Development of attention: features and useful tips

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Attention is the selective focus of a person's perception on an object or phenomenon. It is thanks to him that each of us can successfully and effectively navigate in the world around us and provide a complete and clear reflection of an object or phenomenon in our psyche.

Despite the fact that attention is not an independent mental process and cannot manifest itself outside other processes, it is very important for life, because only through it we are able to adequately listen, watch, think, make decisions, work, study and perform any other actions. Therefore, its development should be dealt with not only by those who have attention problems, but also by all people who want to live a full life and achieve high results.

Below we will introduce you to a few general rules for developing attention and useful exercises for training it. It is also important that through these exercises not only attentiveness improves, but also logic, and memory, and perception in general, and also develops thinking, both in adults and in children.

General rules for the development of attention

So, the development of attention has its own characteristics, and in order for all of them to be taken into account, you need to follow the following rules:

1

You need to create additional motivation for yourself. This means that before starting any work where it is required to switch or distribute attention, you need to come to the understanding that at the moment nothing is important to you in the way that this business is. To keep your motivation strong and stable, it is best to think about the benefits that you will receive after you achieve your goal. It's also a good idea to come up with some kind of reward for yourself that you will give yourself when you have done important work successfully.

2

To improve attention and memory, perception and brain function, you need to drink more water. For example, a few years ago, the English journal Nutrition published the results of experiments that proved that due to a lack of water in the body, minor disorders and attention deficit disorder occur. To provide the body with the necessary amount of life-giving moisture, scientists advise men to drink 12.5 cups of water every day, and women - 9 cups.

3

To keep involuntary and voluntary attention always active, you need to learn how to competently manage all the secondary tasks (this can be checking email, calling a friend, making a plan for tomorrow, etc.). This is done very simply: firstly, you need to set the exact time that you will devote to such cases, and secondly, when starting one business, focus only on it.

4

Another point that contributes to the development of attention is understanding the obstacles that you create for yourself. For example, American psychologists from Carolina State University found that almost 50% of unnecessary distractions and interruptions are provoked by employees of organizations. This means that even when no one bothers people and nothing distracts them, they themselves become the cause of their distraction from important matters. The reason for this is the instability of attention.

5

Also, scientists have figured out the features of such distractions. Among them are fatigue, stress, lack of sleep, smoking habit, hunger and thirst, and others. However, you can only understand your own reasons, and therefore we advise you to take the time and make a list of your internal provocations of attention deficit. And as soon as the list is ready, you need to understand exactly at what moments they appear and come up with methods to prevent them.

6

Often, attention problems in adults and children appear, oddly enough, from the manifestation of excessive attention. Therefore, you need to learn in some cases not to pay attention to what is happening. It so happens that something in itself is striking, and this can pose a potential danger, for example, when a person is driving, taking an exam, etc. Conscious perception of incoming information will allow you to include in your field of attention only that which is directly related to the task you are performing, excluding surprise, confusion, involuntary interest, curiosity, etc. Learning to deliberately ignore unnecessary distractions can help you concentrate better and be more productive in general. By the way, we note that the development of thinking helps to train memory and attention, logic, creativity and other important abilities.

7

Each of us takes breaks in the course of our daily activities, but while most people do not attach importance to this, experts recommend mastering the so-called culture of breaks. The point is that pauses have a special "refreshing" effect on the psyche. So, when you are constantly busy with the same thing, seemingly insignificant details begin to slip away from attention, but after a competent break, you will always have the opportunity to look at everything from a renewed perspective. The peculiarities of effective breaks are that, firstly, they need to be done in the middle of the process of solving any problem, and secondly, they should be accompanied by breathing exercises, gymnastics for the eyes, light physical exercises and, if possible, walking in the fresh air.

8

The final rule can be called one of the most important. It consists in the fact that in no case should you be attentive only partially or half. To follow this rule, you need to break the habit of doing something, distracted by something else. If you are listening to someone, then concentrate on what they are telling you, if you are watching a cognitive transmission, focus on the incoming information and video sequence, if you are doing work, focus on what you are doing. Everything that you are doing should be completely the object of your attention. And in cases where you understand that you cannot control your attention, for example, you are tired, do not feel well, or you are simply not interested in the subject of attention, it is best to postpone this matter.

Now, after we have sorted out some of the features and rules for the development of attention, it's time to move on to exercises for its development. The exercises that we will talk about (among them there are games for attention) are divided into two blocks:

The first block is exercises for the distribution of attention

The second block is exercises for switching attention.

But here a small remark should be made, and a few words should be said about the difference between distribution and switching of attention. This is useful to know in order to better understand what and when to work on.

Distribution and switching of attention

Speaking about how to develop mindfulness, from the point of view of psychology, we can consider this issue from two sides:

Distribution of attention is the ability to keep in consciousness several processes or objects that are important to us at the same time. Possessing this skill is useful for people whose activities are related to multitasking, for example, drivers, pilots, dispatchers, speakers, etc.

