It can be incredibly difficult to concentrate on something for a long period of time, especially when it comes to the more mundane and boring things, like chores or homework.
Having a mental illness doesn’t help either, as it can play a factor in disrupting work performance. This doesn’t just include ADHD, but anxiety and depression also have a relationship with difficulty concentrating on tasks. There are a variety of reasons, since mental illnesses all affect people differently, but things such as worrying about doing a good job and the mind struggling to even think about the assignment at hand when it’s hard to function in general are a couple of examples.
The Internet, as usual, can try to help with its endless resources. At the very least, there are apps and websites that can help block electronic distractions so you can focus on what needs to be done. While these aren’t the only ways to help with concentrating, especially since they are limited to blocking out websites and other apps, these are still options that can maybe make finishing that essay a little bit easier.
SelfControl While it can seem a little intimidating at first (the icon is a skull, for example), SelfControl has the user make a list of specific websites that you want to blacklist, such as social media websites, and once you set a time limit, you can’t access any of them until the timer runs out. It doesn’t block other websites, however, so if there’s research or Googling that needs to be done, they’re still accessible. Restarting the computer to access the blocked sites won’t do anything though, since they still won’t work.
FocusWriter FocusWriter are for those who don’t need to use anything else on their computer, and just need to write. A timer is also set here, and the screen becomes nothing but the document (with a customizable background), so the user is forced to look at it and nothing else on their computer.
Flippd Flippd takes things to more of an extreme, as it was created to help people break any bad habits that they have with their phone. It can still be helpful on a lower level, however, since it also gives the user the ability to control how much time they need to spend away from their phone and its distractions. Just like SelfControl, the main catch is that the apps that the user chooses to block will absolutely stay blocked, even if they try to restart their phone.
What tips do you have to concentrate on task? Do you share these with your child? How do you encourage good focusing habits for your children?