this is a game of concentration…

Concentration.

I was sitting here pondering finding a good book or a course to work on my concentration (at the suggestion of a friend), and the chant from the school game ‘Concentration’ started rolling round my brain: this is a game of concentration, concentration starting now!

This – and by this, I mean life – really is a game of concentration, and concentration is something I need to do some work on.

There are three parts to my job: teaching, research and service. Within each of these three areas, the range of ‘stuff’ I do on a daily basis is incredibly diverse (this is probably true for all of us, really…), and the reality is that this means there is always a distraction or five looming. So I need to get better at not getting distracted – at staying focused and concentrating on what I’m currently working on, even if there are 12 other things vying for my attention.

The proliferation of ‘stuff’ I do also means that my time is quite fragmented. I often have short spaces of time that I need to use productively. Sometimes it can take me a little while to settle in to a task, but I rarely have the luxury to give myself that time. Even in my personal life, I set aside chunks of time to get specific tasks done, but unfortunately I tend to be less disciplined about getting personal stuff done than I am about work stuff. So I want to learn how to make better use of my time by being focused and concentrating on whatever task is to hand.

I’m particularly conscious of this as the start date for my PhD gets closer and closer… When I add this into the mix, I’m really going to need to make the most of every minute.

Do you have any concentration tips to share? Any books or courses you’d recommend? Help me when the concentration game!