Somebody please help me focus
July 27, 2017 7:19 AM Subscribe
It is 10:15. I have a high profile, high stress project milestone due. I have very limited time to do it, and furthermore I have to leave the office early. Unfortunately, Donald Trump exists.
Basically that's the deal--I am finding it impossible to look away from the news, and my mind gets blown every five minutes. I am knocking back a large coffee and a Xanax. I work On The Internet and for various reasons, taking a break from the news is not actually really possible. Please convince me somehow to do my work knowing that any minute I could be informed the president pooped on his desk or declared war on North Korea.
I should be working full out right now. Instead I'm surfing along on the edges of consciousness. It's like being in a dream, where you know you are in a dream, but you're stuck there.
Do you have any good one-liners or brain tricks you use to get yourself to focus when procrastination and distraction have risen to insane levels?
Basically that's the deal--I am finding it impossible to look away from the news, and my mind gets blown every five minutes. I am knocking back a large coffee and a Xanax. I work On The Internet and for various reasons, taking a break from the news is not actually really possible. Please convince me somehow to do my work knowing that any minute I could be informed the president pooped on his desk or declared war on North Korea.
I should be working full out right now. Instead I'm surfing along on the edges of consciousness. It's like being in a dream, where you know you are in a dream, but you're stuck there.
Do you have any good one-liners or brain tricks you use to get yourself to focus when procrastination and distraction have risen to insane levels?
Best answer: Sometimes telling myself to act like a fucking grown up helps. I don't think my mom or dad would have had this problem.
(Sorry don't mean to act like a jerk but sometimes a little mental tough love does help me personally)
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:26 AM on July 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
(Sorry don't mean to act like a jerk but sometimes a little mental tough love does help me personally)
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:26 AM on July 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
When I've been obsessed with a person who's irritating me, I've used "This is a Person-free zone." So "This is a Trump-free zone." Just keep repeating.
posted by FencingGal at 7:33 AM on July 27, 2017
posted by FencingGal at 7:33 AM on July 27, 2017
Response by poster: (Sorry, not meaning to thread sit but did want to make it clear that I'm not saying 'I can't look away' in the sense of 'because of the horror' although that is true, I also 'can't look away' because part of my job is being aware of breaking news/the internet at large. So I have to somehow live with both the awareness of the thing, and find a way to function with that awareness intact.)
posted by A Terrible Llama at 7:37 AM on July 27, 2017
posted by A Terrible Llama at 7:37 AM on July 27, 2017
Best answer: This situation has fucked up so much, don't let it fuck up your career too - people are counting on you, don't let them down. Don't make the problem worse by becoming an unemployment statistic. Do your job.
posted by NoraCharles at 7:38 AM on July 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by NoraCharles at 7:38 AM on July 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Best answer: My job also involves me being up to date on the horrid things going on in the world (and then writing analysis/informing others of the impacts and why they need to care), and the easiest way to focus is to avoid all opinion pieces.
When I have a work deadline, I visit only 3-4 news sources across the spectrum, and ONLY look at those until the deadline is over. I try to focus only on numbers and actual quantifiable indicators. I read the driest takes on policy/current events I can find to ensure I don't get that emotional response and go panicky. I save layman's interpretations, opinion and 'emotional response producing' stories for after the work crisis is over.
disclaimer: yesterday I was a rage monster, and couldn't not be a rage monster, so obviously YMMV .
posted by larthegreat at 7:44 AM on July 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
When I have a work deadline, I visit only 3-4 news sources across the spectrum, and ONLY look at those until the deadline is over. I try to focus only on numbers and actual quantifiable indicators. I read the driest takes on policy/current events I can find to ensure I don't get that emotional response and go panicky. I save layman's interpretations, opinion and 'emotional response producing' stories for after the work crisis is over.
disclaimer: yesterday I was a rage monster, and couldn't not be a rage monster, so obviously YMMV .
posted by larthegreat at 7:44 AM on July 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Not to get all Meta in here, but I play the song Cortex wrote last November. It's only a minute. Then I do stuff.
posted by deludingmyself at 7:50 AM on July 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by deludingmyself at 7:50 AM on July 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
When I have found it impossible to stop my brain from spinning on terrible things that I was powerless to change, I've found the free first few guided meditation sessions from the app Headspace surprisingly helpful (10 minutes each, I think). I'm not sure how much that helps in a situation where you have to continue looking at terrible things, though. :/
posted by Vibrissa at 7:57 AM on July 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Vibrissa at 7:57 AM on July 27, 2017 [1 favorite]
Tell yourself YOU ARE ACTING LIKE TRUMP, going off on the tiniest distraction instead of producing steady and useful work. I'm really not trying to compare you to him, you seem like a very nice person, but I think the thought will be a useful counter to your unproductive activities.
posted by ubiquity at 7:59 AM on July 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by ubiquity at 7:59 AM on July 27, 2017 [6 favorites]
Best answer: We're here. We hear you. The Xanax will be there for you in a few minutes. I find that thinking that is helpful – "my ride's on the way, my ride is on the way."
