What’s the Difference Between Focus and Concentration?

Have you ever sat down to ask yourself about what’s the difference between focus and concentration? This question settles between the need to know whether you are part of those who believe focus is the same as concentration and those who believe one is more intentional than the other.

Speaking of focus and concentration, there is a wide margin of difference which you cannot easily look down on, although quite a lot of people use them interchangeably believing they have similar meanings. But the truth is, the only similarity is that focus and concentration are cognitive skills that are very important for us to have as they help us gain knowledge and achieve success in various aspects of life.

Difference Between Focus and Concentration

Having revealed to you the fact that there is a noticeable difference between the meanings of the two words, focus and concentration, you need to understand that the meanings below are instrumental to clearing the doubts.

Focus refers to the ability to stay concentrated and block out distractions. It also refers to something, some centralized point, that our attention is directed at. It means you’re able to pick something or one task and keep on it till you have seen the to-do to the end.

Concentration is the ability to keep your mind and attention on the task at hand until it is done. It is a skill that improves with practice and involves selective attention, attentional focus style, and attentional shifting Basically, once you’re able to focus on a task, your mind then would need to concentrate on that task until it is complete.

Fertilizers for Both Focus and Concentration

Here are some of the things to do in case you have been on the look out for tips on how to improve the sustaining powers of focus and concentration. Check them out:

• Eat Well: Your brain needs fuel to get through the day, but the foods you put in your body greatly affect the type of fuel your body runs on. When you eat a well-balanced diet, your brain will get the proper nutrients and vitamins every single day to always perform at its best.
  
• Take Short Breaks: Taking a break gives your brain a chance to rest and recharge, which can help you maintain your focus and concentration for extended periods of time. Taking breaks can also help reduce stress and prevent burnout.
• Be Mindful: Over time, mindfulness exercises like meditation and deep breathing can improve your focus and concentration.
• Rid Distractions: This can include turning off your phone, radio, and television; finding a quiet space to work; using noise cancelling headphones, etc. By minimizing external stimuli, you can better focus on the task at hand and improve your productivity.
• Train Your Brain: Playing certain types of games can help improve your concentration. Some ideas include: jigsaw puzzles, memory games, sudoko, crossword puzzles, memory games and word searches.
• One Task at a Time: It is more productive to give your full attention to just one task rather than trying to multitask. Focusing on one task at a time is much more effective as you will finish it more quickly and make less mistakes.
• Exercise More: Physical exercise, while it might be tiring for your body, is a great way to start strengthening your brain’s ability to focus and concentrate. When you work out your body, you work out all the fidgets and wiggles that can occur and pop up when you’re trying to sit and complete something, especially things you already dread doing.
• Avoid Junks: While junk food and candy might be more fun, just like we know our kids can’t survive on cookies, our bodies need even more structure and restraint. The older we get, the more our brain naturally loses the ability to focus and concentrate and the length of time we can do these things. So our diets are vital to keeping our brain functioning in tip-top shape.
• Care for Your Body: Make sure that you are getting enough sleep, staying hydrated, exercising regularly and eating healthy. Get down to the numbers, adults need seven to eight hours a night to have their brains fully rested and ready to tackle the day.  When you sleep, your brain unpacks all the events of the day. It throws out what it doesn’t need and keeps the morsels of the essential information you did get.If you aren’t getting adequate sleep, your brain will just continue to carry around the baggage from the day before, adding up every day you don’t sleep enough. Imagine at the end of the week what that looks like; then the month, then the year.