Features
Tips to improve your concentration power and productivity
Distractions might cause you to lose focus
One approach to improving work productivity is the ability to focus on the topic at hand. Distractions can hinder job growth and decrease the quality of the work.
You can work to improve your capacity to concentrate if you are aware of how focusing might impact your job. This article shares some tips to improve concentration power.
Do one task at a time and develop strong willpower
By exercising strong willpower, you can avoid temptations that would otherwise divert your attention. Making definite, detailed goals, committing to them, and focusing on one thing at a time will help you strengthen your willpower.
Having a schedule, setting time aside for work completion, and reminding yourself daily of why your goals are important will also help you develop willpower.
Meditate
Meditate for at least 15 minutes in the morning to stop your racing thoughts, reduce depression and anxiety, and get an insight into yourself before you start the day. Sitting upright, closing your eyes, inhaling deeply, and concentrating on breathing can help.
Additionally, you can employ quick meditation sessions throughout the day when you feel your concentration slipping. In addition to helping you focus again on your work, meditation can enhance your memory, increase your alertness and awareness, and lower your stress levels.
Workout
Your energy will increase, your memory will improve, and your brain’s ability to ignore distractions will improve. You are maintaining a healthy weight and improving mental and physical activity.
Possible benefits of maintaining potential benefits of physical activity. Brisk walks, running up and down stairs, yoga, working in your garden, or any other type of exercise that works for you are all acceptable options.
Sleep properly
Lack of sleep can quickly impair memory, attention, and other cognitive processes, including focus. Occasionally, not getting enough sleep might not be too bad for you. However, consistently not getting enough sleep might impact your attitude and productivity at work.
Over exertion can even impair reflexes and impair your ability to drive or perform other daily duties. It might be challenging to obtain enough sleep occasionally due to a busy schedule, health concerns, and other circumstances. However, adults should strive for seven to eight hours of sleep per night, according to many experts.
The following advice will help you get a better night’s sleep:
An hour before going to bed, switch off the television and put away screens.
- Maintain a pleasant, cozy temperature in your space.
- Relax before bed with calming music, a hot bath, or a good book.
- Even on weekends, try to sleep and wake up at around the same hour every day.
- Regular exercise is essential, but avoid a strenuous activity right before night.
Pay attention
A smart technique to increase your focus is to pay deliberate attention to your environment, the people you contact, and your work activities. Making it a point to notice specifics in your daily life will help you develop your attention span.
You might take note of the names of the stores you pass on your way to work, the names of the bus stops and parks, the design of your office complex, the arrangement of the office furniture, and what your coworkers are wearing to work, for example.
Use verbal and nonverbal indicators to show others that you are paying attention when interacting with them, whether at work or elsewhere. These cues include speaking, smiling, and making eye contact. When someone is speaking to you, refrain from looking at your phone or around.
Eliminate distractions
Distractions might cause you to lose focus on your work and squander time. Distractions might not be completely avoidable, but you can try to minimise them. Find out what distracts you frequently by watching yourself, then deliberately avoid those things.
For instance, you might have a routine of frequently checking your email, texts, Instagram, or news. The five or 10 minutes you spend looking these up can pile up and waste a lot of time that could be used to do meaningful work.
Consider disabling your phone’s notifications, putting it away while you work, and refraining from unnecessary computer and phone internet browsing to reduce distractions.
Set a timer
You can focus more on important things by keeping track of your time, which will help you understand how you spend your working hours. Set a timer for 30 or 60 minutes, and throughout that period, focus solely on your work.
Practice with shorter time blocks of 10 or twenty minutes if you find it challenging to stay focused. This method of making the most use of your time can increase productivity and be helpful for job advancement.
Conclusion
Your weight, food habits, and degree of physical exercise affect how well you operate and concentrate. For instance, if you skip breakfast, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to work effectively at noon because of hunger.
