Focus is one of the most relevant skills in today’s economy.
If you are able to focus intensely then you will be able to successfully achieve any goal you set for yourself.
Your ability to focus will not only make you successful in your career but it can improve your relationships with your friends and family. You pay attention better and are able to connect well with other people.
Unfortunately, many people have short attention spans, and this is worsening over time.
The good news is your brain can rebuild its focus by performing some simple activities consistently.
So, here are 15 hobbies that will take your focus to the next level.
You will experience a concentrated mind which will make life easier.
Hobbies That Will Take Your Focus To New Heights
Daily Journaling
Daily Journaling is all about symbolizing your thoughts on paper so you can make adjustments to your thinking. This helps you to develop your focus.
It is best you find a comfortable place free of distractions where you have full access to your thinking. Make it a routine and come back to it every day so that it can turn into a habit.
Consistently journaling helps you to find your inner calm and helps develop the focus and motivation required to combat life stressors and achieve your goals in life.
We recommend you use a normal commonplace book to keep your thoughts. But you can buy a dedicated journal online to do justice to your thoughts.
Reading Challenging Books
There are two types of content in terms of length. There is short and long-form content.
Short-form content is normally found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts. These are quick and short 10 – 60 seconds content that require no serious attention to understand. This has a huge impact on our attention spans.
However, Long-form content like books, blog posts, and academic articles require focused attention in order to the gist of what is going on.
These are the kind of books you should be consuming as it will help you build the focus you need that will spill over into other areas of your life.
Playing Puzzle Games
Puzzles have been known for a long time to be a focus booster.
According to neurological studies, jigsaw puzzles improve your cognitive strength. It strengthens your ability to concentrate for longer periods of time.
Build your focus by playing puzzles.
Learning How To Code
Coding is a complex activity.
To effectively code any program means you need to break it down into manageable chunks. This breaking down requires you to focus intensely on the task at hand because without it you will make errors in the code.
This is the major reason coders or programmers are high achievers.
Solving Math Problems
Math involves complex thought and complex thinking requires focus to accomplish the task before you.
Let’s take, for example, simple polynomials. To be able to solve problems within this domain of math, you have to simplify terms step by step. Doing so requires the full rigor of your focus. It will tremendously elevate your focus levels.
Use resources like Khan Academy or Brilliant to solve simple and complex math problems on a daily basis.
Lifting Weights
Are you already exercising at the gym? If you are, then start adding some weights to your routine.
Lifting weights can quadruple your focus according to research studies.
When you perform those heavy lifts, your brain’s functioning is improved. Your attention span, memory, and concentration are boosted.
Lifting weights not only improves your physique but also benefits the mind in many ways.
Consistent Stretching
While stretching is known to be a major contributor to muscle building, it also helps improves the mind.
Consistent stretching requires you to direct the mind to specific parts of the body during the process. This helps the mind to calm down and it gradually improves your ability to concentrate your mind at will.
Meditating Consistently
When meditating, our minds are continually forced back to a single thought which keeps flexing our concentration muscles continuously.
This keeps our mind from wandering aimlessly but rather brings with the intention to what we were previously focused on.
This continual flexing helps us to build our concentration muscles to higher levels.
Taking Walks In Nature
Nature walks contribute to a better brain.
Taking walks in nature helps the brain to produce endorphins that promote a sense of calm within us. Our concentration and attention are heightened and we are able to control our inner thoughts better and more skillfully.
Remember, the more often you take such walks the more you will improve.
Listening To Music
Music helps the mind to focus.
According to research, when you listen to music, your brain gets occupied by the content which enables high levels of attention by reducing distracting information. Your brain becomes hyper-focused on what you are listening to.
In conclusion, your memory and attention skills are exercised continually.
Performing Yoga Exercises
If you want to build your concentration abilities, then yoga can be your go-to hobby.
There are lots of yoga poses that can help you boost your brain power and increase your focus abilities. Use the free YouTube resource on five yoga poses that can help you build incredible focus:
Energize your mind with Yoga poses.
Performing Visualization Exercises
The art of visualization involves focusing your mind on the goals you want to achieve. Doing this is a form of concentration exercise that helps to boost your brain power to higher levels.
Make this a habit and soon you will be bringing your future into the now.
Start learning how to visualize with these free resources:
Practicing Gratitude
Being grateful is one of the best activities that can help you build a better mindset.
You don’t need to have the world to be grateful. Just the fact that you have had lunch and even have the internet connection to read this post shows you have something to be grateful for. And it turns out doing this actually helps your mind to focus on the good things in life.
Take a piece of paper or a journal and write at least three things you are grateful for.
Do it consistently and you will be amazed at how much your concentration will improve.
Running Consistently
Running helps you to reduce your weight but also improves the mind. If you start exercising or join any exercise program, the first results you will see are physical changes. However, alongside those benefits are the mental changes that are not obvious.
Your mind starts to focus better and when you stick with the habit, you improve tremendously over time.
Research studies stress how it promotes the growth of new brain cells which leads to higher levels of thinking and problem-solving. All these mental processes require focus.
Swimming
Swimming just like any other physical activity keeps the brain active and strong.
Going through consistent movements of your arms and legs increases the amount of oxygen flow to your brain which improves brain functioning.
We recommend you go for a swim two to three times a week either in your own backyard pool or one in your community.
Be careful to learn the fundamentals if you’re a beginner.
Related Articles
- 5 Simple Hobbies That Can Make Your Brain Work Faster And Smarter.
- How To Find A Hobby
- 7 Muscular Activities For Increased Strength And Endurance.
- 5 Essential Benefits Of Having A Hobby
References
- https://www.cigna.com/knowledge-center/mental-health-benefits-of-running#:~:text=Cardiovascular%20exercise%20can%20create%20new,%2C%20higher%20thinking%2C%20and%20learning.
- https://www.fnu.edu/benefits-studying-music/#:~:text=Rather%20than%20distracting%20college%20students,and%20updating%20the%20event%20in
- https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2007/07/music-moves-brain-to-pay-attention-stanford-study-finds.html
- https://silvotherapy.co.uk/articles/the-health-benefits-of-walking-in-nature#:~:text=Concentration%20and%20Attention%20Span&text=Walking%20in%20nature%20causes%20our,and%20creative%20with%20our%20thoughts.