Try some New Agey music from Spotify, even if you don't generally like that kind of thing. You know, the sort of thing they play at a spa. It's there for a reason – it really works.
I do not find help in tough love. I have been yelling at myself for over 30 years and been no happier or more productive for it. Our parents may not have done this, but they did not have Trump either. Be gentle with yourself, the way a good parent is gentle with an upset child, and redirect.
posted by Countess Elena at 8:06 AM on July 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Try some New Agey music from Spotify, even if you don't generally like that kind of thing. You know, the sort of thing they play at a spa. It's there for a reason – it really works.
I do not find help in tough love. I have been yelling at myself for over 30 years and been no happier or more productive for it. Our parents may not have done this, but they did not have Trump either. Be gentle with yourself, the way a good parent is gentle with an upset child, and redirect.
posted by Countess Elena at 8:06 AM on July 27, 2017 [3 favorites]
Trump is trying to fuck with you. Literally, this is part of the plan--to confuse and demoralize you and everybody else with a functioning soul. You gonna let him?
posted by praemunire at 8:19 AM on July 27, 2017
posted by praemunire at 8:19 AM on July 27, 2017
Best answer: "I'm going in!" That's the phrase I call out to myself when I'm going to buckle down and power through the next 3 hours and get some work done. I envision scuba driving (not a typo, but a long story, had to be there); taking a deep breath and submerging, and planning on not surfacing for quite a while. It helps greatly that I know it's for a finite duration.
posted by at at 8:27 AM on July 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by at at 8:27 AM on July 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Best answer: My trick is to have a type of music that I only listen to when I'm focusing on work. For me, it's the Groove Salad stream at soma.fm, but it could be anything.
When I'm at home, I'll sometimes light a candle when I'm having trouble getting started. Basically, you need some kind of ritual to tell your mind it's time to work.
posted by diogenes at 8:45 AM on July 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
When I'm at home, I'll sometimes light a candle when I'm having trouble getting started. Basically, you need some kind of ritual to tell your mind it's time to work.
posted by diogenes at 8:45 AM on July 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Hi, I'm you. I also can't get off the internet or stop engaging in the news because of the nature of my job, and I also have trouble focusing because of this shirtstorm hellscape we're in right now. But I do want to ask - can you really not get offline for like two hours? I have found that if I can carve out two hours to really "buckle down" and get things done, that is usually enough to actually get it done, and the world usually does not fall apart in those two hours.
Do you have a team you work with? Can you let folks know you're going offline, and maybe ask someone else to cover for you for these two hours? Do you have a decent boss? Can you say to them "hey, I really need to focus on this thing for two hours, but I'm having trouble because news is always moving so quickly and it's hard to be in reactive mode while I get this thing done - is it ok if I go offline for two hours?"
BTW, I am now the lead of a team that faces this challenge all the time and we've had to develop some strategies around this to give people time to do their other work. It's always been a challenge but it's on turbo this year. But as a manager, I really appreciate it when staff come to me and tell me they need help with this. Because it's a real problem. If your manager is worth a damn, they will understand and help you.
posted by lunasol at 8:59 AM on July 27, 2017
Do you have a team you work with? Can you let folks know you're going offline, and maybe ask someone else to cover for you for these two hours? Do you have a decent boss? Can you say to them "hey, I really need to focus on this thing for two hours, but I'm having trouble because news is always moving so quickly and it's hard to be in reactive mode while I get this thing done - is it ok if I go offline for two hours?"
