If you sometimes feel overwhelmed by your daily tasks and obligations, you’re not alone.
The proliferation of mobile devices and the demands for faster communication have erased the division between home and work, says Joe Flanders, a psychologist and director of the Mindspace Clinic in Montreal, which provides therapy and coaching. As a result, we try to do too much simultaneously, which is both confusing and inefficient.
“People feel like they have to be everywhere at once,” Flanders says. “And that means it’s difficult to have a clear and uncluttered experience at work.”
Feeling overwhelmed and unable to concentrate on the tasks in front of you will inevitably slow you down and put you behind schedule. What you need is a way to keep your tasks organized and your mind centred.
Flanders shares three ways to enhance your ability to focus your mind:
1. Start the day using all five senses
“Our minds can pretend to be in three places at once,” Flanders says. “But our bodies can’t.”
Paying attention to your senses helps you focus on the present. To start your day with a clear mind, concentrate on what you’re tasting, seeing, touching, hearing and smelling. Instead of reading a newspaper while eating your breakfast, focus on the texture and flavour of your food.
Another way to wake up your senses is by taking a walk. If you have a park nearby, head in that direction and take in the colours, sounds and smells.
2. Prioritize your tasks
When you head into the office, determine what are the most important tasks of the day. Prioritize intelligently, Flanders says, which means distinguishing between what is urgent and what is important.
Urgent tasks are those that need to be completed within a few hours or a few days. While these tasks need your attention, you should not ignore those larger projects that require long-term strategic thinking.
For example, developing the agendas for that day’s series of meetings is urgent. But remember to set aside time to update your long-term communications strategy. The latter does not have an immediate deadline, but a communications strategy is crucial to the success of your business. Completing that project will increase your ability to engage with your current clients and attract new ones.
When you’ve decided what the day’s most important task is, complete that one first, Flanders says. That is the only way you know it will definitely get done.
3. Avoid multi-tasking
The idea that you can execute more than one task at a time is an illusion, Flanders says.
Your mind can concentrate on one thing at a time. When you try to concentrate on more than one task or thought, your brain is actually shifting between those two areas — a complex process of disengaging from one item and engaging with the next, and having to catch up where you left off each time.
“It’s incredibly wasteful in resources and time,” he says.
To make your mind to feel more focused, dedicate your attention to one task or thought.