Yesterday I lifted my phone to text a friend. But first I clicked into Instagram, where I waited five minutes watching cute animal videos, my favourite being the one about an orphan kangaroo called Bella taking her first little hops, before being popped into a cute cotton pouch for a rest. I had to show this to LSB and we both ooh-ed and ahh-ed some more and remarked how similar sighthounds and marsupials are around the eyes. Come to think of it, I still don’t think I’ve messaged my mate, because the notion left me, drifting off into the ether as I flitted about, feeling simultaneously busy but listless. Ok, it was a Sunday, day of rest and all that, but still, my feelings were not that of having a day well spent.
I was pontificating about having the attention span of a gnat when LSB sent me an article from Belfast Live which explored this very topic, which I finally read after checking umpteen messages from five different WhatsApp groups. It was therefore a relief to read that I’m not alone with my inability to settle to one task at a time: seems like many of us are similarly afflicted.
Oddly, the people surveyed for the poll mostly claimed that their ravaged attention spans were more down to stress and fatigue than phone use, although they accepted that for younger people, the latter may be more to blame. But, from the point of view of a 45-year-old menopausal mother with a portfolio career and a house full of pets (one of which currently has continence issues) I’d say the reasons for my depleted mental bandwidth is down to all of the above.
I start one task and begin another, (or several) half-way through. I rarely complete any of the jobs, because something more urgent seems to land in my lap which takes priority.
As a result, things are left to the last minute which makes me infinitely more frazzled and mental exhaustion ensues. I’m typing away here, thinking I could actually puke at the thought of my to-do list.
So what metaphorical head-torch can we don to help us focus through the fug and turn that infernal ‘to-do list’ to an ‘off the effing list for good’ list?
Here’s a few strategies I’m trying to implement-
Eliminate visual clutter. Lift a box and chuck in any of the trumpery that’s causing your head to fry. You don’t have time to go through it piece by piece, just heave it all in and get back to it later. At least you now have a clear space to work.
Set a timer. Years ago, someone introduced me to the Pomodoro technique and I find it useful. Take 25 minutes to concentrate on one task (and one alone.) See what you can do and don’t stop til you hear the bleep.
Have a goal to spur you on, ie, ‘After this, I’ll make a coffee.’ Short-term goal- if I do this now I can do nothing work-related all weekend. Medium length goal- This will pay for a trip at half-term, better get my head down. Long term- early retirement!! Ah, that’s the dream. But little goals do work because we’re simple creatures who like our comfort. If you’ll excuse me now, I’ll get back to the current task at hand, once I and drag my eyes from You-tube videos of ballet dancing squirrels frolicking to autumnal tunes. (Dear God, what have I become?)