A reader once asked me a question:
I am a university teacher who needs to read, write papers, and engage in academic research with great focus.
However, I find that I am often affected emotionally by external things, have a lot of wandering thoughts, and cannot calm down to read and think.
Are there any methods to enhance the ability to eliminate external interference and quickly enter a state of focus?

I think this may be a problem that many friends have encountered.
Especially in this era of information explosion, attention can be said to be our most precious resource.
However, there are too many factors competing for our attention.
External interruptions, distracting information, or the clutter of thoughts and ideas in our own minds……

So, how to get rid of these external and internal distractions and cultivate the ability to enter a state of focus anytime and anywhere?
Today, I want to share a set of effective methods with you, hoping to help you.

First of all, we need to understand one thing: what happens in our brain when we procrastinate and get distracted?
It should be noted that focus is a very complex topic, regulated by many brain regions and neurotransmitters.
The former includes the prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, etc., while the latter includes dopamine, norepinephrine, acetylcholine, and so on.
Due to space limitations, we will not discuss this vast and complex topic for the time being, but focus on two core parts of this system first: the prefrontal cortex and dopamine.

The prefrontal cortex is the control center of the brain, mainly responsible for the overall regulation of the activity and coordination between various brain regions.
It can be said that it is mainly the prefrontal cortex that determines what we focus our attention on and what noise and distractions we filter out.
People with stronger prefrontal cortex function tend to have stronger "self-control" and are less likely to be distracted or procrastinate.

Dopamine is responsible for the brain's motivation and learning system, simply put, it provides motivation for our actions.
When dopamine levels are maintained at a certain level, we feel full of vitality and enthusiasm for everything;
On the contrary, we tend to feel lack of motivation, listless, and easily distracted and wandering.

Therefore, when we procrastinate and get distracted, it is often due to these two factors.
For example:
Sometimes, various distracting thoughts surge up in our hearts, such as repeatedly worrying about things that haven't happened, repeatedly calculating the risks and possibilities of a bad outcome……
Such distracting thoughts constantly break our state of focus.
At this time, it is actually our amygdala that is overactive, inhibiting the activity of the prefrontal cortex and weakening its control.

Sometimes, we can't help but open the browser or pick up the phone inexplicably and start scrolling through the information feed.
Even if we know it's not valuable and just mechanically scroll through new information, we can't put down the phone.
At this time, it is the novel stimuli that activate the dopamine reward pathway, making it taste the sweetness, thus "hijacking" our attention system.

Sometimes, even though something is very important, we still find various excuses and reasons not to do it, and only rush to take action when the deadline is approaching.
At this time, it is actually because the rewards it brings us are too few to activate the dopamine pathway, making it difficult to secrete enough dopamine to drive us to act.
……

In short, to improve focus and quickly enter a state of focus, the most effective way is to start with these two factors.
Let me share some methods I have practiced, hoping to help you.

In many cases, what prevents us from entering a state of focus is actually "how to start".
Once we start and get into work mode, we can often keep going.
So, I set myself such a rule: once I sit down and turn on the computer, I must first start doing something useful.
If I want to browse the web or wander around, I have to wait until I finish these useful things.

What are useful things?
It can be part of the work, a project I am currently working on, or some small and trivial things that are helpful to do - such as:
Organizing my logs from the past few days, sorting out files and materials into categories……
And so on.

It must be small enough so that its dopamine demand is relatively low, making it easier for you to get moving immediately and finish it;
At the same time, it must be easy to complete, so that when you finish it, you can secrete enough dopamine to lay the foundation for real work tasks.

Therefore, my suggestion is: maintain a list regularly, add any trivial small things that come to mind to it, and use it as your "dessert list".
When you find yourself lacking motivation and don't want to start serious work, first open this list and start with any small thing at random.
For example:
Organize the folders on the computer and arrange them by project or time;
Sort out downloaded files and distribute and archive them step by step;
Organize the books, novels, movies and TV shows I have watched recently and create a file for them;
Sort out my diary, briefly record what I have done in the past few days for easy reference in the future;
Organize the documentaries or movies and TV shows I want to watch next, find resources for easy viewing in the future;
……

They are like small desserts that can immediately provide you with dopamine supplementation, allowing you to regain motivation and take action.

The brain has a very powerful function: establishing associations.
Simply put, if condition A and event B always happen at the same time, a very strong association will be established in the brain.
Next time, as long as condition A occurs, the brain will naturally arouse the memory and behavior of event B.

You can understand it as a more complex conditioned reflex.
They have certain similarities, but conditioned reflexes are often physiological and subconscious, while establishing associations is to combine context-memory-action through conscious behavior to form a more systematic model.

How to apply it to the state of focus?
You can try these techniques:
1) Fix a place and only work or study there, not doing other things.

For example: you read at your desk for half an hour every night and never do other things.
If you want to play with your phone, go to the sofa;
If you are sleepy, stand up and leave the desk immediately.
Over time, the brain will associate the "desk" with "reading".
As soon as you sit down, the brain will know you are going to read and get ready immediately.