Switching attention is the ability at any moment to throw one object or task out of the area of one's attention and instantly switch to another without looping over the previous one. This skill is useful for those who need to frequently change from one activity to another, for example, managers, salespeople, machine operators, etc.

Knowing how to distribute and switch attention, anyone will be able not only to do work with minimal effort and achieve more significant results, but also much less fatigue and improve the quality of their lives. Therefore, if you have a desire to train memory and attention, solve attention problems and make your perception more effective in general, you just need to work on the ability to switch and distribute attention (as a supplement, we can also advise you to take a course on the development of thinking). As for the exercises themselves, in terms of teaching the correct use of attention, they showed excellent results, both in groups of children and in adults, which is also important.

Distribution Exercises

This block presents six exercises and games for attention:

Heat-Straight Exercise

For the exercise, pour warm water into a glass and hold it in your hand. Feel how the glass is heating up, and then stretch your hand with it in front of you. Try to keep your attention between your straight arm and the warmth from the glass. Initially, you can do the exercise for a minute, but then you should bring the time to five minutes.

Exercise "Finger extension"

Sit at a table and place both hands on it in front of you, clenching them into fists. After that, as slowly as possible, as if your life depends on it, begin to unbend your fingers one by one. First, extend your thumb and hold it in your attention so that it is straight. Then straighten your index finger, and then keep two fingers in mind. Now unclench the middle one, and so on until all fingers of both hands are extended. The point of this task is to consistently increase the load on the distribution of your attention. Keep in mind that if you lose focus on your fingers at least once, you will need to start the exercise over.

Game "Indians"

In some Indian tribes, observation and attentiveness were developed as follows: two hunters initially examined in detail the picture or panorama in front of them for 1-2 minutes, and then, in turn, described what they saw to the leader. To complete this exercise, you only need a companion to describe what you have seen. And as a picture, anything is suitable, from a screensaver on a computer desktop to a view from a window or a natural landscape. Your task is to describe the picture you saw in all details.

Game "Spectrum of tastes"

Playing this game is very simple - you just need to focus on all the taste sensations during the meal. Surprisingly, we almost never really enjoy the taste of what we eat, much less focus on how we eat. Therefore, such a game will be an excellent training in the distribution of attention. And if you want an example, then remember the French gourmets who, absorbing the dishes they offer, disassemble the taste sensations into shades, and highlight the taste, aroma and texture of the food, as well as pay attention to the effect created by the combination of several components of the dish.

Exercise "Eye-hand"

The task in this exercise is: take a comfortable position and extend your right hand to the side. Keeping the fingers of your right hand in your field of vision, make sure that the hand itself does not lose its horizontal position. Here attention is distributed to the fingers and the position of the limb. You can start the exercise from one minute, gradually bringing the time to five minutes.

Meditation

In the presented case, there are no tricks and tasks. You just need to start meditating, starting at least ten minutes in the morning and in the evening, gradually increasing the time to half an hour. You will find good material on meditation here, but we will just say that in the process of meditation you need to distribute attention to sensations, breathing and thoughts arising in your head. By the way, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that 10-20 minutes of daily meditation improves attention on the fourth day. The results of the experiment were published in the pain Research Bulletin.

And, of course, if you combine these exercises with taking a mind building course, the results will exceed your wildest expectations.

Exercise does not shift attention

There are only three exercises in this block, but they are all aimed at working in different directions:

Exercise "Creating and mastering the route of perception"

In the first exercise, you will use the special reference signals needed when tasks are performed in sequence. The purpose of the exercise is to help the mind follow a familiar course of action. The task is very simple - create a special mnemonic scheme for yourself based on the task you are performing. For example, if you are learning to drive a car, you can use this one:

Comrade! This is not a form, sir!

Remember, going into the distance:

Grip. Broadcast. Brake.

Turn sign. Gas. Pedal"

Quite amusing, isn't it? So you must define for yourself a scheme of actions, where attention switches in a certain order. And for better memorization (this is how attention and memory are trained, by the way) the sequence of actions needs to be rhymed.

Exercise "Selecting primary and secondary objects of perception"

The second exercise helps you learn to identify the important and the secondary, as well as change their places in order to be able to quickly find the necessary patterns of life situations.

To do the exercise, lie on your back and concentrate on your body sensations. Focus on the head first, then on the shoulders, arms, stomach, back, etc. As you study your body, “include” sensations in different areas of it. Then change the pattern by giving yourself a command to feel a specific part of your body.

Exercise "Training the speed of switching attention"

The purpose of the third exercise is to reduce the time required to switch to a new activity and to fully concentrate on it.

To complete the task, find a ticking clock and put it next to you. Start reading something that is not very difficult. Switch your attention to the ticking of the clock and alternating reading. It is likely that you will soon get stuck in one process. But your goal is to achieve switchgear without interference by increasing the exercise time and the number of switchings themselves.

Do the exercises we reviewed every day, and within a week you will notice how your attention has become more pliable and flexible. And do not forget to also devote time to physical activity and the development of thinking.

Nineteen Simple and Successful Techniques for Developing Attention and Observation

By doing these exercises in between work, during breaks from work or during rest, you will significantly develop the stability and volume of your voluntary attention.

