Here are some simple but efficient how-to-focus recommendations.

• Start with a good night’s sleep (at least 8 hours every night). If you don’t rest enough your mind can’t concentrate enough.

• Food is also important to help you stay focused. A healthy breakfast (two simple slices of toast, fresh orange juice with pulp and a nice serving of hard boiled egg, for instance) gives you a fresh start.

What can you do to train your mind?

• Set your goals. If you write down the subject of the class from the beginning, you can also set goals for yourself, identify the area of knowledge you’ll learn about and find ways to stay focused as long as possible.

• Concentrating on a subject is aided by note taking. You need to listen carefully, then identify key points in your teacher’s discourse and “pin” them on a piece of paper. Search for key phrases such as, “This is important,” “This is the main idea,” “This will be on the test,” etc.

• Even if friends may not feel the same, gently but firmly avoid chit chats and similar distractions. As long as you are in class, concentration is your priority.

• Become more focused by getting involved in class discussions. Answer teacher’s questions intently and share your opinions, when solicited. You can simultaneously show your knowledge and increase your attention to the subject.

• If you don’t understand something, ask a question. Everyone may face a difficulty from time to time, but not everyone will have the courage to admit it.  You can find a solution and also increase motivation.

• Attitude is the key to staying focused: believe that you can do it and you will. Try visualize yourself in the future, especially when achieving your dreams and be that person you see in your future.

Sudoku Rules

Each Sudoku has a unique solution that can be reached logically without guessing. Enter digits from 1 to 9 into the blank spaces. Every row must contain one of each digit. So must every column, as must every 3×3 square.

Sudoku Tips

* Start with number one and pencil in all options around the grid before moving on to number 2. When worked your way up to number nine, simply go back to the beginning and start with number one again

* Concentrate on the 3×3 mini grids, rather than rows and columns. They give up a lot of clues.

* If you’ve completed seven numbers in a row or column, then obviously the two boxes that are left must be one of the two remaining numbers left over. That row or column often passes through a mini-grid where you also have two options. Frequently, you can deduct exactly where the two leftover numbers go.

Whether we are in class or at home, alone or in a group, we often need to pay attention to tasks. If you have difficulties in focusing, we have some suggestions on how to maintain attention.

Athletes keep pushing their limits constantly, especially when loosing focus. When you feel like giving up the task, choose a number, like five, and stimulate yourself to read five more sentences or listen five more minutes and so on, depending on the area you meet your focus obstacle.

Don’t let concerns take over your mind, keep focus on one task at a time. That means prioritize and voluntarily dealing with problems instead of letting exhaustion take over your brain. Write down these pressuring tasks and keeping in mind only the most important at the moment.

If you think it would be easier to start or to continue a task LATER, be aware! It’s just procrastination fooling you to lose focus and once you do that things will actually prove to be harder to complete.

Old-school methods are still working for modern brains. If you feel like really loosing it, simply use your hands to bring attention back. Cup your hands around the eyes to block the sight of distracting surroundings or stimuli.

And sometimes do just the opposite: look at things you usually ignore as if it was for the first time. It’s incredible how the attention concentrates, so try this as a daily exercise: choose something familiar and watch it with new eyes.

The Concentrate Supercase is a pencilcase that can be easily turned into a stationery pot.

• Pencilcase can be easily turned into a stationery pot: unzip the case until the fold and turn over the first part to make a stationery pot
• Washable in the washing machine – NB better handwashed
• Dimensions (approximately): 11cm x 22cm (WxH)
• Material: neoprene (the same material used to make wetsuits)
• Available in: red (outside) and black (inside)

Read more information about the Supercase in the Supercase FAQs.

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Answer to the last riddle: ‘What runs but cannot walk?‘: A nose

Everyone wants to know the right thing at the right time, to find ingenious solutions to puzzling problems, in a word, to act smarter. This goal is not so far as we may imagine, even if we are not born with an extensive database of “how-to’s”. Instead we have the entire life to practice our natural ability to solve problems that psychologist have baptized “intelligence”.

Modern people believe in multitasking, but the old-fashioned focus on what you’re doing still works best. Concentrating our attention on the main things helps us learn and adapt quicker to the situation.

We should use those methods of learning we are keen to. Put into good practice the inborn abilities, whether they are mostly intellectual or practical. If we have them, there’s no point in pretending we are good at something totally opposite.

