This article is an answer I wrote on researchgate to the question laid out in the title,
Q) How one can control his thoughts or energy of thoughts?
In my humble opinion I think the methods could be classified into external and internal control.
1. External:
1) Drinking coffee:
I found drinking coffee to be very helpful. In fact I do most of my writing in coffee places. Usually I can't focus on one thing for a long period as I feel as if I have ADD, however with coffee I find myself working 12-14 hours straight - Although its not healthy to work for such prolonged sessions.
2) Exercise:
Although this may seem as a cliche recommendation, but I truly feel that exercise help me remove negative emotions or impulsive behavior. Although mostly I find myself impulsive with food afterwards. However, water and coffee usually come to the rescue.
3) Mobile apps or Laptop software:
There are some free apps which helps to focus or avoid distraction. I have not used them much. However they do work for some people (as elaborated by the reviews). For instance, the app Forest.
4) Calm music:
I am tempted to listen to hard-core music during office hours to motivate myself. However, it sometimes has a counter-productive effect on me. Hence, I switch to calm music. Specifically, Jazz music. There are study music channels on youtube which can be very helpful.
5) Therapy (Psychologist) or use of prescribed medication:
I have not used this. I merely mentioned it for the sake of showing the option I consider. However, for medication/drugs I heard of a drug called "Alpha brain" which is claimed to help in boosting focus to do daily tasks and improve speech. Usually in the advertisement they mention it being experimented with double blind placebo tests (I do not recommend it given I have not tried nor confirm these tests).
2. Internal:
1) Meditation:
I failed at meditation many times for many reasons. However, I found a really nice way to do it. Basically, I try to meditate while am going to bed (late night). I just get into bed, turn off all lights, keep trying to avoid thinking. Obviously I fail at avoiding to think but that is the point in meditation. In doing so, I either end up sleeping or staying awake longer but having more time to meditate.
2) Minimize use of social media:
I had watched once an advice on youtube from someone who claimed that avoiding social media (for first 30 minutes of the day) could make significant improvement in different aspects of your life. I cannot confirm the scientific validity of this. However, it has worked for me. I try to avoid any stimulation in first 30 minutes. Meaning no music, no videos, no other people's opinions, etc.
3) To do list:
Making a daily to-do list (not a wish list) is critical. I decided to avoid having too much tasks and make sure to begin with priorities. This helps me because I can avoid anxiety and pressure. Also, having a to do list allows me to stick to a plan instead of keep switching between places or not having the power to make decisions. Work is important but targeted-work is more efficient.
4) Focus for limited intervals:
I once heard on a podcast a clinical psychologist describe a method to increase study efficiency. Basically, if you go to library, stay for 6 hours and only have 1 hour of productive work then you might want to plan to only go to the library for 2 hours and study for 1 hour and 10 minutes. By doing this I think you will feel more urgency to focus and less pressure to complete a full day of research or studying.
5) Investigate the thoughts briefly:
Sometimes I find that entertaining our thought for a short period could actually be helpful. Sometimes an idea comes to mind and perhaps out of association or is triggered by an action or stimulation. Follow the idea for a moment to see how it unfolds. If you reach a point where you anticipate the outcomes of that idea then simply drop it. Now you don't really have curiosity towards it. Hence, you can get back to work. I know, simply said than done.
6) Sleep:
Sometimes I simply can't recover. To me the best option is to sleep, as if I am turning a page in a book. This is very useful for resting the mind and restarting the day. Perhaps naps could be of help as well.
7) Investigate the worth of your thoughts:
You can try to briefly think why you cannot stay focused. Why is your brain/body resisting this mode. Try to ask questions like "is what am trying to think of really is worth it?"
I would like to recommend a book which I think helps in becoming stronger in internal self-control which is called "the meditations of marcus aurelius".
I hope that sharing this question & answer article was helpful to you.
