Refocus your focus

Kanisa George

SINCE THE onslaught of the covid19 pandemic a few years ago, there have been concerns among psychologists and social media users alike about the rising inability to stay focused. Anxiety, often touted as the main reason behind this new-age phenomenon, has captured far more victims when compared to pre-covid days, with a record increase of not just anxiety but depression, seen particularly among millennials.

The ripple effect is that more and more of us are struggling with maintaining focus. Oddly, this lack of focus does not't only appear in areas of our lives where productivity is required, like at the workplace, but people also struggle to stay focused even in social settings. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, it is impossible to focus on tasks, and this might be mainly due to distractions, the research of one study unearthed.

Several psychological disorders might be at play when it comes to attention deficit. Depression, general anxiety disorder and attention deficit disorder can severely affect our ability to stay focused and efficiently move from task to task. Other factors like lack of sleep and poor diet can hurt our ability to maintain focus in the same way mental defects can and are equally detrimental.

For those of us who are not't affected by these afflictions, while our inability to stay focused can have detrimental effects on our lives, we might be the cause of our folly. To tackle our struggle with focus, we must first understand why we struggle to stay focused in the first place.

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi argues that intense focus is possible only when a person has clear goals and the necessary capacity to complete the tasks. He believes that focus requires the ability to do the tasks at hand and deal with distractions that may take you off track. To him, the trouble at the heart of our lack of focus is our inability to ignore distractions.

Csikszentmihalyi's views directly coincide with years of research from evolutionary biologists who argue humans have evolved to avoid energy-consuming tasks by taking the path of least resistance. So instead of putting pen to paper on the report due at work or giving a friend our full attention during an intense social meet-up, we become checked out and engage in activities that are not only easier but bring instant, albeit temporary, gratification.

Nir Eyal, the author of How to Build Habit-Forming Products, wrote that doing what we know we should do is often complex, so instead we fall into a routine of avoiding discomfort by taking too many breaks. After a while we inadvertently learn that breaking our focus is more straightforward than doing what we know we should.

People who have experienced an excessive amount of brain fog over the last three years might not be surprised to discover that their primary source of distraction is technology. During lockdown, technology was our teacher, best friend, confidant and companion. In lieu of limited social interaction and productivity, technology filled a crater-sized void and kept many of us from losing our minds.

Our heavy reliance on streaming platforms, social media and music to pass the time replaced almost every aspect of our lives, even when the work-from-home paradigm was introduced and made some of us less focused than we used to be. Now, even people who once thrived in social settings blame their "low social battery" for their lack of focus during social events.

With only so many active hours available during the day, losing time due to lack of focus can eat away at our productivity levels and destroy our lives. Over time, we might wonder, "What did I do and where did the time go?"

Adapting the avoidance method to survive means that we risk falling into a mental rut, whereby we teach our brain to automatically escape hard work instead of working through it.

Unsurprisingly, the nature of the task also determines how much effort we'll put into doing it compared to something else. When you don't enjoy a task, you're more likely to engage in escapism and lose focus, leading to procrastination and, in some cases, inefficiency.

By reimagining the task, according to researcher Ian Bogost, we can make the activity enjoyable and worthwhile. He suggests intensely focusing on the task at hand rather than concentrating on the end result or reward. By approaching the task from a different perspective, we might view the challenge as less daunting and feel confident to tackle it as opposed to avoiding it.

Another way to refocus our focus is by reducing factors that might easily distract us. Removing every distraction may not be possible, but fewer distractions equal more focus and productivity. Psychologists suggest simple fixes like switching your phone off, moving to a quiet area, or even using ambient music to focus your mind. Also, setting a daily social media break can help with the urge to scroll when plagued by difficult moments.

For those who need a more rigid focused programme, using time-on time-off routines can improve how well you manage our time. This involves setting timers at several intervals representing intense work periods and others that signal when it's time to take a break. After a while, this routine becomes second nature and focus, no matter how challenging the task, easier to maintain.

In the words of Csikszentmihalyi, "Few things are sadder than encountering a person who knows exactly what he should do yet cannot muster enough energy to do it." Don't be left behind by brain fog or lack of zeal. Pick yourself up, take stock of your life and show focus who is boss.