I am working on the next couple of posts in my How To Fix Your Life series, which began with Painting Reality: Examining Your Current Life. I rather unexpectedly took last Monday off, but I have no intention of making a habit of it. I will update here once a week, even if I need to write a filler post to do it. Tonight I find that I am having trouble clearing my head and focusing my mind on the task at hand, so I thought I’d take some time to refocus a bit, and write a post about exactly that. Here are eight things I’m doing this evening in an attempt to get all my brain cells firing in the same direction.
- Tea. I’ve brewed myself a cup of decaffeinated tea, which I am drinking slowly and with relish (enjoyment, that is, not a pickled sauce). Decaffeinated is a key word there — with my mind already fragmented, the last thing I need is to ingest a stimulant.
- The Outdoors. I’m sitting in the spacious outdoors this evening, writing on my laptop under the clear evening sky, rather than in my cramped bedroom in the shadows cast by my torchiere lamp and surrounded by the trappings of daily mundane existence.
- Simplicity. I just closed almost all of my applications, and minimized the rest, leaving only my writing to focus on. No web browser windows, no games, no MP3s, nothing but my writing and a hidden instant messenger window — and it would be wise to close even that.
- Mindfulness. I am concentrating on my breathing, shutting out other sounds and thoughts to focus on just that and my writing.
- One Thing. I am doing one thing at a time. If another thought intrudes that I want to capture, I take just enough time to jot it down on my to do list before returning to this post. By doing so, I am able to let go of it, let it leave my mind, so that I can focus on writing again.
- Comfort. I am doing whatever I can to keep myself physically comfortable, so that I am not distracted by things like the temperature or a touch of heartburn. For instance, it has gotten quite cold since I began writing this, but I’m not ready to go inside quite yet — so I’ve put on warmer clothes and returned to focus on writing.
- Peace of Mind. Sometimes we *have* to multi-task to some degree. For instance, the laundry is running as I write this. It’s not occupying my attention, but I will need to tend to it once an hour. By choosing a spot outside where I can hear the washer and dryer, I don’t have to worry about whether I’ll forget about it when it stops. I’m letting my ears keep track of that open loop instead of my thoughts. I have peace of mind about that because I won’t lose track of that — even though the One Thing that I’m doing isn’t laundry.
- Do One Thing — Something Else! If all else fails, do something else for a while. If your brain insists on not focusing on the thing you want it to, give it a break for a while, but do something similar that won’t cause too much of a context switch. For instance, I am still writing a blog post, just not the one I was having trouble focusing on. I’m still thinking about Uplift!, personal development, blogging, and so forth, but I’m letting my brain take the path of least resistance until I hit my stride and am ready to return to the heavy lifting — which is now!
This list is by no means complete, it’s just what I’ve come up with this evening to reacquire focus and get my thoughts in order. What do you do when you’re trying to concentrate on something but you’re tired, distractible, or otherwise just can’t seem to get your mind to settle down and stay on task?