Why is focusing is so hard? Is it just me, or does it feel like whenever you finally have the opportunity to sit down and work on something, your brain refuses to focus? My free time looks like a 1-2 hour window on weekends when the baby is napping. I get my laptop ready, pull up my virtual class, and all of a sudden I realize that the video has been playing for 5 minutes and I haven’t absorbed a single word.
Is it mom brain? Is it burnout? Is it that little voice reminding me that there’s still dishes to wash, laundry to do, and floors to sweep? Or is it that other little voice that’s so full of excitement and ideas of what to create and projects I want to accomplish?
When I want to focus and my brain wants to go down a rabbit hole of nonsense, I have a few tried and true tips in my toolbelt to help.
- Hydrate – There’s something about the simple act of not only having my water bottle, but sipping from it that helps me to keep my mind actively engaged in what I’m doing.
- Stand up, squirrel out – I call these my squirrely moments. Sometimes I just have to move and get all the extra energy out. For me, this looks like using my under desk bike, standing up and side stepping while I work, or stretching. Either way, I give myself grace and get the wiggles out.
- Admit temporary defeat – Temporary being the key word here. When I know my brain is not absorbing anything I’m learning, I’m wasting my time trying to force myself to learn. I take a break. What does that look like? Refilling my water, playing with my dog, going for a walk, knocking something off my to-do list, venting my frustrations to the world by writing a quick blog post, anything to get away for a few minutes to come back refreshed.
Let me know what helps you buckle down when you’re on a time crunch in the comments or read more about my journey into tech here!
