Incorporate simple mindfulness techniques into your routine

Getting the right nutrients in your body first thing in the morning is hugely beneficial when it comes to maintaining focus throughout the day.

Eating a wide variety of wholegrains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and legumes throughout the day ensures that blood sugar levels are stable and provides the brain with healthy fats, carbohydrates, protein, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. These all work synergistically to promote brain health, focus, memory, concentration, and health in general.

Crosswords and other puzzles are a handy way to pass the time, but they’re also incredibly useful in improving memory and brain function.

Your brain loves these kind of small victories, and it can help make life’s larger problems somehow seem easier to tackle. What’s more, those little bursts of joy at finishing a puzzle can help calm your mind, in much the same way that physical exercise can mentally relax you too.

Add an easy-to-achieve goal to your to-do list. The satisfaction of ticking off a small task is linked with a flood of dopamine. 

Each time your brain gets a whiff of this rewarding neurotransmitter, it will want you to repeat the associated behaviour.

Anxiety and stress will sabotage your ability to stay focused. But keeping a record of your thoughts on paper is a wonderful way to to combat stress and anxiety.

There is something about getting your thoughts out of your head and on to paper that provides a window of opportunity and gives you a bit of space to start looking at things from a different view.

Comprehensive and dedicated science exists on the positive mental effects of venturing outdoors and spending time in nature.

Heading out into nature in the morning, then, could benefit your concentration.