Difficulty Concentrating

[OrangeOwl]

Hi. I know this is a weird thing to ask advice about on a Catholic website, but I thought I’d give it a shot.

Does anyone have good tips on maintaining concentration and focus at work? I have a very typical desk job with billable hour requirements.

Last year, I got trapped into that major time suck known as the Internet, which obviously caused troubles that I’m currently trying to make up for. Around November I finally realized that I needed to stop deluding myself and understood that I can’t even be on the internet during breaks. So no Internet for me. That solved part of the problem, but I’m still having issues. It’s either the newspaper or co-workers or staring blankly at the wall. Unfortunately, often when I start getting on a roll with something, my boss or a co-worker will come and try to procrastinate with me. And when it’s your boss, it’s pretty hard to say no.

Around November, I even resorted to pharmaceutical solutions (zoloft), as sometimes my concentration problem was anxiety based. My doctor also said it helped him with concentration. Well, it doesn’t really help with anything. In fact, during certain times of the month, I’ll get emotional over virtually anything, and I have an inkling that it’s because of the zoloft because I never used to be like this. So now I’m thinking about going off the zoloft since it’s apparently causing more harm than good.

Anyway, I’m just getting increasingly frustrated with this. I just feel like such a horrible person for having this problem. And I just keep thinking about all the time I wasted last year, and it just feels so daunting to try to make reparations for that.

I really could use words of encouragement and advice over this.

 

[EasterJoy]

This is maybe not the best place to ask how to stop needless screen-sucking.
Honestly, though, there will be quite a few of us who give up CAF for Lent who realize that we need to not come back. I may easily be one of them!! Anybody who sees how much I post can see that I spend way too much time here!

Screensucking is a term coined by Dr. Ned Hallowell, expert on ADD/ADHD, but also on the distraction-filled nature of modern life in general, which he wrote about in his book Crazy Busy. This is an excerpt from his web site:
drhallowell.com/crazy-busy/time-management/

Do what matters most to you

A person’s not doing what matters most is the most common casualty of an excessively busy life. Don’t spread yourself too thin. People often head into their day like a spray, where the megaloctopus quickly entraps them. Gemmelsmerch, the force of distraction, is so powerful today that if you don’t deliberately protect time to do what matters most, it is likely you will not do it, or at best not give it the time it deserves. Focus on what you like the best and on what you do best. There is not enough time to try and get at what you’re bad at or spend time doing what you dislike (unless you must). Technology has allowed us to do so much more than we used to be able to do that it is tempting to try to do everything we’ve always wanted to do. This will run you ragged, whether you are a child or an adult.

You must choose. You must prioritize. In order both to do well and to be happy, you must say, “No, thank you,” to many people and activities.

(He went on to say…)

Don’t waste time screensucking

A modern addiction, screensucking is like smoking cigarettes: Once you’re hooked, it is extremely tough to quit. Denied a screen for long, a screensucker can have a modern variant of a nicotine fit. He can start pacing, looking for a place to log on or switch on. I see people on airplanes or in church who are clearly showing signs of screen withdrawal. They are twitching, scratching, looking around, reading something for a second, putting it down, looking at their watches, and in general feeling the pain of not being able to soothe themselves with a screen.

While screensucking doesn’t carry the health risks that smoking cigarettes does, it can seriously limit a person’s productivity and mental growth.

Do whatever you have to do to break the habit. While we don’t have a “patch” to help people quit screensucking, we do have the combination of insight and structure that can do the trick. The insight is simply the recognition of the problem. Structure refers to any change in your behavior or environment you institute to help you quit. For example, moving your screen to a different room, or putting an alarm clock next to your screen to signal when you’ve gone past a certain amount of time, or programming your computer to beep every ten minutes, or training yourself to work for an extended period before you allow yourself a “screen break” all might help. Be creative and devise your own methods of breaking the screensucking habit.

 

[ChibiViolet]

An iodine supplement might be able to help–a good one made from kelp perhaps with folic acid, or a multivitimin if you don’t already take one. Most multivitims and iodine supplements don’t contain both types of iodine and you do need both. Because of your medication, you should talk to your doctor about it first–at least if you’re going to keep taking it.

 

[Bossilla]

This is actually pretty insightful, Easterjoy! Thanks for posting!

 

[dedo]

Interesting.

So we need to go to the screen to help us get off the screen.

I am going to limit screen time to some extent in Lent.

I hope my focus improves.

Nice thread.

 

[lovemyjob]

I don’t know how old you are, but between 49 and 50 I noticed my attention span taking a dive. I got an ipad last spring, which I think contributes to the problem! I can jump from one app to another without having to really focus at all.

I’m thinking of giving up my ipad for Lent and reading some real books. (as opposed to books on my kindle app…)

 

[OrangeOwl]

Thank you everyone for your comments, especially Easterjoy.

lovemyjob, I think it’s an interesting idea to avoid electronics even after hours… Maybe then I can even finally read those books that I bought ages ago.

The last two work days have been way better, I think mostly because of sheer determination. I also feel so much better knowing other people have this problem, even though theirs is probably still not nearly as bad as mine has been. I have really felt like this is the biggest sin that I struggle with, as odd as that probably sounds.

Anyway, I would love to hear to advice from others, if anyone has anything.

 

[chevalier]

An iodine supplement might be able to help–a good one made from kelp perhaps with folic acid, or a multivitimin if you don’t already take one. Most multivitims and iodine supplements don’t contain both types of iodine and you do need both. Because of your medication, you should talk to your doctor about it first–at least if you’re going to keep taking it.

Having too many coffees also washes magnesium out of the system and that’s bad for concentration. I’ve recently got myself some magnesium pills but, naturally, forget to take them.

 

[TheRealJuliane]

Thank you everyone for your comments, especially Easterjoy.

lovemyjob, I think it’s an interesting idea to avoid electronics even after hours… Maybe then I can even finally read those books that I bought ages ago.

The last two work days have been way better, I think mostly because of sheer determination. I also feel so much better knowing other people have this problem, even though theirs is probably still not nearly as bad as mine has been. I have really felt like this is the biggest sin that I struggle with, as odd as that probably sounds.

Anyway, I would love to hear to advice from others, if anyone has anything.

Please be careful if you decide to go off Zoloft. Do it under your doctor’s guidance. DO NOT whatever you do, go off all at once. It can cause horrible withdrawal symptoms if you do that.

Some people work better in an office with some action/noise. I have found that I work more effectively and get more done if I am not at home or in a quiet office. I need to be able to look up and see people, but not interact with them unless I choose. I used to take my college textbooks to McDonald’s and study there. It was perfect for me. It still works as I found out a couple of weeks ago. You might be like me. Too much quiet and I just lose my focus. I was making phone calls, that I had put off for weeks. It surprised me, how much I got done once I was out in public.

You can also see if you might have adult ADD or ADHD. Your doctor can give you some tests, ask some questions, or you can read up on the subject yourself. I think the lives we lead these days cause some degree of ADD in all of us. So I’m not sure meds are the ultimate answer. But you never know. Some people really have almost a miraculous change when they take the medications.