1. Visualise

Visualising something can reinforce concentration. Start by just paying more attention, whether this is looking at a picture in an art gallery, or taking a bus ride, or enjoying the scenery from a window. You don’t have to commit an exact graphic image to memory, but engage with it, notice details, reflect on it and, within a short time, you will be able to close your eyes and visualise it. There is no right or wrong way to do this, it’s an opportunity to practise focus and improve concentration skills.

2. Press pause

You can use timers on your smartphone or other devices to set for some “time out”. Use apps, like Calm. You can also use a familiar music track to listen to, giving you a set amount of time in which to do nothing.

3. Sit still

This is harder than it sounds. Practise getting in to a comfortable, supported position and sit still and do nothing for five minutes. Use it as a pause between activities to re-centre. If you already practice meditation, combine this with breathing for a quick “time out”.

4. Learn to decelerate

Leave holes in the diary rather than striving to fill every moment with activity. Easing the pressure on your time will help you to slow down. Make time for one hobby that slows you down, such as painting, gardening or yoga, and use that time to really focus on what you’re doing. Eat supper at the table instead of balancing it on your lap it in front of the TV, and enjoy it. If you’re doing something more quickly than you need to simply out of habit, then take a deep breath and slow down.

5. Spelling backwards

Start with words that are easy – dog, box, cup – and build up to longer words including nouns and more abstract words – like cushion, blonde, effort, number – increasing the length and complexity of the word. This is an exercise that can be built on and extended.

6. Physical exercise

During extended periods of exercise, the engagement of the brain with the body becomes an exercise in concentration. Scientific evidence on the benefit of exercise on concentration comes from testing schoolchildren, but applies to us all. A study published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport in 2016 showed that interspersing lessons with a 20-minute interval of aerobic exercise measurably improved attention spans in schoolchildren. Another 2014 study from the American Academy of Paediatrics on the benefits of exercise in seven to nine-year-olds, not only found that the children’s physical health improved as they were fitter, but it also improved their brain function and cognitive performance.

7. The “five more” rule

Whenever you feel like quitting, just do five more – five more minutes, five more exercises, five more pages – which will extend your focus. This rule is effective because it pushes you just beyond the point of frustration and helps build mental concentration.

8. Reading for pleasure

We have got so used to skim reading for fast access to information, the demand of a more sophisticated vocabulary, a complex plot structure or a novel’s length can make it difficult to engage with. Read from an actual book, not a screen: just turning pages will slow your pace. Read for long enough to engage your interest, at least 30 minutes; engagement in content takes time, but will help you read for longer. If alone, read quietly out loud as this immediately prevents skim reading. If you are reading closely, in an effort to remember content, use a pencil to underline key words, concepts and make notes.

9. Learn to focus

Sit in a comfortable position and find a spot on the wall on which to focus. A black spot about two inches in diameter, at eye level works well. Focus all your attention on this, for around three minutes to start, and let any thoughts that arise drift away, constantly returning your focus to the spot. Practised regularly, this can become so familiar it creates a resource on which to draw, enabling you to consciously refocus at will, even without the visual prompt.

10. Digital apps

Apps have their place in monitoring, managing or restricting digital time but bear in mind they still keep you connected to devices. Track usage with Moment, access Facebook limiter and break phone addiction with Space.

11. Listen attentively

Learning to listen attentively starts quite self-consciously but will become a habit that serves you well. You can use music to practise this, the length of a music track giving you between three to five minutes on which to focus. Listen to the nuances of the music, notes, cadences, lyrics, instruments used. Complicated musical notation can be more than just pleasurable, it can be a boon to helping relearn concentration skills.

The Art of Concentration (£10.99, Pan MacMillan) by Harriet Griffey is out now.