I’m actually a little bit too sleepy to blog today because I’ve been up since 7 AM (which is very early for me compared to my standard schedule) and haven’t taken my usual nap, but I want to see how long I can keep up with the WordPress Post a Day Challenge, so I’m posting today anyway.

The Daily Post at WordPress.com

Topic #8: How do you stay focused on a task or activity? What do you do when you need to concen­trate or get things done?

I usually don’t have problems focusing in general. When I’m doing something that’s important, I know while doing the task that it’s something that needs to be finished. I also look for things that could happen immediately (or shortly) after doing this task that is considered a reward. For example, writing more content for my website will increase its popularity, or doing homework and studying consistently will get me good grades. (The grades motivator worked in high school, but now that I’m in university, most of my grades are composed of exams and papers, so that motivational tool doesn’t work as well anymore.)

If for any reason I can’t focus in a time when I really need to focus (such as when I’m looking forward to a large event that’s quickly approaching, or when I have a lot of things to do in a short amount of time and I’m constantly trying to organize them in my head), I listen to Brain Sync. Brain Sync is a form of brain wave therapy that sends various signals to your brain stimulating various mental states. For example, there are some that induce creativity, while others relax the body. I’m not sure if this is a psychological effect (similar to how sugar pills work), but they seem to be somewhat effective.

So Far in 2011…

(Note: these numbers will start going up once I get back to my university campus.)

Number of Taco Bell tacos eaten: 0

Number of times I did my own laundry: 0