Can't Seem to Focus

[Panic57]

Lately, I can't seem to focus lately. I've tried my usual routine of making a list of the things i need to get done for the day. But I can't seem to finish anything in a timely manner or at all. Have you had this happen to you? What do you do?

 

[kelden]

Reduce the amount of hours for every routine to a minimum of 20-45 min a day, remove some routines and save them for later when you're able to focus over one or two for at least 6 months . Don't attempt to load up yourself with so many tasks, it takes time to add new routines into your life, and you have to do it everyday for a long period of time to actually stick with it.

 

[T2R43]

I find that I can't focus during the change in the seasons, I'm more active in the summer and spring months. Once, I starts getting darker in the mornings and the day isn't as long I think I start going into a type of hibernation and focusing on tasks or things that need to be done gets a lot harder. So, I try to doing more things during the morning and earlier afternoon and then lighter tasks in the late afternoon and early evening which does help.

 

[111kg]

There are plenty of things you can try. Here is what I've tried:


1) Don't write more than 6 specific goals every day. Trust me. It's not worth it.


2) Tell your friends and family to not put pressure on you.


3) Use the Pomodoro technique: work for 25 minutes and have a 5 minute break. Every 4 Pomodoros you get a 15 minute break.


4) Relax. Whatever you're going through, it will go away. Stay to the course and don't quit the ship.

 

[clair02]

I agree with 111kg. The Pomodoro technique will do wonders for your productivity. And it helps lessen procrastination. I think that you are feeling overwhelmed by the vastness of your list and that's why you end up not doing anything at all, but if you broke it down to only the top six most important goals each day, and make sure to 'eat the frog' (do the hardest one first and your day can only get easier from there...) then you will find that soon enough you will have the motivation to do more.

 

[x0xLikeMex0x]

I've had trouble focusing while reading. It was the worst in high school and even my literature teacher asked me what had happened with me. At the time I thought it was due to my busy lifestyle, and the fact that the stories in books aren't that eventful as my life was at that moment. I got bored and lost focus on the book I was reading, so I couldn't really process what was going on in the book. I tried hard to focus but it didn't work.


Since then, my life pace has slowed down a lot and I can read some books again.

 

[Humphrey247]

I think that you're just trying to do everything at once and spreading yourself thin as a result. I had the same problem when I was going through a phase of self development. What I did was instead of focusing on everything, I'd pick 2-3 tasks I needed to get done that day. Immediately I woke up, I'd try to get those done and then I'd use the momentum as motivation to complete the rest.

 

[Alex]

It does depend on what you are trying to focus on, what distractions you have, and how urgent is everything. There are also other factors such as caffeine, medication, how you sleep, what you eat, and how quiet your environment is. All these do affect your ability to focus or to concentrate. Some days I can't focus regardless if I have something on my mind, so it's best not to do important stuff when that happens.


Filter out what is distracting you, and then you can figure out whether to deal with the issue or ignore it for later.

 

[VanM]

I love cramming so a task list don't do the job for me. I know that cramming is not a good way to work, but knowing that the deadline is just a couple of hours away helps me to really focus. I usually get the job done, and I feel a sense of satisfaction afterwards. Maybe it's the reason why I keep at it, there is a sense of high when you go a hundred miles an hour trying to beat the deadline and then there's that joy afterwards.

 

[Sue]

I go through time when I have a hard time to focus and others time it isn't a problem for me. It all depends on what I have going on in my life at times. There are times when there is just too many things and it gets me all worked up and I can't think straight.

 

[pwarbi]

While a lack of focus is a symptom of anxiety and depression, it doesn't always mean that a person is suffering from those illnesses. Many times I have found myself not being able to focus and it's usually because I either have too much on my mind, or strange as it may seem not enough. If you have a lot going on in your life then it can often be hard to make decisions and you will find that your focus will be all over the place.


If you are like me though and you like to keep yourself busy, when you don't have enough to occupy you the same can also happen and it's just a case of finding that fine line between keeping busy, and being too busy that it starts to stress you out, and I think a lot of people have a problem deciding what is best for them, and how much they can take on without it starting to affect them.

 

[DDNatureLover]

I'm guessing it's your anxiety that is making it difficult to focus? I experience that with anxiety, but also with other things, such as my chronic fatigue, so it might be helpful to determine for sure what is causing your inability to focus. I agree with the above posts with regard to making a short list of things you need to do, and be sure to prioritize them in order of importance, so if nothing else, at least the most important few will be tackled first. Definitely take short breaks. If your breaks are too long, you may end up getting distracted and lose track of what you're doing. Sometimes I make large signs and put them in a few places I tend to look, to help myself stay focused.

 

[misszerable]

You're probably distracted by something which may or may not be obvious to you at this point. It's good that you can still actually make a to-do list. That has happened to me and I know that the reason for my lack of focus was that I was anxious about something that will happen a day or two later. I remember being sluggish and tentative about tasks that I've been doing like clockwork for the past years or so. I wasn't worried much about the lack of focus knowing that it will resolve itself in time and it was indeed resolved after the event I've been worried about. If the lack of focus had been persistent and for no reason at all, I would have gone for a check up. 

 

[sidney]

Yes, that has happened to me as well, but I always try to bring back my focus by eliminating any distractions and just concentrating purely on the work that needs to be done. If I'm feeling anxious then that would be a bit harder to do, but I always pause and let the anxiety subside on it's own before I get back to work.

 

[Choochoo]

I go through these phases sometimes and at times it lasts for weeks or months but most of the time it just pops up on random days where I just feel floaty and can't focus too much. I've always just attributed it to my personality since it's something that I have always felt since I was younger but nowadays that I am more able to research on these things I am starting to think that it may not be as natural as I have always assumed and that there might be some organic measures I can take to improve though I have not yet begun to experiment so I don't have that much personal evidence yet.