Ever find yourself struggling to focus? Yep, me too. In a constantly-connected world, we always seem to have distractions at our fingertips. Sitting down and concentrating, whether it’s on a report for work or an essay for school, can be really tough.

And, all too often, we make it harder on ourselves.

Here are four simple ways to boost your chances of concentrating.

1.  Write Down What You’re Working On

This might sound like a silly tip, but it can be incredibly effective. When you start working on something, write down what you’re doing. For instance: “Finish report on widgets” or “Respond to all new emails”.

Whenever you get tempted to do something else, or when something “urgent” comes up, look down at your bit of paper and remind yourself of what you’re doing. If you do switch tasks, make a note of what you’ve changed to.

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Written by Vincent Kovar

The art of memory, or Ars Memorativa in the Latin, has fascinated us since…well, I can’t quite remember. From the ancient Greeks to early Christian monks, scholars have employed a number of mental techniques in training their minds to keep track of the burgeoning field of human knowledge. Nowadays however, there seem to be so many more things to keep track of. Not only is the overall amount of human knowledge growing at an exponential rate but each of us is expected to memorize a dizzying array of minutiae. From what floor our dentist office is on, to an average of seven passwords and PIN numbers per person, we use our memories more than ever before. It should come as no surprise however, that those clever ancients were willing to put their memory where their mouth was.

Here is a fistful of five foods for the memory which are both respected by science and revered by the ancients.

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