Hello,
I am Dr.
Jan Mahler and welcome to this talk on how to manage distractions and prevent mental fatigue in order to strengthen the capacity to stay focused and attentive at work.
Let us first consider what it means to be distracted.
A distracted person can typically show one or more of the following behaviors.
Unfit to sustain mental efforts,
Not paying attention during a conversation,
Looking constantly the other way or at the watch during a conversation,
Interrupting conversations,
Responding with something else than what is being talked about,
Changing the subject,
Committing mistakes because of lack of attention,
Frequently losing objects,
Documents or forgetting important tasks,
Appointments or dates.
Do you recognize any of this kind of behavior in yourself lately?
Or maybe you have observed it in others at home or at work?
In the last few years,
We have all come to know a habit that probably more than anything else increases the mentioned behaviors.
And it is,
As I am sure you know,
The abuse of digital gadgets like cell phones,
Tablets and computers.
We now know a lot about the damaging effects of spending too much time in cyberspace looking at the screen.
Like for instance mental fatigue,
Attention deficit,
Lack of impulse control and anxiety disorders.
In the focus enhancing strategy I shall present to you at the end of this talk,
You will learn how to deal with this digital addiction at work.
At work there are usual and normal interruptions that can reduce our attention during work hours like teammates asking for something or unforeseen events and changes.
We normally learn to accept these small moments of lack of attention.
But a very common reason for many people suffering from being mentally exhausted and distracted is their continuous intent to multitask.
Some years ago the ability to multitask was considered a positive skill.
It was part of many job descriptions.
And many people was hired because they said to be good at doing several things at the same time.
However,
Recent scientific studies of brain functions show that multitasking is neurologically impossible.
The reason being that the neurons of our brain are designed to perform only one task at a time.
If you are talking on the phone and at the same time trying to answer an email on your computer,
It might seem to you that you are doing both things simultaneously.
But the reality in your brain is different.
Your brain is actually jumping back and forth between the conversation and the email over and over again.
Experiments have shown that this is very demanding for the brain.
It uses a lot of energy to do this and it gets very tired from it.
So,
As you understand,
This can easily cause mental fatigue and what we call brain fog.
So if your aim is to maintain focus,
Attention and mental agility at work,
Then trying to multitask is the worst thing you can do.
The recommendation is therefore very simple.
Do one thing at a time.
In the upcoming focus enhancing strategy,
You will learn how this is done while working.
Another source of distraction and loss of focus is something that happens in many people's mind.
It is called monkey mind and means a mind that is constantly jumping from one idea to another.
Some people is suffering from this to the extent that they become mentally paralyzed,
Incapable of focusing on or finishing an idea or task and therefore often unable to execute actions or make decisions.
How to deal with this is also included in the focus strategy I will share with you now.
Depending on the nature of your work,
You might need to customize this strategy to fit your particular situation.
Step 1.
If checking your email or social media is not part of your work,
Turn off your phone or at least all of the messaging sounds when you arrive at work.
Step 2.
If possible,
Divide the day into periods of maximum two hours of work at a time.
Step 3.
You begin working by organizing your tasks for the day,
Making a list of three priorities,
Only three.
Once you have finished them,
You make another list with three more tasks,
And so on,
Successively during each two-hour period of activity.
Step 4.
If you need to review your mail due to work,
The best thing is to do it at the end of each two-hour work period.
Step 5.
After the two-hour period,
And only if you feel you can't survive without it,
You can turn on your phone for five minutes and check your personal mail and social media.
Then turn the phone or the sounds off again and put your phone aside.
Step 6.
And very important,
Take a break for five to ten minutes,
Including a power nap,
Which means practicing early-axation technique.
After the power nap,
You repeat step 3 to 6,
Starting the next two-hour period focusing on three priorities at the time and ending it with another power nap.
If you follow this strategy during the whole day,
Every day,
You will soon become less tired and distracted,
And more focused,
Productive and content.
Thank you so much for listening,
And good luck with your focus strategy.
