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“If you can concentrate the mind for two seconds, you can do it for two minutes, and you can do it for two hours.” - Alan Watts
So you want to use meditation to improve focus and preserve your energy? The good news is that there are practical mindfulness techniques you can use and that some of the “distractions” you’re engaging with may actually be productive and healthy for your brain. Afterall, noticing your thoughts and distractions is part of mindfulness practice too.
If you’ve ever tried to will yourself to focus or feel energetic, you may actually be causing yourself more harm than good. In her article Is modern life ruining the power of concentration, Betsy Reed from The Guardian compares some of the biggest schools of thought today on how technology is affecting our concentration. It’s not as simple as technology is bad and less of it will naturally bring you more focus and energy.
So the next time you notice judgemental thoughts about how much time you spent “doom scrolling” or the way you abandoned five different resources on meditation before this one, we invite you to take a pause to remember that this is right where you should be. In the heart of the distraction is where the real work begins.
When you experience distracting thoughts or behaviors try jotting them down in a mindfulness journal. Use the following prompts to deepen your understanding of what distracts you and why. What distracting thoughts or behaviors are you experiencing? Is this the first time you’ve had them or do you experience similar distracting thoughts and behaviors? How do you feel after looking at what you wrote down? What might you try to go back to what you want to focus on?
Coming into the present moment
We can’t say this enough: improving focus and energy through meditation is about starting where you are. And to start where you are, you’ll want to come into the present moment. To get there, you can use meditation and mindfulness techniques that work with your thoughts and not against them.
We like to visualize ourselves laying on a rock in the river and think of each thought as something floating by. We can’t get rid of each thing that floats by us, but we can choose how much attention we give each thought. This can help calm our mind and create a visualization that we can come back to when we’re feeling like the river of our thoughts is turbulent and filled with more “stuff” than we feel like we can handle.
Visualization is just one technique. It doesn’t have to be your thing, but coming into the present moment is the first step to using meditation to focus and bring energy to your mind. Enough talk, let’s put it into practice.
Sit in a comfortable position with your feet on the floor and your hands relaxed, faced down resting on each of your thighs. Notice what’s around you and start to name objects in the room. Name as many as you can for 60 seconds. Try 90 seconds. Try 120 seconds.
Check in with yourself after this exercise. Are you still distracted by the thoughts that were present with you before or do you feel more present in your body?
This is just one of many grounding techniques you can use when you want to focus. Notice how you were able to direct your attention when prompted to.
We might have given you the prompt, but the ability to influence your attention and focus was all you. This is the foundation on which you can build a meditation practice that cultivates focus and nurtures a particular energy.
When you feel like you’re having a hard time focusing or getting energy to do something, come back to this practice. Let it be a gift that you carry with you. Because you’ve just shown that you can concentrate for two minutes, you now know that you have the power within yourself to turn that into 2 hours.
Sustaining focus with mindfulness
Now that you’re firmly rooted in the present moment, let’s practice techniques you can use to sustain this newfound focus to guide your energy toward things you want to accomplish or thoughts you want to continue exploring.
There are different meditation types that can improve cognitive functioning and help you sustain focus. We’ll explore two of the most commonly known for helping clear your mind and pay attention to detail: focused concentration and open monitoring meditation.
Focus concentration has been studied extensively and there are numerous science-backed studies, like this one from the University of Plymouth, that have tied this form of meditation with high frequency brain waves that are associated with cognitive processing and memory. There’s a lot of science to explore, but think of this type of meditation as an efficient way to produce optimal brain waves.
Gamma waves (38-80 Hz) are present when you’re highly alert or conscious. Researchers have found that this type of brain wave is abundant during focus concentration meditation, illustrating that these techniques can help to cultivate a mental environment that supports deep and sustained concentration.
As you might have guessed, focus concentration meditation is all about directing your attention to a very specific object, phrase, or physical experience. Since you’ve already tapped into the room around you to bring yourself into the present moment, try focusing on your breath. Inhale for 4 seconds. Hold for 7 seconds. And exhale for 8 seconds. Do that 3-4 times without stopping. Try doing this for 3-5 minutes. Allow your breath to return to normal.
Extend this exercise for up to 10 minutes to get the full benefits of focus concentration. Now try to return to the task that you were working on and notice what’s shifted. Let that go.
The next time you notice your mind wandering outside of the task at hand, you can also try open monitoring. Open your awareness to the thoughts you’re having. Recognize them and let them go. Sometimes it can be helpful to write your thoughts down so that you can get them out of your head.
We love to keep a page in our mindful journal for brain dumping that we can come back to in the event there’s something important that we don’t want to lose. The most important thing is to do what you need to let go of those thoughts that are making it difficult for you to think clearly.
As thoughts emerge, try writing them down picturing them as clouds passing by. Practice that for 5 minutes. You may slow down on the task at hand, but you’ll find that it won’t be long before you’ve guided your attention back to the important task in front of you.
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Cultivating energy with active meditation
We all get stuck in thoughts and feelings that feel difficult. There are times when it’s helpful to sit still with those feelings and others when changing the energy is important for helping us live our lives.
Unlike the other meditations that we talked about, which are great for coming into the present moment and sustaining concentration, there are meditative practices that help us change our energy, lift our mood, and leave us with a more engaged and energetic mindset.
Walking meditation can be done anywhere and is the perfect way to focus and enliven your energy. It doesn’t matter whether it’s done indoors across a small number of paces or outdoors across miles, this form of active meditation is perfect for cultivating a new attitude.
Try indoor walking meditation by slowly walking 5-10 paces. As you’re walking, notice how your foot meets the floor. How’s your gait? Do your legs feel heavy or light? Where are your arms? Notice how they swing while you walk. Try repeating 3-4 times and sit back down to go back to what you were doing?
How’s your focus? Has anything shifted in your energy? If you’re feeling lethargic try picking up the pace to see how that changes the way you walk and how you feel after.
If you have access to the outdoors, then try a 10 minute outdoor walk where you change the rhythm of how you walk every 3-4 minutes. Intermittently speed up or slow down. Does that feel different in your body? How’s your breath? What happens if you try to slow that down too? Do you notice any sights, smells, or sounds as you change the pace of your walk?
As you settle back into what you’re doing, notice how your energy changed. Because walking improves blood flow circulation and can release endorphins, it can be particularly effective at improving your energy.
Allow your mind to wander
We know it’s not the most helpful advice in a time crunch, but if you find that none of the techniques above are working for you then it might just be time to let your mind wander. Surprise, you’re not a machine.
Your brain needs rest so that you can perform at your best.
Even if it needs to be short and scheduled, 5-10 minutes of allowing your mind to wander can actually help you concentrate. Remember, we’re not trying to will the mind into a concentrated state, but we are using techniques that create the right conditions that will allow our minds to focus.
Lay down on your back or sit in a restful position. Close your eyes and focus on your breath. As thoughts begin to emerge, trying to visualize each thought written on a note card. As you exhale, visualize the text slowly melting away and focus on your breath. Continue this exercise for 5-10 minutes. Open your eyes.
As you come back to your breath, do you notice anything that’s changed? Do the thoughts that were holding your attention feel less weighty? As you sit back down to get back to the task ahead of you, is your mind quieter? Are you able to drop down into a deeper focus?
Ashe’s advice on taking on new challenges applies so well to incorporating meditation for mindfulness and focus, as he said, “Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can”.
Remember to be kind to yourself if this is challenging for you. Take a deep breath, we know you got this!
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