What were you doing when this article caught your eye? Chances are, you were having trouble concentrating on another project. Even before COVID-19, balancing your work, family, and social life made concentrating a challenge. These days, it can seem downright impossible. Don’t let a little bad news—or good fun—break your focus. Here are eight reasons why you might have trouble concentrating, each with its own solution for getting back on track:
1. Digital Distractions
Right now, do a little experiment. Pull up at your browser history, hit Ctrl+H, and see where you’ve been all day. Frightening, right? You jumped in and out of email. You bounced from social media to digital publication and back again. Oh, and look at those half-dozen retail sites you scrolled through looking for a new pair of shoes. Then, there’s your smartphone. Every few seconds, you get a new notification from Twitter, Instagram, or CNN. Each time, your eyes dart from your computer screen to your phone. You’d
hate to miss something, right?
The Fix: Schedule Your Day
Even amid the coronavirus pandemic, you can put together a daily schedule. While a little flexibility is important, you should set aside blocks of time for tasks you know you’ll need to complete. Schedule time to:
- read and respond to work emails;
- make headway on your top two or three work projects;
- engage in professional development;
- do household chores;
- help the kids with homework;
- and run that Zoom tutorial with your partner again.
Those gaps in between? Those are buffer times. Everyone needs to unwind with a good distraction now and again. The key is controlling when you do so, rather than letting it control you.
2. Daydreams and Memories
Remember that little café where your spouse proposed to you 15 years ago? Wouldn’t your dining room look great with the same little tables and subway tile on the floor? Everyone loses themselves in daydreams and memories sometimes. Your mind wanders to the future or the past because those places are more pleasant than the spreadsheet you’re struggling to fill out. This causes you to have trouble concentrating on what you need to focus on. Nonetheless, you have a deadline to meet. So, how can you keep yourself focused?
The Fix: Stay in the Present
Daydreaming isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Imagination can provide a spark of creative genius or visualization of what you want in life. You just need to do it when it makes sense, not when you should be focusing on work. Stay in the present by keeping your daily to-do list on your desk. When your mind starts to drift, pull yourself back to what’s right in front of you. Ground yourself by focusing on something real, like your breath, before turning your attention back to the task at hand. With that said, make time to let your mind wander on occasion. Allow yourself the luxury of dreaming when it’s not pulling you away from something you need to get done.
3. Headaches
Nearly everyone has had a headache at some point during their lives. While you might be able to power through a mild one, a splitting migraine can destroy any hope you have of concentrating. Headaches and migraines are caused by a wide range of issues, including stress, lack of sleep, diet, eyestrain, and medications. Throw a global pandemic on top, and it’s no wonder your head is pounding.
The Fix: Use Your Head
Like that bottle of hand sanitizer, keep your headache and migraine medications on hand at all times. If getting to the pharmacy is a challenge these days, migraine services like Nurx can diagnose you and deliver medication to your door. If your headache isn’t severe, try a medication-free approach. Some people find relief simply from drinking water, applying a cold compress, or inhaling essential oils.
4. Racing Thoughts
When is that project due? I’ve got to get something for Jane’s baby shower. I’m almost out of shampoo. I need those audit figures. What do I make for dinner tonight? Does that sound familiar? Racing thoughts are common, especially among busy people. But they aren’t conducive to keeping your brain on track and focused.
The Fix: Meditate and Be Mindful
If you’re like most people, your mind is lost in thought 47% of the time.((Columbia University:
How Meditation Can Help You Focus)) Meditation is a great way to clear the clutter and focus on the present. The good news is, meditating is easy. Simply sit somewhere comfortable, take off your shoes, and set a timer for ten minutes. Then, just focus on your breathing. Don’t try to control it. Simply notice your inhales and exhales. Let thoughts pass unjudged.
Mindfulness meditation, described above, is just one type. Mantra and movement meditations are also popular. Figure out what works for you, and keep those racing thoughts at bay.
