Why is it so difficult for us to keep our focus throughout the day? What are the solutions?

Arab Weather - When you open your eyes in the morning, a good day awaits you and a world full of promises and possibilities, you remember that you have a long to-do list, including a busy day at work , and some social connections , but for some reason during the day, we feel distracted and lose our focus and our ability to care. With the tasks at hand, time wasted and we failed to reach what we were aspiring for on this day, if you have experienced this feeling, you are not alone!

So far, while reading this article, I think many issues and distractions have crossed your mind, from your craving for a snack, to the bills awaiting you, work and family conditions, and even the climate crisis affecting the world!

Despite our efforts to maintain our focus and productivity throughout the day, the matter remains difficult and sometimes out of control , which may lead to a range of problems, including negative opinions that may be directed to us and our low self-confidence, so why is it so difficult to maintain our focus? A common problem, and how can we avoid it occurring in our daily life?

The reasons we lose our focus

Despite our attempts to remain alert and able to focus throughout our day, there are many reasons that make this difficult, if not impossible, including our evolutionary traits, our organization of our day, modern technology and the extent of our health and wellness.

The effect of the way humans have evolved on our focus

Our human ancestors lived for hundreds of thousands of years under a constant threat to survival , as the human need for food and protection from predators requires attention to all information or new events surrounding him, and his lack of attention to any event or new information that may cost a person his life, so we have become more skilled in processing The rapidity of these external stimuli.

Nowadays, most of the new information or fast-moving things in our environment do not threaten our well-being or our lives, but are still immediate stimuli that take over a part of our brain , this may come in the form of a new product that catches our eyes in the market, or a sports car that passes at high speed Or, a brightly colored bulletin board, or a new article for an important news, these stimuli are not necessary for survival, but they still drain our mental focus and our energy because of the instincts that have been present in humans since the beginning of their existence in this world.

Our health and the quality of our food

Health and wellness are one of the primary factors affecting our mental focus. Our bodies require a certain amount and mix of nutrients to function properly, as well as adequate time for rest and recovery.

When you do not eat enough food , your mind and body lack the energy to maintain productivity, while if you eat too much or maintain an unhealthy diet, you may feel sluggish , or experience an energy crash.

Consuming too much caffeine or sugar to increase energy levels is a short-term strategy that will negatively affect productivity in the long term, and studies have also found that lack of sleep affects our thinking and our ability to pay attention , and it may permanently damage brain cells, so getting enough rest very important.

There is also the mental and psychological health aspect, which can greatly affect attention and focus, so if you are depressed, anxious , or experiencing emotionally stressful events, you will find it difficult to maintain your focus on one topic. Things like this can affect hormone and neurotransmitter levels, which can be detrimental to our daily accomplishments, no matter how important they are.

Modern technology

A number of studies found that the average extent of human attention today is less than the average over the attention of the golden fish, whether dozens of tabs open at the top of your laptop your browser, or sounds alerts and notifications that link on your phone, or access Prompt we now have to any person or piece of information, it is very difficult to imagine our lives now without sources of distraction.

We live in a society that is open to the world , and we receive constant news of this world and the many events that are taking place in it. We get constant updates about wars, famines and natural disasters that happen anywhere on the planet, and news of celebrities and active people on social platforms, this influx of The information that comes to us from all sides, can make maintaining our focus during the day impossible to achieve!

Correlation and interaction

Not only is it important to have the physical ability and mental clarity to focus and maintain our productivity, but we must also participate in the work or activity that is taking place, so if you do not like your job or are entrusted with projects that do not interest you or put you in a challenge, then your ability to focus on work or Activity will decrease , the time we can focus on will usually decrease if the work is boring or we feel we are not inactive.

On the other hand, we may find it difficult to focus on difficult tasks or that we think are beyond our capabilities , because working on these tasks makes us feel insecure, unworthy, or frustrated , and then we may resort to postponing, and thus our achievement and productivity decreases.

Organize our day

One of the biggest shifts in career trends in the past ten years is the phenomenon of remote work and freelance jobs.While this provides people with a great deal of freedom and flexibility, it can also lead to a loss of organization , which may lead to loss of time or its widespread use. Bad.

It can be easy to waste time during the day without organizing or setting a time frame for work. Self-regulation and self-motivation can be cumbersome, but they are essential. In telecommuting or in freelance jobs, many people struggle to set a fixed schedule of their time, which opens the door. In front of the distractions and bad decisions that are not usually found in the traditional work environment.

Even in a normal work and life environment, there can be many distractions like surprise meetings, phone calls from family, lunch dates with co-workers, personal emails, and the dozen other things that can mess up the organization of your day.

Ways and strategies to improve attention and focus throughout the day

After we've talked about the main reasons that threaten our focus , we mention some ways to help enhance your ability to focus and maintain our productivity throughout the day.

1. Spend time outside: Walking a short distance outside stimulates blood circulation, which increases energy levels and delivers nutrients and oxygen to the muscles and brain, and also provides a daily dose of sunlight (and vitamin D), preferably this time away from screens And other people, let it be time to focus on the tasks ahead of you, improve your mood and renew your resolve.

2. Stay away from devices and screens for some time: A large percentage of people now spend hours every day staring at an electronic screen, whether it is a computer, tablet or phone. Between an increasing amount of work being done digitally, as well as our obsession with smartphones, spending time off the screen when possible can give your eyes and mind a respite from the constant barrage of stimuli that drains your attention .

3. Work smart: Our bodies operate on a series of circadian rhythms, which affect our energy levels throughout the day. Learn how to identify periods during which your energy and focus increase , and allocate those times to work that requires high concentration and more energy, it is not wise to start with a mentally stressful task immediately after lunch, as this is a time when your body needs some rest to do the digestive process well.

4. Rewards system: Some people find that creating a reward system provides the appropriate level of motivation and increases productivity. Breaking large tasks into smaller parts can make the process less difficult, and the small rewards you give yourself help motivate you to keep working.

5. Maintain hydration: Dehydration and decreased water intake affect metabolic processes throughout the body. If you want your mind and body to function at the highest level, then you need to provide them with the essential ingredient of life, which is water .

6. Posture and breathing method: Although each job has different physical requirements, be aware of your posture while performing the task . Whenever possible, maintain a good posture that allows blood flow and proper breathing, if you work in an office, your chair should be comfortable and at a level that prevents any muscle strain, any small pain in your back can impair productivity for the whole day.

In the end, realizing the factors that affect our attention and focus is the first step towards improving our capabilities, there is no secret recipe to solve the problem, and the idea of ​​maintaining focus permanently may not be possible, but we hope that after we identify the causes of distraction and distraction in this article, and put forth some Solutions and Strategies, that the next time you lose focus while you are working, you will be aware of everything you need to regain focus and get the tasks done .