Are You Too Scattered to Focus on What’s Important?
How’s your concentration? Have you found it hard to focus on what’s important because you feel scattered? You’re not alone!
The reality is that we live in unprecedented times.
These days, we are being pulled in many directions while being bombarded with information and stimulation is common. Smartphones, instant messaging, streaming video, and other on-demand conveniences can make life easier, but often more complicated. After a while, it can be hard to focus and know what’s most important.
There’s a LOT Vying for Your Attention
It’s hard to get through the day without a series of alerts letting you know you’ve got mail, a voice message, an urgent text, or something else vying for your attention. Living in a world where contact is easier than ever, also has its setbacks. Each time someone tries to connect with you, they don’t realize everything else you’ve got going on. We live in a time when busyness is a badge of honor and multitasking is considered a top-tier skill, but the pressure to respond and connect can keep you from being focused on one thing at a time.
Overstimulation Can Make You Scattered
Our conscious and subconscious mind are being bombarded with stimulation. Our senses are constantly being overloaded by stimuli. Light, sound, temperature, and even scents can overwhelm the senses and make it hard to concentrate. When these issues overlap, it can really send you into overdrive. As your brain tries to make sense of everything and compensate for the overstimulation, it can make it harder and harder to focus. Over time, being scattered can be the default for your brain.
Age, Diet, and Toxins Can Contribute to Feeling Scattered
We’ve all laughed at the middle-age jokes taking a jab at memory loss, but age can be a contributing factor for feeling scattered. As we age, our brains need stimulation to stay sharp and help us focus. Our diet also plays a role in our ability to focus. Some foods cause brain fog due to drops and spikes in blood sugar and blood pressure, which contribute to our inability to focus. Toxins in our environment can also impact our ability to focus. Short and long-term exposure to toxic substances can result in scattered thinking and having foggy-feeling brain.
Mental Fatigue Can Cause Scattered Thinking
Dealing with intense situations can cause mental fatigue and make it harder to focus. Being pre-occupied with too many problems can distract you and prevent you from thinking clearly. Being overwhelmed or burdened physically or emotionally can leave you feeling scattered and unable to focus on what’s important.
Take a Deep Breath, It’s Time to Get Focused
Feeling scattered can make it hard to know where to put your emphasis. It’s best to start by stopping anything that’s not vital. Taking a deep breath and realizing you can’t do it all, right now, can help. Realizing you feel scattered but aren’t sure where to start for your focus can help you stop and evaluate your next steps. From there you can start to narrow your focus and boost your production.
Ditch These Distraction Habits to Master Your Focus
Feeling scattered has a lot to do with being distracted. It’s hard to focus when your attention is being diverted to things that don’t matter as much as your to-do list. Sometimes distractions are out of your control, but most of the time your habits contribute to your tendency to get distracted and unfocused. Ditching distracting habits can help laser focus your time and energy and boost your production.
Disable Alerts to Ditch the Social Media Distraction Habit
It may seem important to keep up with the latest YouTube video posted by your favorite influencer. You may be waiting on pins and needles for your comment to be seen and liked on Facebook, but unless social media is part of how you earn a living, it could be distracting you needlessly. Turning off notifications can help you save social media for when you have proper downtime. It’s the same for email notifications, text alerts and so forth. You can easily set specific tones on your smartphone for the most important contacts, so you don’t miss important messages and let the others wait until you have free time.
Enforce a Do Not Disturb Model to Ditch the Chatting Distraction Habit
Losing your focus, even for a few minutes, can diminish your productivity and creativity. It takes a while to ramp back up to being in focus. Don’t allow yourself to get distracted by casual conversations when you are working. Closing your door, facing away from others, or setting the tone you don’t want to be disturbed can help others keep their distance. If you stay focused and don’t engage in conversations, you may find you get your work done faster than you thought and have more time for others when you are done.
Limit Overstimulation to Ditch the Multi-Tasking Habit- Multi-tasking is often thought of as an effective way to work, but doing too much at one time can water down your focus. Limit the types and number of things you do at once. Avoid listening to podcasts or music when you need to concentrate on a mental task. Avoid having the television or other noise in the background when you are working, it can cause your mind to wander and get distracted. Skip talking on the phone or holding important conversations when you should be focused on a physical task because it can diminish your focus. If you find you do better with white noise in the background or thrive taking on multiple tasks at once, try to limit them to the least distracting to your conscious or your subconscious.
Your habits may be distracting you and making you lose focus. You can often boost your productivity by ditching the habits that leave you feeling scattered. Determine which habits are particularly distracting for you and find a way to overcome them, so you can be laser focused and productive.
Plan Your Day According to Your Ability to Focus
Have you ever been asked if you’re a morning person or a night owl? If you know the answer right away, you likely have a time of day when you are most productive. Some people hit the ground running and run out of steam by midday. Others are slow to move, but perk up right about dinner time. Planning your day according to your ability to focus can help you stop feeling scattered and boost your production.
Your Body Has a Natural Rhythm
Everyone has a natural rhythm. The circadian rhythm triggers the sleep/wake cycle and helps alert our body when it’s time to sleep and time to wake up. Your rhythm may include rising with the sun or staying up past midnight, either way, tuning into your natural tendency can help you be less scattered and feel more focused. Planning your day around your natural rhythm can reduce your stress and help you tackle what’s got to get done.
