“I have things to do, but wandering…”
“I need to finish this but other things are bothering me and can’t concentrate!”
“I can’t focus…many things come to my mind.”
Don’t you feel like this? If you have many things to do, feel uneasy or worry about, you can’t concentrate on what’s in front of you.

But it doesn’t mean you don’t need to concentrate.
“It can be more efficient and I can refresh if I can concentrate.”
“I want to quit, it’s no use to worry about everything.”
“Why do I wander so much? I want to do something with it.”
You might think so.

So today, I will tell you some ways to help you.

Remove delusion and concentrate in 7 steps

-Make a list of cause of your wandering

Why do you think about this and that? Just make a list of them. You may find an answer as you write, or at least calm down while you write.

Take my word for it and try.

-Write down advantages and disadvantages

“What if I won’t do this…?” In such situation, we are likely to think only of disadvantages, but there are also advantages. Write advantages and disadvantages for things you are wandering around or worrying about. You can see that some of them don’t have as much advantages as you worried, or see more advantages and realize an importance of it.

When doing this, write both of following. -advantages and disadvantages for doing something -advantages and disadvantages for not doing something Things you overlook can be seen by writing both patterns.

-Do nothing on purpose

You are worried about too much things, so don’t do anything on purpose. For 15 minutes is good. Your mind should be emptied if possible, but don’t worry about small details. Just do nothing for 15 minutes. Relax and drink a cup of tea if possible.

By doing this, your feeling can drastically change. You may think “I’ve wasted 15 minutes, so let’s start from this”. It’s only 15 minutes, so try it once.

-Take a deep breath

When your mind is wandering, you tend to breathe shallowly. Did you know that autonomic nerves can be controlled with breathing? Take a deep breath if you feel rushed. Slowly, and at least 3 times. If possible repeat 10 times.

By breathing slowly, parasympathetic nervous become dominant and can force you to relax. After relaxing with breathing, you won’t feel rushed anymore.

-Move from where you are

Just going to a toilet is good enough. If you are wandering, have courage to move from where you are. If you are at office, go out in a hallway, go to a toilet or go to a smoking room is recommended. Your feeling changes as a place change.
Also “walking” even for a short distance simulates brain in different way.

These effects help you to get out of wandering.

-Meditation

If you feel you can’t concentrate, do meditation. If you don’t have enough time, practice only a way of breathing. In this case, decide how long you do, and concentrate on breathing. You don’t need to force you into meditation.

If you start to wander while meditating, you don’t need to get rid of it.
Just stare at what you see. Doesn’t matter if tons of worldly thoughts come up. Just understand what you are now.
When you finish meditation, you will be refreshed.

-Find your switch of concentration

I can hear you say “I should be switching it on a long time ago, if there is such thing!” Believe it or not, everyone have a switch of concentration. You are just not aware of it. Can’t you concentrate anywhere, anytime?

I don’t think so.
You should have some experiences of concentrating well in the past. What were you doing back then? What motivated you to concentrate? Recall your memory. That is your switch of concentration. You just have to switch it on.
Did you like 7 steps to concentrate? “Can’t concentrate” is our daily problem. That’s why I recommend you to do these 7 steps in everyday life. Our usual days are tested in extreme situations. By practicing these steps daily, you can become “a strong person against critical moment”.

Summary

 Remove delusion and concentrate in 7 steps

-Make a list of cause of your wandering
-Write down advantages and disadvantages
-Do nothing on purpose
-Take a deep breath
-Move from where you are
-Meditation
-Find your switch of concentration