Improving Your Attention Control: Identifying and managing distractions

Sport has provided psychologists with fascinating opportunities to explore the human capabilities to control thinking in the face of adversity. This analysis has allowed professionals to theorize that attention is a cognitive skill that can be improved through practice. Therefore, if athletes use this skill to control themselves both physically and emotionally, they can increase chances of progress and excel in sport.   

There are many different theories about the best way to improve attention, partly because everyone's brain is wired differently. Because of this, trial and error are typically a must -- and even though attention control is often associated in sport with performance successes and failures, it is not only in performance that we need to hone our ability to concentrate. For improvement, it is necessary to work on concentration skills every day, whether it be in practice, or at home in a quiet place. 

 Attention control became an interest since I was a gymnast in the early 1990s. I wanted to find better ways to combat my nerves and accomplish my goal of the Olympics. Once my gymnastics career was through, I began to study the concept of attention more in depth -- I conducted research with various populations, even non-athletes, using sport psychology techniques with successful results. 

Currently clients of mine, who are seeking ways to improve concentration whether it be in parenting, work, school or sport, benefit from these techniques -- thus demonstrating that sport psychology techniques can improve attention in and out of sport. Notably most successful clients have with two similarities in character -- curiosity and persistence.  So, if you are curious about your capacity to better your concentration skills and determined to improve your over-all attention, this platform will be a fit.  

Building better attentional skills consists of two main steps: identifying/tracking common and personal distractions and establishing/testing tools to form a personalized "attention control kit." Applying these tools increases self-reliance when challenging distractions arise.  

Here are examples of common distractions and tools for better attention control from group sessions in an elite level athletic setting: 

Distraction (D) Attention Control Tool (T) 

D: Noise

T: Refocus on the physical aspects of your task -- turn attention to the physical "feel."

D: Sudden loud noise

T: THINK: reset.

Train your brain to respond with a calming comment -- I'm ok. Everything is ok. That is ok…etc. follow with a deep breath to let go of tension…

D: Activity from other areas of the training facility

T: THINK: MINDFULNESS

If you are in the middle of a turn or readying yourself to go -- focus on your CUES, feel the movements and execute the technique. On the contrary if you are not up, there is nothing wrong with consciously watching the action, taking it in for a short period of time to shut down the curiosity. Then reset with a deep breath and focus on the task at hand.  

D: Teammate/another athlete makes a mistake

T: Accept that this is a distraction but move on by acknowledging that it is now in the past, and you are moving forward with a chance to improve your work. Own your focus. Choose your CUE and execute your skill.

D: Coach yells at another athlete

T: Compartmentalize the situation. You are not that athlete. Each move you make is in your control and will have a unique outcome. Turn oh no - into - I got this.

D: Coach yells at you

T: Accept the correction and not the emotion. Emotions are part of everyday living; we each have our own emotions. As an athlete we never have to own the emotions of other people’s comments unless they need help, or it will help us refocus.

D: Pressure

T: Pressure stems from our brain sensing the inability to see a clear picture of what we can control. If you feel "pressure" is distracting to you: divide the steps of the task and simplify it. This is a very individualized process, and for most, personal guidance is very helpful.

D: Time (both acute and long-term deadlines)

T: Timeframes can be both helpful and stressful. To handle the pressure of time, aim to use it as a tool for awareness. Then, mentally let it “rest,” and refocus on the detailed parts of your tasks and taking one step at a time. This process will dissolve a lot of anxiety. 

D: What if's

T: Internal self-talk can be very distracting and is best (generally) handled by "sifting." The sifting technique is simply acknowledging the question in your mind, identifying the parts of the task that will be helpful to focus upon, and letting the other unwanted thoughts drop through the grate. The key is to consistently bring your focus back to the important parts of the task. 

When we sense oncoming challenges, we tend to shy away from trying to figure out the next best step. The most helpful actions to take in a pressure-filled situation are: identify the negative distractions, get back to the base-line objective, and apply the cues that will keep you focused.