A book a day keeps your intelligence awake. Ok, likely not an entire book, but a daily reading routine is what teaches us something new, like new ways of dealing with common tasks. Try about an hour /40 pages of literature, non-fiction, scientific books, whatever makes your day and try the real thing instead of e-books.

Seems like a luxury, but creative activities are accessible for the artist in every one of us. The hobbies you enjoy are the seeds of creativity – don’t waste anything!  You will see things from new angles, change perspectives and eventually come up with out-of-box solutions!

Whether out in the summer sun or inside in winter with the heating turned up, it’s important to keep packed lunches cool, fresh and tasty. The Rucksack Coolerbag is designed to keep your lunch cool until lunchtime and is an ideal complement to the “Food For Thought” lunchbox for a healthy lunch.

Features

• Keeps food cool until lunchtime
• Has two shoulder straps for carrying lunch around – HANDS FREE!
• Ideal for use with a “Food for Thought” lunchbox or Concentrate pot set
• Stretchy enough to fit standard-sized lunchboxes
• Washable in the washing machine – NB better handwashed
• Dimensions (approximately): 29cm x 47cm x 8cm (WxHxD)
• Material: thermally insulating neoprene (the same material used to make wetsuits)
• Available in: red

BUY THE RUCKSACK COOLERBAG NOW

But following this principle only, we would be deprived of ingenuous designs and people would never dare to leave the traditional paths.

Examples come from the works of industrial designer Mark Newson, hired to think out of the box. His designs are considered among world’s hottest designs and are being sold for record prices (the sculptural “Lockheed Lounge” is the most expensive piece of furniture ever to sale at an auction).

What does a man who already designed (almost) everything, think about choosing the right materials? “It’s the same skills you apply in design, just the material changes”.

We don’t know exactly the process from idea to the object, but his objects are bravely approaching various matters: fiberglass, plastic, metal, wood, marble. Mark Newson is playing with expensive materials like Carrara marble to design mass-made lookalikes, endowed with a particular kind of desirability.

So the whole selecting process speaks about the unspoken things that make the artist an artist: perception, intuition, imagination and other unpredictable factors?

Obviously, choosing the materials mainly depends on the effect the designer wants to create. Maybe the secret behind being different in a world of sameness is changing the perspective.

Answer to the riddle last week: ‘Are the spots in the centre the same size?‘: They are the same size!

Mark Champins

Oi – You with the funny face and no hair! Weren’t you on Harry Hill or Dragons Den or something. Oh Yeah – It was Dragons Den – How was that then?

“Going into Dragons Den was a really nerve wracking experience, but in fact, the worst part was the waiting around. All the “contestants” had to sit in a room waiting to be called for – like being at the Dentist. In many ways I think I would rather have been waiting to have my teeth pulled out. I was there for about six hours before I got called in.

When I was eventually summoned, I didn’t have a great deal of time to compose myself, and before I knew it, I was in the middle of the pitch.

Fortunately I didn’t lose the ability to talk, and I remembered my two minute presentation and fielded most of the questions OK.

Four of the Dragons started to show signs that they wouldn’t invest and duly dropped out. I didn’t feel bad because I didn’t think they had really grasped the point of the products, and to perfectly honest, didn’t seem to be listening too carefully. They were very complimentary though. Finally I was left with Peter Jones, who, it was revealed had been waiting for the others to drop out to make it easier for him to negotiate!!

When he said he wanted 40% I decided I would walk if he didn’t move on the percentage. 40% is too much – and I was confident I could get the money elsewhere. However, after a little negotiation I managed to get a 5% claw back if I make £250K profit. We shook on the deal, and I left the Den.

Apart from playing the “wacky inventor” a bit too much, I was reasonably happy with what happened. I now look forward to developing Concentrate into a dynamic business and I aim to produce a whole range of clever products designed to have a beneficial impact on the way kids learn.”
How has that experience helped you with your business?

The whole experience of Dragons Den was quite hard work, but like doing anything that is hard, I think you learn lots from it. Subjecting my business to the scrutiny of the Dragons, and listening to what they had to say to take onboard their criticism and suggestions has been particularly helpful.

What’s it like working with Peter Jones?

Peter Jones is a shrewd character. He is quick to spot opportunities and I think he is a genuinely nice person. He has a good team around him who help to develop the companies he invests in, and a great set of contacts to help make things happen. I have learnt lots from him! He’s also ridiculously tall.