7 ways to improve focus and reclaim a wandering mind

Mind wandering has long been seen as the enemy of focus. But that’s not always true – the right kind of daydreaming can actually help you focus (see How We Dream About Better Learning and Focus).

Read on to learn how to control your wandering mind. And find other easy ways to stay in touch with impending deadlines.

1. Give your brain more to do

Busy your mind: Research from Nilli Lavie of University College London found that adding intentional distractions — a jazzy edge on one side or a bit of background noise — actually reduces distraction. The Pregnancy Theory suggests this because attention is a finite resource. So, if you fill in all the attention ‘boxes’ in your head, you won’t leave any room for other distractions.

2. Bribe yourself

Studies show that the prospect of getting a treatment can keep people focused. But only if it’s given at the right time. Offering small rewards during a boring task didn’t stop them from losing focus, but the promise of a bigger reward at the end of the task kept them awake.

This approach probably works best with a partner who prevents you from falling prematurely, says Michael Easterman of the Boston Lab for Interest and Learning who conducted the research. “It’s hard to fool yourself.”

3. Test yourself

We currently realize that there is more than one way to wander in your mind and that knowing how to navigate your daydreams can save you test time. One trick is to make sure that your thoughts wander around the things you need to learn.

To do this, test yourself often. People kept a more boring presentation when they paused every 5 minutes to test what they remembered. Her mind was still wandering, but more than anything else about it.

4. Daydreaming during breaks

Paul Seely, a Harvard psychologist, says pausing now and then to give your brain a chance to wander can activate focus. “If you tell yourself I’m going to think of something incoherent now. I might solve something else that comes to mind, and then get back to your task. That can definitely be an advantage,” he says.

5. Reduce stress

You’d think an adrenaline rush would keep the mind focused, but stress actually stimulates the release of hormones, including epinephrine. That bind to receptors in cognitive control circuits.

This, in turn, makes it difficult for them to keep track of their mind wandering.

6. Get some zeds

Lack of sleep in general affects mental performance and reduces our ability to tolerate internal and external distractions. And there is an additional advantage – sleep is also important for strengthening memory.

In fact, recent research suggests that getting an hour’s nap before an exam can make your time more efficient than spending it on fatigue.

7. Doodle

In one study, people who were made to listen to a boring audio recording were able to remember more later if they were allowed to scribble. But the content is important. Messing around with something related to what you’re trying to remember is likely to be a deliberate digression, which can help you focus on the task at hand. Don’t be too boring, however – if your doodles become too addictive, it can backfire.