Relearning to Focus
Focus is something that I must actively cultivate in my life and I expect I am anything but alone in this. I can't tell you how many times over the years I've come to this realization. I install better habits and the results are always so powerful and up-lifting. And then I drift back to my hectic life of putting out fires, social media, and rapid-multi-tasking; only to find myself struggling once again to get work done on larger projects.
A few of my friends have recently been diagnosed with ADHD and they are encouraging me to get tested. And I am going to. It's likely that all the years I've spent beating myself up for this inability to focus may actually be a treatable condition.
But aside from a potential diagnosis, which is likely but still conjecture at this stage, I have the ability to cultivate increased focus into my day. And I know from past experience that this gets easier as I practice, much like working out or learning to play an instrument.
I wanted to share some strategies I use to build up the muscles I need to focus better. These are simple things that bring such relief and with time allow me to go into a deeper state of work.
- Installing a Pomodoro timer on my computer and using it during my peak working time, which is early morning for me. I set a task to work on and then set the timer for 25 minutes. And if I find myself doing something else, I take a breath, close whatever it was, and return to the task I selected until the timer ends. Here's the one I use on my Mac.
- Setting aside 30 minutes to do yoga and then staying through to the end of the lesson. If you don't follow Yoga with Adriene on YouTube, she is AMAZING.
- Not taking my phone with me everywhere. It means I can't take as many pictures of my dogs on walks, but it also means I am present and able to witness the changing seasons and the joy our dogs take in the smallest of things. I can practice joyful focus during so many tasks if I give myself space and permission to do so.
- Virtual desktops. On the Mac, this is called Spaces. This allows me to build out a clean view of my desktop with only the apps I am working on. And when I try to open Twitter, it won't open because it's loaded in a different space. This saves me more times an hour than I care to say.
- I'll put meditation here because I think this is a great practice to build focus, but I have yet to find or achieve a consistent meditation practice. And that's okay, no matter what all those gurus (or my Mom) says!
- Reading. Time spent with a book and no alerts or interruptions is a great way to practice focus and also give your imagination a lovely workout.
I want to encourage each of you, and myself, to not blame ourselves if we are struggling to find focus and motivation. Instead, I urge us all to be kind to ourselves and to explore some practices, like those I've listed above, to find and build space in our lives for deeper work.
Do you have a cool tip you'd like to share that helps you find and build focus? Hit reply and let me know.
All of my love and until next time,
Sean