5. Unresolved Issues and Arguments
Life is messy. If you’re like me, one of the greatest concentration-killers is unresolved disputes. Maybe you argued with your partner last night. Perhaps you both went to bed angry, and it’s been bothering you all morning. Or maybe you’re fed up with a co-worker who always talks louder than is necessary because they want everyone to hear about their latest date. Your anger and annoyance won’t solve these issues. But they will distract you from your job.
The Fix: Get Some Closure
Instead of leaving an argument up in the air, try to solve it. Stick to the point, stay calm, listen, and bring the disagreement to some sort of resolution. If a co-worker does something to irritate you enough to interfere with your ability to concentrate, pull them aside and tell them. Be rational—not angry—and try to understand what might motivate their actions. Otherwise, nothing is going to change, including your concentration issues.
6. Lack of Sleep
Poor sleep isn’t just a health issue. It also hinders your ability to concentrate during the waking hours. There are medical reasons for poor sleep, like diabetes, respiratory issues, cardiovascular disease, and neurological disorders. For those, you need to seek medical treatment. For most people, poor sleep is the result of anxiety about finances, kids, parents, or maybe that job change you've been considering. You have a lot on your mind, and this causes you to have trouble concentrating.
The Fix: Have Some Sweet Dreams
Losing as few as 16 minutes of sleep can throw you off your game the next day. Getting to sleep might be as easy as changing your mattress or your pillow, but the bigger culprit may be your routine. Key steps include:
- Go to bed and get up at the same time every day, including on weekends.
- Control your exposure to light at night, including smartphones and computer screens. Use that time to confront those weighty things on your mind by making a list of concerns or updating your to-do list.
- Avoid overeating. Large meals close to bed can make you feel bloated and uncomfortable.
- Avoid drinking alcohol or caffeine. Both substances interrupt your natural sleep cycle.
- When you do lie down, turn off the lights and close your eyes. Take some deep breaths, and drift into dreamland.
7. Lack of Exercise
For many people, exercise lands at the bottom of the to-do list. When they run out of time, they skip it—at the cost of their concentration. Even moderate, regular physical activity benefits your physical health, improves your sleep, lessens anxiety, and increases mental acuity. If you aren’t making time for exercise during the day, you’re hurting your ability to focus.
The Fix: Get Moving
Not everyone is an athlete. Not everyone wants to work out under the scrutiny of their fellow gym-goers. At the end of the day, what matters is sustainability. Rather than launch into that soon-to-fail New Year’s resolution approach to exercise, start with literal small steps, like walking the dog or taking the stairs. If it only takes you five minutes to eat that protein bar at your desk, use the rest of your lunch break to take a walk. Even if it’s around the block, you’ll come back feeling refreshed.
8. Boredom
If you’re bored with a work project, it’s easy to fall victim to even the smallest distraction. If you're not enjoying what you're doing, you'll have trouble concentrating on it. If you’re bored with life in general, you’ll find it difficult to focus on much of anything. Boredom leads to a lack of motivation, which leads to fatigue, which leads to scrolling through your Facebook feed for hours. Depression and boredom
are tightly linked.
The Fix: Get a Fresh Perspective
The pandemic has put a stranglehold on our social lives. Despite the restrictions on seeing other people and going out in public, you need to find a way to put the “social” back in your life. Work-life balance is important, especially under these circumstances. Even if you’re not comfortable with eating at a restaurant or visiting grandma, there are things you can do. Zoom and Facetime are good options, but you might also think about having a couple of friends over on your patio while maintaining social distance. Keep it short so no one even has to use your bathroom. And about that boring work project? Tweak your attitude by thinking about how it will benefit your client. Find a way to make it fun, perhaps by discussing it with colleagues who make you laugh. If all else fails, just muscle through it. Mark it off your list, and move on to something more engaging.
Before You Get Distracted and Move On
Concentration requires a lot of energy, motivation, and focus. That's why most people have trouble concentrating. When there are all sorts of sounds, lights, and people competing for your attention, that combination can be elusive. Do your best
to remove distractions, clear your mind, and take care of yourself. Those work projects will practically check themselves off once you get into a groove.
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