Focus isn’t just about your working habits, it’s also an essential life skill. To be able to concentrate your attention on family or friends without your mind wandering is a useful skill to learn and, while you are focusing, you are strengthening up your mind muscles.

•Find somewhere quiet where you can be by yourself and not be disturbed. •Be comfortable – most people find it easier to sit on a chair or you could sit cross-legged on the floor. You must sit with your spine erect though

•Take some deep calm breaths and relax your entire body, bit by bit, by pointing your direction to each muscle in turn, starting from your feet and working up to your head •Practice all of the exercises for 10 minutes to start with. After a few weeks you can start increasing the time to 15 minutes and so on •Do the exercises in the order they are listed in.

•Start with the first exercise and practice it every single day until you can do it without being distracted and without your mind wandering elsewhere for at least three minutes continuously

•If you do get distracted, start again until the 10 minutes has passed

•Be very honest with yourself – only move on to exercise two when you are happy that you have mastered the first one properly and have practiced it without being distracted

•Do not set yourself a timetable as this will just end up frustrating you. If you set yourself a task of practicing a specific exercise for, let’s say 5 days. Two things are likely to happen – first you will be disappointed if you can’t master it within those 5 days and second, you will move on to the next exercise before you already to.

•Remember that mastering these exercises can take days, sometimes weeks or allow yourself to think about anything else. Make sure you do not fall asleep or go off into a daydream. If you do find your mind wandering onto something else, stop and start again. Once you are proficient, carry on with the same exercise but for a longer time and try to do two sessions in one day

•Never do too much to start with and certainly do not try and do all the exercises at once. Take it easy and don’t overdo it

•Don’t be disheartened if you do find it difficult to concentrate or are easily distracted. Nobody gets it first time around; all you need to do is persevere and never, ever give up. Remember this – even those who have powerful concentration skills had to start at the beginning and learn how to exercise their minds as well.

Please refer to the book for more details on this activity.