achievement

How To Effectively Boost Your Concentration

Young woman concentrating while sitting on a couch writting in a notebook and laptop

Most days we all have a lot on our minds. From daily responsibilities, work-life and the usual challenges scattered throughout our week – there just never seems to be enough time to focus on a singular thing at once! But with so much going on and so much to do, how do we stay focused? 

Studies show that the average duration of an adults sustained attention span is a maximum of 20 minutes, however there are many factors that influence your concentration and therefore many ways in which you can improve it (developing your analytical and listening skills along the way).  Here’s our top tips and tricks for boosting your concentration:

Sleep well

The bread and butter of all self-improvements is a good sleeping routine. While not everyone requires the exact same thing, a recognised rule of thumb is around 7-9 hours per night. Consistency is also important as developing a sleep routine helps regulate our ‘internal clock’ and makes waking up in the morning a whole lot easier. A well-rested brain is ready to receive, and most importantly, retain information.

Eat well

Focus and concentration is also directly affected by what fuels our bodies, therefore a balanced and enriched diet is key. The best concentration food is fresh, easy on the gut and rich in vitamins. Fruit and vegetables are fantastic at providing nutrients and antioxidants, while slow-release carbs such as legumes help to sustain your energy throughout the day, promoting improved alertness and cognitive skills.  

Prioritise

Plan ahead and figure out what is at the top of your priorities, then act accordingly. Since every attention span has its limits get the important stuff done first. By doing this you will direct your core energy into the activities that require it the most! 

Keep active

Maintain movement throughout the day and try to stay active. Daily exercise whether big or small helps our brain to focus and release endorphins, making those difficult tasks less strenuous and daunting. Make it fun by incorporating activities that don’t feel like exercise e.g., dancing and ice skating, or choose swimming and water exercises if you struggle with mobility/ joint pain. 

Take care of yourself

Remember that you come first, so make sure to take care of yourself. Practice self-care, do things that make you happy and don’t burn out. A happy mind is much better at staying focused.

Eliminate distractions

While there’s a time and place for concentration boosting apps and music, technology is the root of most distractions. Don’t fall into the trap of background tv or leaving your phone nearby; multitasking may seem tempting, but the results speak for themselves when the task at hand has your undivided attention.

Set realistic expectations 

Not every task is meant to be completed in one sitting, sometimes it can be better to come back with a clear mind. However, it is important to be realistic while still recognising achievements (even the small ones). Improve your focus and performance by taking regular but short breaks and come back refreshed and ready.

Exercise your brain dexterity

Finally, optimise your performance by refining your brain dexterity. Mentally stimulating activities such as reading, puzzles and crafts help to keep your brain active and ultimately improve your concentration, sustained attention and task outcomes.

If you’d like to find out more about improving your concentration or need support in carrying out any business tasks, we would love to help. Get in touch! E: makeithappen@mbsmih.com   T: 01903 688789

12 Days Of Tipmas Day 12: Celebrate!

Two champagne glasses tanding on golden decorations and Christmas bells with warm lights in the background

It can be difficult to reach our end goal. Most of the time it is a long journey that you can’t make overnight, so it’s important to celebrate the achievements you make while working towards your goal. Whether you choose to celebrate by just acknowledging the work you’ve done or by getting together with your team for a meal, you’ll feel renewed. It is easy to lose sight of all the progress you make, so taking the time to appreciate your accomplishments can put things into perspective, improving your outlook on the situation.

Celebrating can be the little things:

  • Reflect on your accomplishments and how you’ve improved
  • Take time for yourself to recharge
  • Socialise with your team
  • Spend time with your loved ones
  • Be positive about the future

We hope you’ve enjoyed MOMENTUM’s 12 Days Of Tipmas. If you’d like to find out more about any of our blog topics or require any additional business support, get in touch!

E: makeithappen@mbsmih.com   T: 01903 688789

Make Your Goals Happen

A mountain climber standing on top of a mountain peak celebrating with their hands up while overlooking a valley view

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Having goals is such an important factor to maintaining direction and purpose. Here we share some of our top tips on making your goals happen!

