Concentration is your ability to direct your thinking to where it is required. All of us have the ability to concentrate and it could be while reading a book, doing your work, playing the piano, or watching a movie. But even while you are doing any of these things, your thoughts can be scattered and move from one subject to another and be distracted from what you are doing.
A lack of concentration can greatly affect the quality of whatever you are trying to do and has a great effect on studies, work, and accomplishments. Improving concentration requires the learning of a skill, and like the learning of all skills, requires constant practice. With regular and constant practice you will notice a change in a few days, but after a few weeks, you should find it comes to you naturally, and your mind remains focused on whatever you re doing, without too much effort on your part.
Concentration requires that your mind is calm, and this can only come about if you are properly rested. Oversleeping, on the other hand, can make you lazy and disrupt your natural rhythm. Concentration is also helped by having a plan of doing things, whether it is working, playing or other things. A proper plan will discourage you from diverting your attention to other than what you have on hand.
Meditation is another way of training your mind to concentrate. The act of meditation itself requires proper concentration, and if you are successful at this, you will find yourself in greater control of your thoughts and this will allow you to concentrate better on whatever you are doing. Concentration can often be helped if you are in the right place, like studying in a library, or when you are locked away in your own room and have kept everything that is distracting away from you.
Good health and good eating habits can also be of help in concentration. Overeating can cause you indigestion and this discomfort can affect your ability to concentrate. If you have a regular lifestyle and eat healthily, you will never be distracted because you are feeling hungry while you are trying to accomplish a task that needs concentration.
Keeping fit through proper exercise can keep you in good physical health, and greatly help in developing your powers of concentration. Rest and breaks can also relieve monotony and help you to concentrate. Concentration above all needs constant practice until it becomes a habit.