Attention Please!! 容易分心的專注一下看過來吧～：Tips to Improve Your Attention Span

「專心點！」「不要分心！」「專注！」
是否跟我一樣從小就有一點專注上的問題呢？

關於注意力其實有許多可以探討的。舉例而言，注意力雖因人、環境而異，但是普遍會隨著年齡上升而改善，能專心的時間也相較比較長。撇開一些先天及後天疾病的因素，注意力其實是可以改善的！

（攝於北投圖書館）

以下為網站"Lifehack"一篇關於改善注意力的文章！

(written by CJ GOULDING)欲參閱全文請至此網址 (resource)：http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/7-tips-improve-your-attention-span-and-focus-instantly.html

Your attention span （注意力） is the amount of time you can concentrate on a task without becoming distracted. Most educators and psychologists agree that the ability to focus attention on a task is crucial for the achievement of one’s goals. It’s no surprise attention spans have been decreasing over the past decade with the increase in external stimulation （外部刺激）. The average focused attention span in 2013 was 8 seconds, down from 12 seconds in 2000, and one second shorter than the average attention span of—a goldfish (9s). Some of you have already lost focus reading this article, and many of you won’t make it to the end...

注意力即為一般人能專注在一件事情上、且不分心的時間。而多數教育與心理領域的專家對於注意力之重要性亦是一致認同。隨著過去幾十年來許多外力因素刺激（這句話並沒有提及外力為何，但我猜想應與科技更新、社群網站習慣有關吧？），人們的注意力普遍下降。2013年人們的集中注意力為八秒鐘，相較於十三年前少了四秒鐘，甚至比金魚的9秒鐘還短！（是否有點嚇人？？）有些讀者現在就已經開始分心了，而且更多人大概不會看完這篇文章。（我看到這裡笑了，因為我自己常常就是這樣阿，習慣地跳躍式閱讀XD）

所以究竟有什麼法寶可以鍛鍊注意力呢！！我也很需要阿～

1. Get some exercise.

Physical activity can help improve your attention and focus, as it releases chemicals in the brain that affect learning and memory. Even better than a cup of coffee, exercise can provide a short-term boost to your mental and cognitive（認知的） performance, making you smarter and making it easier to focus. Who wouldn’t want to be smarter?

多多運動！！
多運動能幫助提昇你的專注力與注意力，因為運動過程中會產生相關化學激素、進而影響學習與記憶，讓你維持短時間內良好的認知狀態，甚至比咖啡還有用呢！（我自己的經驗是運動絕對有差！而且是有氧運動，例如，慢跑、游泳。一天的開始來個有氧運動，一整天下來有如神助阿做事情與學習效率皆飛快無比）

2. Drink more fluids.

A 2012 study in The Journal of Nutrition found that mild dehydration—which can be so slight that you don’t notice or feel thirsty—can lead to inattention. The age old adage or recommendation of 8 glasses of water has been debunked (although drinking water is very important), with the Institute of Medicine now believing that for most of us, the recommended amount of beverages, including water, would be approximately 9 cups for women and 12.5 cups for men. So drink up!

多喝水！！
相關研究指出即使是那種你根本不會發覺口渴的輕微脫水，也會影響人們的專注力。以前會說一天要喝個八杯水，但這個說法又進化了！醫界目前建議的攝水量以男人而言一天要喝到12.5杯、女人則是9杯水。（這裡並沒有明顯劃分攝入的水份應為水還是其他飲料，且杯子的容量也無明顯說明，但我想一天2000c.c.以上應為標準。）

3. Take stock of the important things in your life.

Take some time to think. What tasks or assignments cause you the most worry and stress? These are most likely the most important things in your life. Once you do this and determine where you will dedicate your focus, you can break these important things down into smaller tasks which are easier to accomplish and will add up, moving you forward to the larger overall objective.

