boiMAG.com "Full Force Focus"

HEALTH & WELLness Full Force Focus

by: Dr. Charla Waxman

Recently Chicago had a snow storm that brought up memories of the “school snow day” of my elementary and middle school years. As a child, if it snowed hard and deep, we would watch the news channel “crawl”: on the TV screen to see if our school was listed as a closed school because of the weather. Then we would jump for joy for a free day and head outside with friends to make snowmen or build a snow fort. We wouldn’t have to even think about school until we were back in the classroom when the roads were cleared and buses ran. Ahhh, the memories!

Things are different now. School snow days are a thing of the past, as e-learning means children can do their school work via zoom or other channels of remote teaching and learning. Just like with our kids, our jobs are no longer restricted to an office. We have moved our jobs into our homes and thanks to the transportable laptop, tablet or phone, our jobs can go anywhere. This means that lots of us are available for constant workrelated conversations and business meetings during business and nonbusiness hours. There is unlimited work in unlimited hours. Every day. All day. We excessively multi-task

oriented; doing business with a child on our hip, from a parked (sometimes moving!) car, or in a grocery store; basically anywhere and anytime. Every moment is an opportunity to get work done. More, more, more. More work and more of you: your time, your productivity and your personal selfcare.

We call it multitasking, but the truth is, we should call these efforts, multi-distractions. Are we doing anything with real focus? Are we really doing anything well? Without Full Force Focus, we never really get a chance to take a break from some tasks, and really see what we are capable of with others. In addition, our home and work spaces are often combined and we have such blending that we forget that home is supposed to be a haven where we separate ourselves from work in space that belongs to no one else.

In reality, this multi-distraction world is probably a trend that will not go away. There are some things we can do to drive out some of the distractions in a way that accentuate self-care and enhance personal space.

Live as clutter free as you can. This gives your eyes and mind a rest. You won’t be distracted by messes and paper piles.

Use your calendar wisely. Block off time for you, time for work and time for others. Make some of the “You” time, quiet time without phones or computers. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it; you may even like it!

Make work space look like comfort. Use colored pens, fun stationery, have a favorite coffee cup and a comfortable chair.

Grab a break. When blending work and home responsibilities in time and space, 10 minutes on the hour is the best recommendation. Standing up, focusing away from the computer screen and your phone, and stepping outside will help re-focus your mind. Watch your productivity increase as your brain responds to your continuing work as if it were new stimuli.

Have a short “To-do List”. Lists that are too long can make you feel like the “day got away from you”

and nothing got done. You don’t need to feel like you were not valuable or productive. Create a list that is do-able and necessary. You can keep a “back- burner” list; one that cannot be done in a session or even two, and may not even be necessary. This is a list you can move into your calendar fluidly. These back- burner tasks can create some nice focus opportunities.

Find your full force focus! Focus on you. Do everything you can to stay healthy and happy. Distractions often take away positives in our lives; stealing our time and our energy for being our best. You got this!

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