Focusing On Work

Focusing is my weakness. I’m barely able to maintain focus, especially when it comes to tasks I know will take more than half an hour. This is something I’ve struggled with all my life, and only recently have I found a way to work on it. Throughout school, I never really focused on my work. I got it done, but half the time I’d miss everything that was said. It was an issue in college, but I could still get work done in phases. Now that I’m in uni and drowning in work, I’ve realised that I need systems in place to help myself. 

Something else that I have difficulties with is procrastination. Mixing that with a lack of focus and a bad memory, especially when teaching is all online? You could say it’s a recipe for disaster, but it’s been a time when I can experiment with different methods to help me focus and tackle my work as soon as I can. 

When educational facilities are in person, it’s estimated that 1 in 3 students have issues with focus, leading to procrastination. 80 - 95% of students procrastinate, 75% consider themselves procrastinators and 50% procrastinate frequently and consider it a problem. Personally, I procrastinate to the point that it’s a problem. On the bright side, while trying to do my sound work, I do normally end up with a lovely clean kitchen by procrastinating. It’s safe to say that I’m quite the procrastinator, and it has started to affect my education. 

Online, I’ve found that my focus is getting worse. While on Zoom, I’m often distracted by the road outside, social media, or even what type of coffee I want to pick up from the local shop. I miss so much from lessons, which is a massive issue when it comes to assessments. When it comes time to work, I end up mentally rearranging my room, or even making a ground plan to move furniture about on it. So what have I found that helps me focus?

• Doing things in your own time. 
  

This only applies to doing work, whether that work is education or housework that needs coordination, but I found just sitting down and doing work while watching TV was amazing. It increased my productivity level by so much. I wouldn’t give myself a time limit, I would just sit there watching TV and doing work. So what if it took me both seasons of Fleabag to write a rationale? It got done, and I managed to binge an entire TV show, and I enjoyed it. That’s when I started doing work while watching TV. I found it much easier to focus while having the time of my life. It even settled into a routine, where I had a piece of work I was doing over a long period of time because it was repetitive, so every Friday after my classes ended I would sit down and watch WandaVision while doing that specific piece of work, and I somehow managed to finish it during the finale. It became a routine that I absolutely loved. It was because I didn’t set a time limit so I didn’t have any pressure to do it. 

• Have something else you can focus on. 
  

Going back to my last point, I had something in the background that I could focus on along with my work. That helped me massively because I could have something to switch onto, I didn’t go into a massive spiral on what Shakespeare’s favourite colour was, I was completely focused on the two things in front of me. Music was a great help too, and I found myself listening to The Black Parade on repeat for a few days. Having something else to focus on helps. When I’m in lessons, I have dice I can fiddle with, or if I have to focus I’ll plan out the work that we’re learning about for that lesson. That way I’m productive and vaguely focus on what’s going on. 

• Don’t force yourself to focus. 
  

I find myself doing this and getting absolutely nowhere. I just end up getting annoyed at myself and I don’t touch the work for weeks. If I’m in a lesson, I will just completely zone out because I’m mentally screaming at myself for not focusing. Don’t make yourself focus, and be understanding with yourself when you can’t. If you force yourself to focus, it can make you procrastinate more. By not forcing yourself to focus, it feels like you’re doing it leisurely which makes it a lot easier to do it. It makes it a lot easier to enjoy it, which makes focus come a lot easier. 

• Tell someone if you’re struggling. 
  

If you’re having trouble focusing during lessons, tell your teachers / lecturers. I told one of mine, and she was so understanding. She gave me some advice, essentially telling me to go to the well-being officer if I needed to, and she now understands that sometimes I will ask ‘stupid’ questions because I miss things, or I need things explained in depth. Bearing in mind, there aren’t any stupid questions. If it’s something you need / want to know, it’s not stupid. 

If you’re having a lot of issues with focusing, it could be worth going to your GP / Doctors / anyone in your educational facility. It can be a sign of an underlying condition, so it’s best to be safe than sorry. Just remember that you’re not alone in this, and talking about it can help. It won’t be easy to overcome it, and what I’ve said might not help, but it’s all about finding things that work for you. It’s all about trial and error, but you’ll get there in the end. 

You’ve got this!
~ En

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EN