You slump out of your office for the day and lazily get into your car.You’re trying not to think of the load of laundry you have to do when you get home. Or it’s the dinner to prepare after an intensive working day. Looks like you’ll need to stop by Starbucks for that 5th coffee. Unfortunately, if you grab that coffee, then it’s just going to cause you to have a terrible caffeine crash. Even worse, it might prevent you from sleeping.
You can change that! There are better ways to get your energy back and concentrate on your tasks after a long day.Here are eleven powerful techniques on how to concentrate after your mental capacity for the day has reached zero.
1. Reset Your Mind
Anxiety is a cruel mistress. Truth is, a majority of Americans suffer from it and it never fails to kick in while you’re trying to focus on work. When you’re sitting alone at your desk, you might start to think about all the things that you have or haven’t done.This will cause you to be in a severe fog at the end of the day when you’re getting off work. Doing things when you get home will not look as attractive as it did before.To this end, you should take some time during the day to reset yourself.
- One option is to write it in a notebook to get it out there and reset your thoughts.
- Second, do the following deep breathing exercises to calm all that anxiety.
What are the most effective breathing exercises?
1.
Sama Vritti
The technique is easy: you want to make sure that your inhales and exhales are even or it won’t calm you down.
All you’re going to do is inhale for four counts, hold it for two, exhale for four and then hold again for two more seconds.
2.
Ujjayi
For the Ujjayi breathing exercise, you’ll be channeling your inner Darth Vader.
The idea is to let air travel along the base of your throat which creates an audible sound, sort of like Vader.
Inhale for four counts and then exhale for four.Make sure to make the sound on the exhale or it doesn’t count.
3.
Nadi Shodhana
You’ll start this breathing exercise on the exhale. This one is different than the others.It goes like that:
- You’re going to close your right nostril and then repeat the Sama Vritti exercise.
- Once you’ve finished with the right nostril, then you’ll seal up the left.
Any of these breathing exercises will help you with resetting your mind at the end of the day. You can even do them in your car before you exit the parking lot.
2. Give Yourself Short Breaks
One fast way to burn out before your day ends is by trying to work straight through it with no breaks.It doesn’t have to be a large break, you can just take a moment to walk down the hall to the water fountain at work. This will at least shift your attention elsewhere.When you do this, it won’t feel like you’ve put as much strain on your brain. Therefore, you’ll be able to concentrate more on the tasks you have waiting for you at home.
3. Carpool or Take a Bus
When you’re exhausted from work and then have to drive home on top of it, that’s just going to exhaust you more. To this end, you should take turns carpooling with someone or just take a bus home.This will allow you to plug in your music or even do some deep breathing exercises on your way home.You’ll be surprised at how much mental concentration you’ll get back. All it takes is this moment to yourself.
4. Take Some Time in the Sun
If you feel yourself dragging when you get home and it’s still bright out, then step out for a few moments of sunshine. The sun sends a signal to your brain that you should be awake and alert. You also soak in a bit of Vitamin D while you’re at it.On top of making you feel more awake during the day, soaking in a few rays will help you sleep better during the night. If you sleep better at night, then it’s more likely that your mental concentration won’t start slipping until it’s time for bed again.
5. Hydrate Yourself
Many people who work in an office rely on coffee and soda to get through their day. This is true especially if they start their day before the sun rises. While these things can give you a burst of energy, they will dehydrate you faster than anything else.Lack of liquids will cause you to go into a slump toward the end of the day. This means your concentration will waver.Of course, you can get still soda and coffee here and there. It just means that you should probably drink a glass of water after each one.
6. Eat Smaller Meals Throughout the Day
When you rely on two or three large meals during the day, at some point your blood sugar is going to plummet. Usually, this happens between your lunch at work and dinner when you get home. You go hours without eating and then by the time you leave work you feel sluggish and cranky.If you keep snacks in your desk, you can combat this by eating a few small meals throughout your day. Here are a few great snacks for quick energy.
What are the best snacks for quick energy?
1.
Bananas or Apples
Any fruit that you pick up will be full of vitamins and minerals that you need for fast energy. Apples and bananas are just a couple of the best ones to take because you won’t have to stick them in your work fridge. You can literally keep them in your purse or desk until you decide to eat them.Oranges are another excellent choice because, while they’re more refreshing cold, they don’t have to be.
