April 2022
SHARPEN YOUR FOCUS
You walk into the kitchen and totally blank on what you meant to grab. The reason could be your hectic life, hormonal shifts, getting older, or all the above. But fear not: these strategies will help lift that mental fog and get you thinking in high definition.
Reboot your recall. If everyday forgetfulness has a hold on you, it’s time to flex your brain in a new direction. One proven way to improve memory retention is by simply learning a new skill, whether it’s picking up pickleball or practicing Mandarin on the Babbel app. Learning builds new connections in our brains. Another is to switch off GPS when driving. Spatial navigation harnesses your hippocampus, the part of the brain in charge of laying down memories, which we don’t use like we did pre-Waze. Also, start using visual cues. If you often forget people’s names, one way to conquer that is by connecting them to what you see when you meet them, as in: “Rita in the red dress.”
Triumph over to-do’s. It’s a double-whammy: Overcommitting steals your focus and makes it difficult to complete tasks and staring at a long list you can’t finish increases your anxiety, which also makes it hard to tick off items. Here’s a radical idea: cut your list in half. Ask yourself if each item is related to a larger goal or intention, like taking care of your mental health. Here is a 4-D’s method: Delete things that aren’t worth the time invested; delay something for when you can give it the attention it deserves; diminish an item by figuring out a more efficient way to get it done; and finally, delegate something. And if cutting something gives you space to concentrate on meaningful tasks you enjoy, or simply recharge, let it go.
Own your in-box. An interesting feature of the brain is that it doesn’t really multitask. Rather, it switches between a specific network of neurons very quickly, and each restart is incredibly cognitively demanding, which leaves your mind murky. This is why reading emails as they trickle in is the worst possible practice. To curtail interruptions, ignore your email for set intervals, and batch-process messages by blocking off, say, 15 minutes three times a day to reply or delete. If you need to respond to certain people faster, set up filters by keyword or sender, so emails from your boss go in one folder and sale alerts from Nordstrom land in another. Also, abandon the idea of ever being “done”. The concept of an “in-box zero” is preposterous for anyone who wants to do anything else in life besides interact with email.
Outsmart your phone. Smartphones are hands-down our biggest distraction. The average American checks their phone 262 times a day. And tapping on all those news alerts and social posts comes with a big price. When we’re interrupted, it can take about 23 minutes to get back to the same level of attention we started with. The end result? We are constantly living with profoundly downgraded brainpower. To safeguard your mental space, install an app like Freedom, designed to curb phone addiction by blocking you from the internet for set periods of time. You can also switch your phone’s interface from a colorful playground to a sea of gray. Last, establish tech breaks with very short binges in between. Set your phone time for one or two minutes and text or TikTok it up. Then flick apps closed, set your alarm for 15 minutes, and place your silenced phone upside-down next to you. (Keeping it in sight wards off “nomophobia”, or no-mobile-phone-phobia, a psychological condition that is actually up for inclusion in the American Psychiatric Association’s handbook.) Keep going until, when the alarm chimes, rather than grabbing it, you think, Wait, I want to finish writing down this thought.
Enjoy actual face time. Chatting with loved ones while paying bills shatters our ability to absorb what we’re hearing. The solve: Get personal. At the end of a workday, shake off the office before re-entering normal life. When you shut down your computer or reach home, close your eyes, take a few breaths, and imagine your family. Then greet your crew. If you’re present when you walk into a room it sets a positive tone and helps everyone be more engaged. Connecting with our eyes is so important. So, make eye contact with loved ones. In short? You’ll clearly see what matters most!
Tina Chadha