Be Intentional When Planning Your Day
Everyone has the same twenty-four hours in a day, yet some people get much more done than others. Being intentional when planning your day can make all the difference. Tuning into your most productive time and making the most of it can reduce stress and overwhelm, making you less scattered. Consider these ideas when planning your day
Plan Time to Eat That Frog
Eating the frog is the term used to describe doing the most difficult or distasteful job of the day, when you are most productive. This way, everything else will pale in comparison. If you have the most energy in the morning, do the hardest or most distasteful thing on your list bright and early. If you are more energetic in the evening or nighttime, save it until you are at your peak performance.
Try a Timer Method to Laser Focus Throughout the Day
Some people do well in short bursts broken up by less intense periods of rest. If you tend to get overwhelmed by big projects, it may help to use a timer method to focus your energy uninterrupted for specific time frames. Between scheduled work times, engage in an activity that helps you relax and revive for the next round of focused work. You can find apps for your smartphone or desktop to help. Try the Pomodoro method, which breaks tasks down into twenty-five-minute increments of laser focused work.
Be Honest About What You Can Accomplish
Overcommitting or underestimating how much time you need for the items on your to-do list can complicate and sabotage your focus. Having more to do than can possibly be done can lead to scrambling at the last minute to meet expectations, including both on and off-duty commitments. If you can’t seem to get a healthy dinner on the table or feel scattered about what your kids need for school or sports every morning, it may be due to an overwhelming schedule. Be sure to set aside enough time in your day to realistically meet all of your duties and commitments.
Planning your day around the time you’re most productive can help you feel less scattered and more in control. Determine when you are at your peak and make the most of your schedule.
Tips to Laser Focus Your Energy and Boost Your Production
Having too many loose ends can really add to feeling scattered. When you are scrambling to complete tasks…sometimes more than one at a time, it can make it hard to get anything done completely or on time. Rather than putting things off or trying to juggle multiple activities at once, it’s better to laser focus your energy and set yourself up for success.
Here are some tips that can help:
Get Ready for the Next Day Before You Go to Bed
You may think you’ll remember everything you need to get yourself and your family out the door on time in the morning, but chances are someone will forget something important. Instead of relying on luck to be ready for the day, get ready for the next day before you go to bed. Here’s how… Place everything you need for the day near the door. This includes backpacks, sports equipment, important paperwork, dry cleaning, grocery lists, or anything specific you need for the day. This allows you more stress-free time in the morning to get out the door. It also models preparedness for your entire family.
Get Good at Making Lists
If you don’t already understand the benefit of making lists, it’s time to join the list-making club. (You can use voice notes if you don’t like making lists!) Making master lists for some tasks like grocery shopping can really help you feel less scattered. Simply print off your master list and circle the items you need. Make lists for trips, party or project planning, or specific tasks you have. Laser focusing your energy on a list can free up your mind to do other work rather than constantly try to remember what you need to do or complete in a day. It can dramatically reduce the number of loose ends you have to manage and keep your life neat and tidy.
Create Routines that Fit Your Needs
When too many things are left undone, it can make you feel scattered, disconnected, and less productive. Creating routines that fit your unique needs can make a big difference. Meal prepping can help laser focus your energy once for easy meals all week long. Having a cleaning schedule can help you feel less overwhelmed by laundry or dirty dishes. Emptying your inbox can help you keep on top of communications for your work. Rather than trying to put out the metaphorical fires in your life on a day-to-day basis, routines can help prevent them.
Feeling scattered and overwhelmed can zap your productivity and create loose ends in all areas of your life. Sometimes getting laser focused can help you avoid leaving things undone for another day. Finding the tips and tricks that work best for your unique needs can make all the difference.
Still Can’t Focus? It May be Time to See the Doctor
If you’ve been trying to push through feeling scattered or foggy without success, it may not be a problem of focus, you may, instead, need to visit a doctor.
Many illnesses, medication reactions, or seemingly unrelated conditions may affect your ability to focus. That’s right, sometimes the inability to focus or feeling scattered is a symptom of something bigger.
How Often Do You Get a Checkup?
It’s a great idea to get routine checkups with your primary care physician and specialists.
They can help you better understand health-related risk factors you may have, as well as record your baseline health. That way, they have something to compare from visit to visit. Routine annual exams may include a
- Complete blood work up
- Vision and hearing testing
- Cognitive/mental health testing
- Special tests for your unique health needs
If you are living with the effects of a chronic health issue, you may visit with your physician or specialist more often. Regular visits can help determine if any struggle with focus is related to an illness or chronic injury.
Can’t Focus? These Signs May Indicate It’s Time to See the Doctor
If you have noticed a radical or sudden change in your ability to focus, that could be an indication something is wrong. If you’ve experienced a sudden onset of brain fog, it maybe that you’re worn out, but it might mean something more.
Have your friends or family noticed a change in your ability to focus? Sometimes we aren’t as aware of our behavior as those closest to us. If your family or close friends mention you seem to be having trouble with focus, pay attention. Their insight may be an indicator you need a checkup.
If you’re experiencing brain fog after recently adding, changing, or trying a new medication it may be normal, or it may indicate you need a medication adjustment. Be sure to ask your physician or pharmacist if feeling foggy is a common side effect of your medication. If it is, you may have a harder time mastering your focus and feeling productive.
Can You Master Your Focus and Feel Productive with a Medical Condition?
Living with a medical condition or taking medication that causes brain fog doesn’t mean you can’t master your focus and be productive. It simply means you may need to have some accommodations or create structure that helps you focus. Once you know the root for feeling scattered, you can make changes that help you focus despite an illness or injury, whether it’s temporary or long-term.
Feeling like you can’t focus can be frustrating, especially when you are trying hard. If you find that you can’t seem to focus, despite focusing on focusing, it may be a smart move to see your doctor for a physical checkup and see if there’s a reason why.