Taking care of your health, staying active, and consuming foods promoting concentration can improve concentration. You might wish to include avocados, and chocolate in your diet to improve your capacity for concentration. — pickthebrain.com
Today, I focus on the Apostolic Church International in Finland, as I continue with my description of institutions and personalities and their accomplishments as members of the Ghanaian Diaspora in Finland.
The Apostolic Church International, Finland (or, Apostolic International Association Ry) was established in October 9, 2023. The Church in Finland has seen significant strides and accomplishments within the short time that it has been established in Finland, which must be highlighted.
History of the Church in Ghana
The Apostolic Church Ghana originated from the 1904–1905 Welsh revival, officially established in Ghana (then called Gold Coast) in 1935 following connections between a local prayer group in Asamankese (a town in southern Ghana), led by Peter Newman Anim, and the Apostolic Church, UK. There were historical splits in 1939 and 1953, but the Apostolic Church attained autonomy in 1985.
Today, the Church is headquartered in Accra. Last year (2025), it dedicated its new 10-storey headquarters, “The Apostolic Church Tower,” in Frafraha, Adenta West in Accra.
Activities of the Apostolic Church in Finland
The Apostolic Church in Finland conducts church service on Sundays. The service starts at 11a.m. in the morning and closes by 1 p.m. in the afternoon. There are no other activities during other days for now.
The Minister in charge of the church in Finland is also the Area Head of Italy Area. He is Pastor Daniel Kofi Addison who is the new Italy Area Head, and has just been transferred from UK South Area to Italy Area during the just-ended Council Meeting in March this year. Italy Area comprises Italy, which has 13 Assemblies, Germany, one Assembly, and Finland, one Assembly.
Elder Ebenezer Amoaning-Coffie is the Presiding Elder in charge of the Assembly in Finland. A Presiding Elder is responsible for day to day activities of the church (Assembly) and reports to the District Pastor, or in the absence of the District Pastor, reports to the Area Head.
Achievements
The Apostolic Church International, Finland was officially registered under the Finnish Law, guaranteeing freedom of worship and providing legal foundation for future growth. The church service is conducted in both English and Twi.
The church opens its doors to all people of every nation, especially Ghanaians who are in Finland and other African nationals. Now, the membership comprises Ghanaians, Nigerians and Sierra Leoneans.
The Church and the Ghanaian migrant community in Finland
The Apostolic Church in Finland plays a prominent role as a religious group that serves Ghanaian migrants and others in the Finnish society.
Thus, the Apostolic Church is a religious body for Ghanaian migrants in Finland and other nationalities who want to worship with them for diversity and better intercultural and multicultural understanding.
Elder Amoaning-Coffie said that the main and primary aim of the church is to bring people closer to God. “We aim to win souls for Christ. We aim to preach the gospel to the world. By propagating the gospel to the people, we are hopeful that they will turn away from any ungodly ways and be good individuals in the community and in society in general”, he stated.
He said that everything is going well so far. A key challenge, however, is how to get more members especially the youth. As a new Assembly, we are in need of instrumentalists, for example. We pray to God Almighty to help us do His work, the Elder disclosed.
Integration
By its activities, the Apostolic Church is helping to ensure integration of its members well into the Finish society. This is important since social interaction and citizens’ well-being are an important part of the integration process in Finland.
As I mentioned some time ago, the role of migrant associations and groups such as the Apostolic Church acting as bridge-builders for the integration and inclusion of migrants through participation in the decision making process and by acting as a representative voice is highly appreciated in Finland. Thank you!
With Dr Perpetual Crentsil
The landscape of the Ghanaian palate is shifting, and not necessarily for the better. In our bustling urban centres, from the streets of Accra to the suburbs of Kumasi, a quiet culinary revolution is taking place; one where the mortar and pestle are being replaced by the pizza oven and the deep fryer. This transition from traditional staple foods like fufu, banku, akple, kenkey, tuo zaafi, and ampesi toward “continental” dishes is more than just a change in appetite; it is a reflection of a deeper social struggle with identity and prestige.