Outline your Goals
The first step to making your goals happen is to outline what it is that you want to achieve. Your goal can be a big or small – think big and go above and beyond what skills you currently have. Stretch yourself but be realistic.

Break your Goals down
Breaking down goals helps us to be more specific. For example: Your goal is to create a work-life balance. Ask yourself why it is you want to achieve this goal: Is it to spend more time with family and friends? Have more time to focus on hobbies outside of work? Think about the underlying reasons as to why you want to achieve your goal and it will help you progress.

Create a Plan of Action
Write up your goals in a plan that you can refer back to. Identify what the first steps to achieving your goal are and what time frames you are working against. Set time aside to review and re-evaluate this plan when you can.

Keep Calm and Make It Happen!
Accomplishing your goals doesn’t happen overnight. Working towards them can be difficult sometimes. It’s important to stay stress free and remember with baby steps, you will eventually achieve your goals! Set yourself new goals once you have completed others, so you always have something you are motivated and focused on working towards.

At MOMENTUM, we believe that making goals is the key to success, but we understand that you may not currently have the time to plan them with your busy schedule. We can take care of those everyday tasks with our virtual PA services so you can take the time to focus on planning your goals. Find out more today: https://momentumbusinesssupport.com/services/

What are your 2018 goals? We’d love to hear them.
Tweet us at @mbsmih or Message us on Facebook!

How To Stay Motivated – Keeping The Momentum

A person standing on a rock on the edge of a lake with a foest and mountain view in the background

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Sometimes we all lack motivation at work, start daydreaming, lack productivity, would much rather be doing anything else (the list goes on..). Here’s some top tips on how to keep motivated.

Personal and Professional Development Plan
If you have a plan like this – Great! If not, you need one!
A personal and professional development plan shows your goals along with a description of the goal, how successful it needs to be and your timescales/milestones. Creating one for yourself can be hard, you’ll need to think of everything you want to achieve, but don’t make it easy for yourself! Push yourself and make a plan that is realistic but still sets your goals at a high level.

Exercise
Sounds like hard work, but getting up early before work to exercise gives you more energy for the day! Yes we know, the first part is the hardest – getting out of your comfy bed. But once you’re up and out, either in the gym, out in the fresh air for a run or simply doing a work out in your own home you’ll feel great! – and you’ll feel even better once you’ve done the work out! You can then start your day feeling much more refreshed than if you’d had that extra hour in bed.

Sleep
This may be the most obvious one and also completely contradicting my last point, but you still need a lot of sleep. I know it seems obvious, but do you always get to bed on time and always get a good night’s sleep? – No. If you are lacking motivation at work and feeling run down, think about going to bed earlier. Take your mind off all those things circling around  your head, grab a book, grab a cup of tea, and get some rest. The next day will feel so much better – you’ll feel you’ve had a break and be ready to crack back on with the work!

What are you looking forward to?
Planning things ahead can be a really good thing when lacking motivation. What holidays, weekends and days out do you have planned? Take a 5 minute break to have a little search on the internet about the places you’re going; find some pictures and imagine yourself there – but don’t get too distracted though, just a few minutes…

Balance
Make sure you have a balance between work life and personal life. We all know that this can be hard when you run your own business as it becomes a huge part of your life and everyday living. However, if it takes over your personal life as well then it will be hard to get the balance between the two. Make time for personal life and switch off from your business life. Think about what you’re looking forward to after work, any plans, hobbies, friends/family you would like to see? – And make time for it!

Sense of Achievement
Aiming to end every day with finished tasks or accomplishments is a great way to stay motivated. A sense of achievement can become addictive, when you finish tasks it often makes you want to finish more – which is great as you’ll get lots done!

Reward Yourself
When you’ve had this sense of achievement either at the end of the week or even at the end of the day; reward yourself. Go have that big glass of wine you’ve wanted all day or go buy that handbag you’ve been wanting for months. You’ll feel so much better rewarding yourself when you know you have done something to achieve it. – You deserve it!

We’ve found, even if you try just two of these you’ll start to feel much more motivated – so what are you waiting for?