Help with Attention Deficit: Attentiveness Exercises

Attentiveness exercises can help if thoughts keep drifting away and concentrating on work is impossible.

Objective:

• Attentiveness exercises train you to stay focused on one thing.

Principle:

• With an attentiveness exercise, you consciously perceive what is happening right now.
• The focus is on just one action or thought – everything else is excluded.

Attentiveness Exercises:
For Example, a Cup of Coffee

Attentiveness exercises can be easily integrated into your daily routine. Here's a very simply example: Drinking coffee.

• Task: Drink your cup of coffee without reading, listening to music or answering emails.
• Procedure: What does the coffee smell like? What does the coffee taste like? Your full attention is focused just on the cup of coffee.
• Catch yourself: Do you catch yourself drifting away in your thoughts? Then you need to stop! Just smile broadly, breathe deeply, and return to the coffee.
• Tip: Perform this attentiveness exercise as often as possible, so you will start to sooner recognise when your thoughts are not quite on the task in hand.

Other Tips for Performing Attentiveness Exercises

Whether you are "training" your attentiveness while drinking coffee, brushing your teeth or washing dishes – one thing's for sure: Mentally, attentiveness exercises can represent a genuine challenge. Especially for the inexperienced.

So the following applies:

• Carry out the attentiveness exercises once or twice a day
• The attentiveness exercise should last no longer than two to three minutes
• Vary between different attentiveness exercises
• Be patient with yourself