The illusion of modernity
For many, “stepping out” for a meal has become synonymous with consuming foreign cuisine. There is an unspoken social hierarchy where a bowl of Abunuabunu is relegated to the village category, while burgers, pizzas are branded as prestigious choices. We have reached a stage where we equate foreign with modern and local with primitive.
This perception is a dangerous illusion. Our traditional dishes are marvels of culinary engineering complex, nutrient-dense, and deeply rooted in our history. When we choose a processed foreign import over a meal made from local tubers or fermented maize, we are not just changing our lunch; we are eroding the indigenous knowledge attached to our local ingredients and foods.
We need to turn the consumption of indigenous grains and tubers like millet, sorghum, and plantain into a statement of self-worth and national pride.
The cultural and health erosion
Every time a local dish disappears from a restaurant menu to make room for foreign fast food, we lose a piece of our cultural fabric. Traditional Ghanaian cooking is an art that requires patience and skill. By choosing the convenience of foreign fast food, we are raising a generation that may know the taste of a pepperoni pizza but cannot identify the rich, earthy profile of Prekese or the subtle tang of well-fermented dough dishes like corn porridge, banku, etew, abolo, agidi or kamfa, and kenkey.
Furthermore, we are at the crossroads of a nutrition transition. Replacing high-fiber, indigenous crops with calorie-dense but nutrient-poor foreign fast foods is driving a rise in lifestyle diseases such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, stroke, cancer, and liver disease. We are trading our longevity for 15-minutes convenience or unhealthy diet.
A call for culinary patriotism
It is time for us to appreciate, preserve, and promote our indigenous foods and culinary traditions. We need to be proud of our local dishes, ingredients and cooking methods, rather than relying heavily on foreign or imported foods. We must stop viewing our local delicacies as low-class and start treating our culinary heritage as the high-end gastronomy it truly is.
True sophistication does not come from imitating Western fast food; it comes from innovation and adding values to our own resources. We see glimpses of this potential in the rise of branded Sobolo and the creative use of gluten-free plantain flour in modern baking of flour-based dishes such as bread, cakes, biscuits and others. This is the path forward. We must elevate our local dishes, making them as accessible, affordable, presentable and trendy as any foreign alternative.
To the hospitality industry: Innovate or stagnate
Our hotels and high-end restaurants must lead the charge. They must stop relegating local dishes to the “traditional corner” of the buffet, and apply the same culinary finesse given to imported dishes to our Fante Fante, apapransa, aborbi tadi, fetritoto, akple, abolo, yakayeke, fufu, ampesi, kokonte, wasawasa, tubani, apapransa, mpotompoto, kelewele, aliha, brukutu, pito, and other local dishes. The industry must enhance customer experiences making eating local dishes the ultimate luxury experience for both tourists and residents alike. We must elevate the presentation of our foods by using modern plating techniques to show that a bowl of light soup can be as visually stunning as a French consommé. We need to reclaim our Ghanaian plate before it is too late.
To the policy makers: Let us encourage buying of local ingredients to promote the local food industry and economy. There should be educational programmes and talks about the nutritional and cultural benefits of local foods so that people understand their value.
We need to encourage serving traditional dishes at school programmes, parties, and celebrations instead of only fast foods,
To the Youth: Let us value and appreciate our traditional dishes instead of always choosing foreign foods. There must be balance in our choice of local and foreign dishes. Confidence in our culture encourages others to respect it too. Our local dishes can also be promoted by sharing pictures, recipes, and videos on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp to make them attractive and trendy.
Young citizens must learn from their parents and elders how to prepare local meals to keep the knowledge and cultural relevance alive. Local dishes can be modernised to appeal to younger generations and tourists.
Conclusion
We cannot afford to trade our heritage for foreign cuisines which are gaining grounds across the country at an alarming rate. We must disabuse our minds of the perception that anything foreign or imported is better than those locally made. Our health, economy, and identity are tied to the soil. It is time to stop apologising for our local flavours and start celebrating them. It is possible to embrace modernity without losing ourselves and our cultural identity. Let us make the Ghanaian kitchen the heart of our modern identity once again.
By: Marilyn Gadogbe
