Your answers indicate that your focus starts off strong, then tends to fizzle out either in the middle of a tough task or by mid-afternoon.

When concentration wavers, it’s a sign that your brain – and more specifically your mitochondrial function – need help. Mitochondria power every process in your body, so if you improve mitochondrial performance, pretty soon your brain will be able to go longer and stronger.

The result? You’ll be able to stick with tasks and challenges until you can stamp them done. Here are some quick tips you can use right now to get laser focused.

Experiment with different levels of ambient noise

The right type of auditory environment can energize you, while the wrong type can grate your nerves and contribute to fatigue. Your ideal working environment is a highly individual thing. When some people need to concentrate, they might thrive in total silence. Others do best with the hum of a noisy cafe. If clanking coffee mugs and whirring espresso machines distract you, try different playlists of music for certain tasks like focus or stamina. Instrumentals work best if you have to stay focused so the words don’t distract you.

Try all three and see which sound level boosts your productivity.

PQQ + CoQ10

Mitochondria are the tiny organelles that pull energy out of the food you eat. All the energy in your body – your movements, your breath, and your thoughts – ultimately come from mitochondria. Mitochondria are in every cell in your body, but mitochondrial density is greatest in the areas of your body that require the most energy, like your brain.

There’s a lot of animal and human research around mitochondria and pyrroloquinoline quinone, or PQQ. Studies show that PQQ:

• • Increases the number of mitochondria you have
  • Combats oxidative stress (important for the brain because burning energy creates free radicals)
  • Improves learning and memory
  • Stimulates growth of new brain cells

Details on the research in this post.

PQQ supplements are widely available, but notoriously difficult for your body to use. Unfair Advantage contains the acid form of PQQ in a colloidal suspension along with CoQ10, which helps absorption even more. Your mitochondria and your brain will thank you.

Time your concentration blocks

Instead of opening your laptop and hitting it hard until your lunch hour, block your time to work in shorter sprints with frequent breaks. The Pomodoro method times out short 20-30-minute bursts of focused energy followed by a short 5-minute break. Every four blocks, plan a longer break. The idea is that if you can focus at 90-100% for 20-30 minutes at a time, you’ll get more done than you would if you worked for hours and hours at 50% power.