listen and then trust and follow wholeheartedly.

I genuinely believe that this is the cure. If you are doing what you want to do be doing, you will be so absorbed you will just focus because it's enticing and will continue to be so as you grow.

Not sure what to choose?

Choose one thing that fascinates you, get into it. If it's not the one, just try another you have long been keen on. Just because one didn't quite fit the bill doesn't mean the next one won't.

I was a school teacher for 10 years, I have just quit, and for about a year even before I quit I was unsure which way to go as so many things caught my atttention... I couldn't possibly do them all and when i imagined juggling several of them all at the same time in an expert kind of multi-talented way I got so dizzy and scared... anyway, a friend suggested I might like to focus on just one and see where it takes me... for me it was acupuncture. When I started learning I quickly realised that is is hard work (the learning!!) and requires skilled hands and a confidence I do not yet have with my hands.... so any in-depth study I might do later but not now, I realised... but after the initial frustration of admitting disappointment early on on my path away from something that I didn't manage to stay wholeheartedly focused on, I chose to explore hypnotherapy, and the study of this practice has given me such energy I can hardly believe it. I feel so alive, it's like I have found my thing. Anyway i will try and deepen my learning and my ability to use this, perhaps as a full-time job one day, helping myself as i help other . But I am talking solely about myself rather than really talking to you.

My writing may seem quite schizophrenic to you and seemingly unrelated to your original post, but I am sharing my story as an illustration of what it's like to want to focus on something worthwhile (because the "worthwhileness" of it is what keeps my focus and my motivation... motivation being an indispendable prerequisite for focus) ... I needed to get away from what I was doing and had a vague idea of what else I might like and couldn't focus... and my first path was a little overwhelming and thus discouraging despite being alluring (acupuncture) ... but the focus I replaced it with (hypnotherapy) has been so rewarding so far (even though I am still studying) that I find it so easy to focus and look forward, and i am not distracted in any way when i am busy studying or practising it. Time stands still, and I experience every moment and i am fully alive.

Find out what you like doing and try it wholeheartedly. Focus is then inevitable. If doubt and discouragement get the better of you, perhaps you were overambitious or not interested enough (at this point in time) and you might like to choose another thing you believe in and that you can truly enjoy and that has meaning for you.

Far off the mark perhaps, lots of personal bs here, but I felt like sharing and I will be happy if you can relate to some. I csa relate to what you wrote, OP, it is very familiar to me, only I am in the process of moving away from that fuzzy state of mind. Thanks for triggering this response & process in me. Writing this has helped me.

Good luck on your path