輕重緩急「排順序」！！
花點時間思考、計畫你真正要做的事情。決定好之後把這些事情分割成容易完成的一小件一小件事情，並逐步完成它。

4. Get rid of obvious distractions.

Today’s society is built on a foundation of technology and the ability to be connected to everyone everywhere all of the time. However, that saturation with “connection” is one of the root causes of inattention and lack of focus. On average, an office worker checks their email THIRTY times in ONE hour. So, when sitting down to focus on a task, you can close all irrelevant tabs, stay away from checking email, and settle in a quiet environment. If you are constantly getting text messages and Facebook/Twitter notifications, set your phone aside for a predetermined amount of time...

不要分心！！
隨著科技進展、社群網站蓬勃，人們使用科技的習慣也間接影響了注意力。生活中時時刻刻充滿著「聯繫」、「更新」、「查詢」，人們亦趨習慣於一段時間就上網使用相關活動。平均來說，上班族大概一小時內會check信箱30次（有沒有這麼誇張？？）想提升注意力的話，找個安靜的環境，並關掉所有大大小小的通知吧～

5. Work on one set objective at a time.

Multitasking is the enemy of focus. While most people will profess to have the ability to do multiple things at once, the scientific truth is that when attempting to accomplish multiple tasks simultaneously, none of the attempted tasks are completed at the highest level. Constant switching between tasks takes away from getting the other done.

So take a singular objective, and let that be your sole focus until the work you have planned is completed. You will find yourself making more significant progress and feeling less stressed.

一次做好一件事！！
同時做很多事情對專注力是不好的。也許很多人會認為是有辦法同實作好多項事情，但事實是這些事情可能你是真的完成了，卻也降低了每一件事你專注時能達到的品質。因此，專注在一件事情上面，然後慢慢地完成它，不僅能提高效率，你也不會感到那麼有壓力！

（關於科技與社群網站與同實作很多事情是否影響專注力，其實一直是許多人爭論的議題。這點之後再討論～）

6. Take numerous small steps.

...So in any instance when you feel like your attention span is waning and your focus is slipping away, determine what small steps you can take to move towards that overall goal.

（前面舉了關於減重的例子這邊就不再多詳述了唷）這段其實跟第三點有異曲同工之妙，前者強調找出事情的優先順序、分割成小塊任務以利完成，這點則是說"chunking"的重要性。也就是「分割」，或分成很多小步驟，一個步驟一次做好，漸漸地你就能完成整個任務，並在持續完成每個小步驟的同時保有一定專注。（我個人是喜歡把待完成項目寫在我的週記本裡，完成之後便會很開心地打個小勾勾XD 說來有點好笑，我居然用這種方式制約自己督促自己做事情，但真的還蠻有效的，而且會讓自己蠻有成就感呢！）

7. Focus—and REfocus.

The key to improving your attention span is what you do when you reach your limit. Sustained attention is the level of attention that produces the consistent results on a task over time. If the task is handling fragile objects, such as hand-washing delicate crystal glasses, then a person showing sustained attention will stay on task and will not break any dishes. A person who loses focus may break a glass or may stop washing the dishes to do something else.

Most people are unable to sustain attention on（持續專注於） one thing for more than about 40 minutes at a time, so sooner or later, you will lose focus. But people who have great focus realize when they get off track and choose repeatedly to re-focus on the same task. This ability to renew attention permits people to “pay attention” to things that last for more than a few minutes, such as long movies. So improving your attention span becomes a cycle of focus, distraction, and Refocus.

專注，再專注！！
持續專注的方法之一就是在你快不行的時候給予適當刺激。sustained attention就是建立在這樣概念下的名詞，亦是就是在做事情時專注於任務本身不斷地刺激。例如，當你在清洗一堆易碎玻璃製品時，你會盡量保持一定的專注才不會不小心弄破玻璃。多數人無法一次專注超過40分鐘都不分心，所以人們不管再做什麼遲早會分心的。重點是要如何「抓回」你的專注力。就好像你在看一不很長的電影一樣。因此，改善注意力本身就是一個「專心」、「分心」、「抓回來」的過程～


看完這些tips之後不知道是否有幫助呢？除了以上提及的我還有想到一點！那就是充足的睡眠！這麼重要的東西怎麼能忘記呢～～～