Staying focused in your job search, career or life can be a challenge. If you’re easily distracted, you’re not alone. I believe there are three things that are at the top of the list as focus killers. This post and two to follow are my two cents on recognizing and dealing with them.
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I’m really busy – without having accomplished what I first set out to do. Here’s an example from when I was in the midst of holiday preparations earlier this month. Task at hand: Wrap three presents. I go to the storeroom for gift wrap. On the way, I spy a pair of winter boots that needs waterproofing. I wander upstairs, put them by the front door and go to my iPhone to note waterproofing solution on my shopping list. On the way back downstairs I remember the dishwasher’s not loaded. Done. Oh; empty Brita pitcher’s on the counter. Better fill that up with water and put it back in the fridge. Done. Then I see some expired coupons on the counter, and take them to the shredder. It’s full. I take it to the garage recycle bin.
You see where this is going.
If you are in a job search or managing your career, having a strategy and action plan are crucial. Sticking to the plan is of course key. So what gets in the way?
#1 Killer: Stress
Experts say that your brain on stress basically functions like the brain of someone with ADHD. You focus on whatever seems most pressing or interesting to you at the moment, while everything else goes out the window. When you’re anxious or stressed, your attention shifts to whatever’s upsetting you. The prefrontal cortex of the brain – where organization and time management take place – is less active. It’s great if you’re a caveman who has to run from the beast. But in today’s world, your brain being hardwired for a fight-or-flight response won’t necessarily serve you well. Being overly fixated on one thing—a stressor that is not likely to kill you – won’t help you concentrate on your to-do list.
My client Jim knows the feeling. Stress recently threw him for a loop in his on-the-job focus. He told me about receiving an email from his boss. The subject line was “Stop by my office around 2 to chat about something on my mind.” Jim went cold. What did he do? He began to fill in the blanks of course. He worried that his boss was going to lecture him about his having been late that morning. Or worse, lay him off (despite great performance reviews) because of the company’s recent acquisition.
Jim’s performance that day suffered. He was late for a conference call because he was calling his wife to dissect the baffling email. His mind wandered during a conversation with a coworker and he misrouted an email attachment as a result.
#1 Killer Strategy
Of course, first you want to deal with the source of the stress. Self-care is important: sleep, exercise and healthy eating. Deep breathing exercises can help. Incidentally, in Jim’s case, the “chat” his boss referred to was to give him a fun project that Jim had volunteered for! Some stressors you can alleviate quickly; others you’ll have to navigate around. Taking the ADHD idea, I researched some techniques that while seemingly basic have worked for both people diagnosed with ADHD – and those dealing with everyday, garden-variety stress. They help me. Perhaps they can help you too.
- Get a day planner and find ways to motivate yourself to actually use it.
- Create a ritual. Every morning, after you get your coffee, take 10 minutes to write out the day’s to-do list. Prioritize it. Be realistic. Ask yourself what has to be done no matter what, which tasks can wait and what you can delegate.
- Map out your day. Think about each task and how long it will take. On your computer or Smartphone, set alarms and reminders about your appointments and deadlines.
- To stay focused during a conversation, take notes. Get in the habit of restating what the other person just said in order to stay on point and gel the content.
- If you start feeling stressed or overwhelmed about a project, don’t think of the whole thing. Break it down into smaller tasks.
- Just start. But if you stop a task before it’s finished, go back to the above and keep it in the loop.
Sure; I still get distracted. But if I’ve done the above and I’m in the middle of googling something for dinner when I should be prepping for a client session, the to-do list and above helps. The alarm jars me back to reality. No; you can’t control all the stress in your life. But you can keep it from perpetually killing your focus.
Do you have a story to share about lack of focus and things that helped you? I’d love to hear!
Photo: BLWPhotography