2.
Trail Mix
Nuts, fruit, and dark chocolate together all make a tasty and energy filled snack. The great thing about trail mix is that you can make your own and throw whatever you want into it. There is no limit.Trail mix is also easy to tote around. You can buy a pack of it, or pour a bunch of it into a small container and carry it around in your purse or put it in your desk.
3.
Yogurt or Cereal
If your day is far from over and you need a massive energy burst, then yogurt or cereal are both great choices. They won’t bog your body down the same way that a huge meal would. They will also keep you focused until you’re able to get home and have access to dinner.
4.
Popcorn
Popcorn is another good choice, but not movie theater popcorn filled with butter. It’s full of fiber and whole grains so it can be a healthier snack than you think.Like yogurt and cereal, popcorn will make you feel full without actually bogging your body down like a heavy meal. Don’t worry. It won’t do anything to your waistline. If you’re worried about this, then you can easily buy low-calorie bags.
7. Limit Coffee
You don’t want to just limit coffee because it will dehydrate you. Eventually, your body changes the way it responds to the caffeine. This means that instead of making you feel less tired, you remain sluggish because your body is used to it.The annoying thing is that it won’t wake you up. You’ll still have the other side effects of drinking too much caffeine like a headache or irritability. So, your concentration is low and you don’t even get anything beneficial from it anymore.Your body also goes into a rest period about halfway through the day. If you fill yourself with coffee or soda during this time, then you set yourself up to have another crash before it ends.Drinking too much caffeine during the day also makes it harder for you to sleep at night as well. So, you end up not having the rest you need to keep your concentration up until you lay down again.
8. Splash Your Face
Sometimes when people want to wake themselves up in the morning, they’ll take a cold shower. While you don’t have to do this when you get home from work, a quick splash to the face will do the trick.It’s a good way to wake you up and get yourself refocused enough to complete all of the duties you need to do after work. It’s kind of like a refreshing, hard reset.
9. Be Nice to Yourself
How to concentrate when you don’t take any break? When you don’t get enough sleep, something as small as dropping your favorite work pen can cause you to have a breakdown.You’re more irritable and moody. So if you get home and there are a million chores to do, you might lash out at your roommate, significant other, or children. You should resist the urge to yell and have a breakdown. Instead, learn to be able to identify when an episode is coming on.When this happens, plan to sneak away and listen to music, meditate, or do a few deep breathing exercises to calm yourself down.You may feel bad about having to go take a minute to yourself. But you’ll feel even worse if you lash at some poor undeserving soul.Taking this moment to yourself will also help you reset your mind and get a little bit of your concentration back because you’ll be less angry.
10. Sneak in a Nap
From time to time you can’t help it. You can’t concentrate because you’re just way too tired. While you can’t slink off to the break room at work and take a nap, nothing is stopping you from taking a small nap when you get home.This doesn’t mean that you should go home and take a four-hour nap. In fact, if you do take too long of a nap you’ll wake up more groggy, then you did when you laid down. Instead, set your phone or alarm clock to go off in about thirty minutes.Thirty minutes will be enough to reset your mind to tackle your chores. You won’t suffer through the groggy fog, and a measly thirty minutes won’t stop you from sleeping that night.
11. Speaking of Sleep
If you don’t get enough sleep through the night, then you won’t be able to keep full concentration until you go to bed again. Adults need about 8-9 hours of sleep every night.There are a few ways to deal with not getting enough sleep. One is to get yourself into a bedtime routine so your body will recognize when it’s time to wind down. Another is to deal with the things that are directly stressing you so much that you can’t sleep.If you’ve tried everything and still can’t sleep, the best decision is to contact a medical doctor.
How to Concentrate When Your Energy Has Hit Rock Bottom
If you have full energy throughout your workday, it’s normal that your energy reserves become empty at the end of the day. When this happens, you just aren’t able to concentrate on the important stuff before leaving the office.Use these tips on how to concentrate to tackle all the things in your life.When you’re a student and have a full-time job, studying can become a struggle. Visit our site to find out how we can help you retain hyper focus even when you feel like you’re about to pass out.