Attention is the concentration of the subject's activity at a given moment on some real or ideal object (object, event, image, reasoning, etc.). For most people, the attention span is 7 ± 2 units.

Attention is characterized by:

firstly: volume, intensity, stability;

secondly: fluctuations, switchability.

Attention happens:

involuntary (passive, emotional);

arbitrary (active, strong-willed).

Conditions conducive to the development of voluntary attention:

1. Normal physical and mental condition.

2. Planned organization of work (creation of favorable external and internal conditions).

3. Clear goal setting.

4. A combination of mental and physical activities (eg, taking notes while reading).

5. Alternating activities (for example, alternating between reading a textbook and a detective story).

Exercise 1

Look at an unfamiliar picture for 3-4 seconds.

List the details (items) that you remember.

Key:

remembered less than 5 details - bad;

remembered from 5 to 9 details - good;

remembered more than 9 details - excellent.

Exercise 2

What is the number of groups of three consecutive digits that add up to 15:

489561348526419569724

Exercise # 3

How many digits are simultaneously divisible by 3 and 2:

33; 74; 56; 66; 18

Exercise 4

1. Set an alarm clock in front of the TV during an interesting program.

2. For 2 minutes, keep your attention only on the second hand, without being distracted by a TV program.

Exercise # 5

1. Take two markers.

2. Try drawing with both hands at the same time. And at the same time starting and ending. One hand is a circle, the other is a triangle. The circle should be as even as possible, and the triangle should have sharp corners.

3. Now try to draw in 1 minute. maximum circles and triangles.

4. Grading system:

less than 5 - bad;

5-7 - average;

8-10 - good;

more than 10 - excellent.

Exercise 6

1. Draw a circle and a triangle at the same time with two different fingers of one hand.

2. Think of how to fix the markers, practice.

3. How many circles and triangles will you draw this way in 5 minutes?

4. Rate yourself:

not a single one is bad;

1-3 is not bad;

4-5 - good;

more than 5 - excellent.

Exercise 7

Now draw in the same way, but different numbers: 1 and 2, or 2 and 3, or 3 and 4, etc.

Exercise # 8

Look for hidden names in the phrases (example: "Bring coffee to your uncle" - Fedya).

1. This lobster and apples are not tasty too. Nanny, give me fresh ones - in orange jelly!

2. May light does not interfere either, but I feel bad from the early night.

3. Bring the hot peppers from the summer market, please!

4. I forged iron on a bright day.

Exercise 9

1. Place an object in front of you.

2. Calmly and carefully look at it for several minutes.

3. Close your eyes and remember the thing in every detail.

4. Open your eyes and find the "missing" details.

5. Close your eyes.

6. Repeat this until you are able to perfectly reproduce the object in your memory.

Exercise # 10

1. Hide the item you used in the previous exercise.

2. Draw it in full detail.

3. Compare the original with the drawing.

Exercise 11

1. Today, before going to bed, remember all the faces and objects that you encountered during the day.

2. Remember the words spoken to you during the past day. Repeat verbatim what was said.

3. Recall in memory the last meeting, lecture, etc. Recall the speeches, manners and gestures of the speakers, analyze them.

4. Give an assessment of your observation and memory.

Exercise 12

1. "Simultaneous" means "instantaneous": in one instant, in one short flash of light, our brain is able to perceive (see, understand, process) a huge amount of information.

2. How can this be achieved? Workouts:

Palming for at least 10 minutes.

A short glance at a brightly lit page in order to see and identify as much information as possible.

Exercise # 13

1. Place seven different items on the table and cover them with something.

2. Remove the blanket, count slowly to ten, cover the items again, and describe the items as fully as possible on the paper.

3. Increase the number of items.

Exercise # 14

1. Go into an unfamiliar room.

2. Quickly look around and “photograph” in your mind as many features and objects as possible.

3. Go out and write down everything you saw. Compare the recorded with the original.

Exercise 15

1. Imagine that you are studying an image, for example, of a moving car.

2. In doing so, evoke characteristic sound sensations.

3. Do this whenever you need to remember something thoroughly.

Exercise # 16

1. Take any poem.

2. Highlight phrases in it.

3. For each phrase, ask a few questions. Do this whenever you need to remember something well.

Exercise # 17

1. Define yourself a route from point A to point B.

2. Walk this path, noticing all the bright signs.

3. Make a map of unusual signs.

Exercise # 18

Observe several objects at the same time, equally well perceiving each of them, while concentrating your attention on the subject that you choose as the main one.

Exercise 19

Stanislavsky divided the entire space of attention into three circles:

large - the entire visible and perceived space (in the theater - the entire auditorium);

middle - a circle of direct communication and orientation (in a theater - a stage with actors);

small - the person himself and the nearest space (in the theater - the artist himself and the nearest space in which he plays a role).

Vladimir Levy added a fourth circle: the inner psychological space of a person.

1. Imagine that you have a powerful searchlight in your head.

2. Select a point in the large circle and a point on the border of the small and inner.