Addera... no pharmaceuticals?!
There isn't a chess solution to that problem. If you can't focus on a game of chess and think through a position then, as you said, you likely have that problem in other areas of your life and you need to work on your concentration abilities in general.
Having a restless mind? Learn breathing exercises or pranayama. A good yoga teacher (or a good yoga book) could teach you this technique. There are also video instruction on youtube.
I, too, have trouble concentrating for extended periods of time. Some productivity coach once told me that focus is like a muscle in that you can build its endurance with progressively longer use.
So if right now you can only sit down and concentrate for five minutes, it's fine. Don't beat yourself up. Just make yourself sit down for six minutes the next time. Then seven and so on until you're happy with your newly acquired desired focus ability. like a skill unto itself.
I'm not sure how reliable the info was, but it seemed to work for him. For some reason, I've had trouble internalizing it for myself though.
Let them occur.Do not forcus on them.Concertrate on the task your doing w/ full awareness.Thoughts will and come and go.....
Addera... no pharmaceuticals?!
There isn't a chess solution to that problem. If you can't focus on a game of chess and think through a position then, as you said, you likely have that problem in other areas of your life and you need to work on your concentration abilities in general.
Well there are usually solutions to things, some just might not be readily apparent.
TedBundy to improve your ability to concentrate I recommend using a mix of chess and nonchess things. For chess specifically, and you'll see Grandmasters use this technique often if you've ever watched live video feed of them playing, cup your hands around your eyes so that your eyes can only see the chess board in front of you. Our eyes take in everything they can see and our brain then processes those imagines, which can spark a different or distracting throught in our minds. So next time when your at the chess board, try cupping your hands around your face so that your eyes can only see the chess board (even if its on the computer, it can help) which can help keep distracting imagines and associated thoughts out of your mind when trying to concentrate on a position.
A second technique to improve your concentration abilities is to pull out a chess board (doesn't HAVE to be one, but why not) and focus on a specific square, lets say e4. Stare only at that square and then tell yourself everything related or associated with that square. For example, tell yourself "The e4 square is located in the center of the board. It is part of the four central squares. It is on the 4th rank. The Ruy Lopez opening begins with moving the white pawn to e4..." you keep going until you can no longer keep your focus related to the e4 square. Eventually you should be able to train yourself to be able to focus on that square without much mental propping (saying things associated to that square) to keep yourself thinking about the e4 square. It sounds silly, but it is really effective. Some people use more everyday things because they can more easily come up with words and associated phrases to keep their mind focused on that object or image.
Another technique to help improve concentration is to bargin with your mind with offers it can't refuse. It can be as simple as "I will focus on reading this {book I don't want to read but must} for five pages and then I will go treat myself to {something you love}. It sounds almost childish approach but I can personally swear by it!
There is no easy fix for improving concentration, every method takes work. The good news is though that anyone is capable of improving their concentration if they put in the effort to because our brains are very adaptable and when we do repetitive activities consistently, our brains create the associated means to accomplish them with less and less effort. It becomes "second nature" (consider driving for example!).
I had the same problem. Here's my solution: play turn-based chess so you have essentially as much time to think as you want. Write down your thoughts, particularly certain possible lines of play, everytime before you make a move. (I do it in a Microsoft Excel file.) This helps me develop habits of thinking in terms of concrete variations and positional assessments, rather than just letting my mind wander all over the place. Eventually these habits will carry over into other time controls.
In playing chess, I come accross only one pitfall: I cannot organize my thoughts efficiently or quickly. This problem arises in several other areas of my life, but I think it's safe to say other players have encountered this issue and have some sort of solution. I have done a general search for chess strategy, but I haven't found anything that speaks about concentration techniques. I can't be the only one experiencing this problem. Any ideas on thinking more clearly (and please don't reccomend any pharmaceuticals, just honest tactics for concentration)?