You know that there’s work to do; you sit down to do it, but you just can’t do it. You can only stare at the screen. After some time, you focus on something else.
Either the mind is somewhere or daydreaming or have so many tasks to pick.
Sometimes what works is stepping away from the task for a few minutes to clear my mind.
The tips given below are the ones I found helpful.
5-minute meditation
I’ve done it many times. Usually, it works to get focus.
Sometimes I set a timer for five minutes. Or I will simply sit for meditation for sometime. Just closing my eyes and trying to hear the surroundings is the method I use.
After the medidation I am mostly able to do the tasks waiting for me. This is a very powerful technique.
Interstitial journaling
This sounds fancy, but it’s just writing a few lines between tasks. When I’m stuck, I note the timestamp and what I was just doing, how I’m feeling, and what I’ll do next. Something like:
10:40. Going to work on welcome email. I am thinking about the deadline now. Opening the related controllers and model files for the welcome email.
Surprisingly, this helps to get more clarity and have a feeling for what is going on in my mind at a specific time, and to get the real feeling of work and the feeling that something is really happening. After each task, repeat this process.
Also, write with a timestamp.
Breathing
Breathing is a easy technique to get more focus.
Breathe in for four seconds, hold that for four seconds, breathe out for four seconds, hold for four seconds. Then, repeat few rounds to feel calmer. I can do this at my desk without nobody noticing.
Next time you struggle to get focus. Try one of these, then do the smallest possible piece of the task.