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Discover the magic triangle of concentration at work

Itecor · April 17, 2020

Whether at home, as most of you do now, or in the office, concentration is the cornerstone of efficiency. It takes more than 15 minutes to refocus with each involuntary interruption and because the brain is a muscle, it can’t function continuously without pause and distraction.

If enjoying life is very important, working efficiently will make you feel better and less tired at the end of the day.

Today, I would like to talk about a specific concentration triangle. It is the combination of the three crucial elements that, put together, create the right framework to be effective.

This triangle combines the mental, space and time.

The concentration Triangle

The magic triangle of concentration at work

To be focused, you have to have your mind on what you’re doing first. To do this, you need to be in a mind set up that allows you to abstract from the outside and manage your time to move forward without exhausting yourself.

As the subject is vast, I will address the mind in this article. Time and space will be dealt with afterwards.

The mind

Preparing your brain when you stop working for the next day

The purpose of getting organized while you are closing your day is to prepare the brain for the tasks it will perform the next day. This allows you to prepare for the next day, but also to effectively complete the day’s work.

The organization is divided into three steps: Thinking and planning what we will need the next day, tidying up the office so that it is welcoming for the next day and visualizing for one minute the objective to be fulfilled the next day.

To be positive: visualizing images

We are inundated with negative visual stimuli, especially today. The brain constantly receives information and processes it, which has a negative impact on our well-being and therefore our ability to work calmly.

Take a moment to refocus, take a deep breath and visualize something positive, a vacation you enjoyed, a place you love. This will change your state of mind and allow you to calm your thoughts.

Disconnect

Today, being available and online is very important. However, it also has disadvantages. The main one being that it is very detrimental to concentration. You have noticed that when you want to concentrate, thoughts overwhelm your brain. Thoughts of all kinds come to you and if you don’t put a guardrail in place, you can very quickly become distracted. It is the same with being online.

In order to work productively, you have to set time slots for yourself where you are not online, where you are unreachable for anyone. This way the flow of your concentration can remain active.

Take real breaks

It has been proven that humans can hardly stay focused for more than 45 minutes at a time. After that, the quality of work suffers very strongly. It is therefore not very helpful to want to work continuously despite fatigue and loss of concentration.

Plan breaks every 45 minutes to allow the brain to regenerate. After each 45-minute period, take a 10-minute break and return to work. This allows the brain to reset, to breathe. The other advantage is that if your motivation is not at its best, scheduling 45 minutes of work is easier than a whole morning. Take it one step at a time, one period at a time.

The mind is a fantastic ally, but you have to take care of it. Working too much is detrimental to efficiency and working too little is not good for self-esteem. By planning your work, you know what you have to do, by disconnecting, you work more efficiently and by giving yourself regular breaks, you allow your brain to breathe and get back to work.

But the mind is not enough, we have to organize our time and space. But that’s another story… which I’ll talk about very soon.

Are you like me, do you need quiet to work?

Share your experiences, tips and tricks…

References:

https://www.efficaciteprofessionnelle.fr/2017/09/25/10-astuces-pour-doper-sa-concentration/

https://lentreprise.lexpress.fr/rh-management/efficacite-personnelle/cinq-conseils-pour-reussir-a-se-concentrer-au-travail_1863285.html

https://chaquejouretrebien.adrea.fr/article/conseils-meilleure-concentration-travail

https://www.efficaciteautravail.fr/2016/03/6-conseils-pratiques-rester-concentre-travail/

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