2) Fix the brain's habits through some ritualistic behaviors.
For example: after your noon nap every day, first make a cup of tea, take a couple of sips, and then start working.
Over time, the brain will associate this action with work, making it a clue to activate work mode.
Then, when you repeat this action, the brain will know you are going to start working and automatically help you block out drowsiness, distracting thoughts and distractions.

Essentially, these two techniques are the same: they help you activate the brain's "context mode" by establishing associations.
This can effectively activate the brain's prefrontal cortex and make it quickly enter a working state.
It should be noted that we must ensure the singularity and purity of this association, and not use other factors to destroy it.
For example, if you both read and scroll through your phone at your desk, this will be ineffective.

Why do we get distracted?
An important reason is: the brain is constantly scanning the information in the surrounding environment, looking for information worthy of attention.
If there is information in the environment that is enough to arouse it, it will be attracted, thus breaking our state of focus.

Therefore, a useful small technique is: manage the surrounding environment and minimize the information that may attract it.
For example:
Before focusing on study or work, put your phone out of sight - either in another room, or in a bag or drawer - so that you can't see it at first glance. This can greatly reduce the brain's urge to scroll through the phone.

Use lighting to create a focal point of vision.
For example, when reading or studying at night, turn off the main light and only turn on a desk lamp.
This can artificially limit the field of vision to a small area, giving the brain a hint of focus and making it less likely to be distracted.

Play some white noise to keep attention saturated at all times.
It can not only block out the sounds in the environment that may break the silence, but also avoid the attention from being unsaturated and thus turning to the outside world.
It should be noted that white noise is best to be non-semantic (such as music without lyrics or pure environmental sounds), otherwise it will still seize your attention.

Let the environment provide hints and motivation.
For example, work in a café where everyone is working hard.
In this way, the surrounding environment will become a powerful signal, pulling the brain back with the power of this hint every time it tries to get distracted.
……

The principle is: avoid external environmental cues triggering the brain's alert network, reduce the burden on the prefrontal cortex, and allow it to work better.
Remember this: managing focus is largely about managing the environment. Using the environment to create "momentum" and hints can double your efficiency.

In many cases, one reason we procrastinate is that the work is too difficult.
This difficulty creates pressure, making it difficult for us to start.
Therefore, an effective approach is: form the habit of "sprint mode" and complete work in small batches and multiple times.

My personal approach is: divide the work into small tasks, tell myself to finish one small task first, then take a break, then finish the next task, then take another break……
Just focus on the small task in front of you, don't think too much, and avoid falling into worry and fear of the results.

For example: when I write an article, I may first set the task of "finding an appropriate example for this theory", which may take 20 minutes, then I will take a break, then set the next task of "detailed listing the specific steps of this method", which may take 30 minutes, then take another break……
Something like that.

Another example: if you are making a planning proposal, you may set tasks such as: finding a case in the same industry (Task 1), collecting relevant data of this case (Task 2), conducting a brief analysis of this case (Task 3)……
And so on.
Control the time of each task to 15-45 minutes, and take a break after completion.

The tasks are set by yourself, and you can set the task for the next sprint during the break.
It is best to complete a specific outcome, giving yourself a sense of "closure" and accomplishment.
In this way, each sprint can provide sufficient dopamine to pave the way for the next sprint.

When taking a break, it is best to stand up and move your body.
You can empty your mind, go for a walk, or look at different things to "clean up" the residual tasks from the brain's background, so as to ensure that the background does not accumulate too much junk information and keep the brain fresh and clear.
This is a more sustainable approach that makes it easier to enter a state of "flow".

Finally, share a simple and effective "trump card": get moving, exercise your body for about a few minutes to more than ten minutes.
Don't doubt it, this method is very useful and can make you concentrate immediately, almost instantly.

Why?
There are many reasons:
Exercise can promote the brain to secrete dopamine, temporarily increase dopamine levels, and make you more motivated;
Exercise can promote blood circulation, allowing more blood to flow through the prefrontal cortex, thereby enhancing the control of the prefrontal cortex;
Exercise can promote the brain to get more oxygen, thereby improving microhypoxia, eliminating fatigue and dizziness;
Exercise can promote the brain to secrete BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor), which can not only improve the strength of neuronal connections, but also effectively consolidate the attention network;
Exercise can excite the brain, temporarily increase the secretion of norepinephrine in the body, put you in an excited and alert state, and thus make your attention more concentrated;
……

Many studies have found that studying after appropriate exercise can effectively improve the efficiency of understanding and memorization. Even this effect can last for hours after exercise.
The principle is the same.

What kind of activities?
Aerobic exercise is best, such as walking, jogging, climbing stairs, running and jumping in place, etc., which have a better activation effect on the brain.
So, if you find it difficult to focus on things, you might as well get moving first.
Exercise your body until you are a little tired, take a break, and then go to study or work - the effect will be the best.

Finally, there is another method I have shared many times - it is simple but very useful: write down the thoughts and ideas in your mind.
If you let them stay in your mind, the brain will keep ruminating on them to avoid forgetting;
Once you write them down, the brain will know "it has been properly handled" and can free itself from this rumination.
Developing this habit can greatly reduce the burden on the brain and allow you to move forward with a lighter load.

I hope today's article can give you some inspiration.
Attention is our most precious resource - let's protect it well together.