BTW, I am now the lead of a team that faces this challenge all the time and we've had to develop some strategies around this to give people time to do their other work. It's always been a challenge but it's on turbo this year. But as a manager, I really appreciate it when staff come to me and tell me they need help with this. Because it's a real problem. If your manager is worth a damn, they will understand and help you.
posted by lunasol at 8:59 AM on July 27, 2017
Best answer: I received the gift of a box of adorable animal post cards a few years ago. I have been using them to send messages to my elected officials. They're quick to send, require less postage than a letter, AND I get to tell myself that I made some internet life easier, what with their not having to open an envelope and unfold the paper. My messages are things like "please vote no on foo" and "thanks for voting no on foo."
So my advice is to go to Amazon, order a box of postcards, and plan to keep them on your desk so that you can send a post card with POSITIVE messages for elected officials.
Because as important as phone calls are, you likely cannot be on hold, chatting with an intern while you do your job.
Please also accept this hug from an Internet stranger. If you're in NYC I can offer you an actual jar of jalapeño jelly that I made yesterday. The sweet burning of jalapeño might quiet the burning rage.
posted by bilabial at 9:02 AM on July 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
So my advice is to go to Amazon, order a box of postcards, and plan to keep them on your desk so that you can send a post card with POSITIVE messages for elected officials.
Because as important as phone calls are, you likely cannot be on hold, chatting with an intern while you do your job.
Please also accept this hug from an Internet stranger. If you're in NYC I can offer you an actual jar of jalapeño jelly that I made yesterday. The sweet burning of jalapeño might quiet the burning rage.
posted by bilabial at 9:02 AM on July 27, 2017 [4 favorites]
Best answer: "Just do the damn thing" sometimes works as a mantra when I find I am spinning my wheels, getting sidetracked on something, or putting something off because I don't want to deal with it.
Sometimes also I will mentally sing the first line from the "Be A Man" song from Mulan when I'm trying to get in the zone, but this occasionally backfires and instead of just the super-motivating "Let's get down to business" part, you get the whole thing stuck in your head and then go down a Wikipedia k-hole about Disney movies. Not that I know this from experience or anything. *kaff*
posted by helloimjennsco at 9:31 AM on July 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Sometimes also I will mentally sing the first line from the "Be A Man" song from Mulan when I'm trying to get in the zone, but this occasionally backfires and instead of just the super-motivating "Let's get down to business" part, you get the whole thing stuck in your head and then go down a Wikipedia k-hole about Disney movies. Not that I know this from experience or anything. *kaff*
posted by helloimjennsco at 9:31 AM on July 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Best answer: This is easy advice to give that I'm currently ignoring myself, but dialing back on stimulants like coffee can help. Taking periodic short breaks to read a story (not on a computer) or listen to a song, perhaps a song that you can sing to yourself as a mantra could also be useful. I know you have to stay plugged in, but unplugging as often as I reasonably can reduces my general brain noise as much as possible. I struggle with that, though. I think most of us do.
I do not find help in tough love. I have been yelling at myself for over 30 years and been no happier or more productive for it.
You can't beat it out of yourself, no, and more broadly, as a dear friend once told me, "you can't fix the shit in your head with the shit in your head". You have to do things to try to get out of it. That may mean art, but it may also mean going into your community and doing something with others. Taking some kind of action that produces a result will make you feel like you can at least change some small corner of your world, and that is not nothing.
posted by middleclasstool at 9:37 AM on July 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
I do not find help in tough love. I have been yelling at myself for over 30 years and been no happier or more productive for it.
You can't beat it out of yourself, no, and more broadly, as a dear friend once told me, "you can't fix the shit in your head with the shit in your head". You have to do things to try to get out of it. That may mean art, but it may also mean going into your community and doing something with others. Taking some kind of action that produces a result will make you feel like you can at least change some small corner of your world, and that is not nothing.
posted by middleclasstool at 9:37 AM on July 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Talking with 3 French tourists yesterday about how stressed I feel since the election because they asked and they said every country in Europe has elected a buffoon and now it's your turn. You'll get through this they said. I'm taking heart in that.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 10:23 AM on July 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
posted by Mr. Yuck at 10:23 AM on July 27, 2017 [12 favorites]
I spoke about this with nny therapist and age had me fill out a indez card with a list of things I can do instead of stress about politics. They're all things i identified that i can do at work - like go for a quick walk or make a cup of tea or play a phone game for 60 seconds or even "do this one part of my job that involves me leaving the office." I've found this to be extremely useful because when I get really upset, I can't even remember what you do to snap out of it without consulting the card.
Anyhow works for me.
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:35 PM on July 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Anyhow works for me.
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:35 PM on July 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
Set finite time frames. You will work from 1-3, then take a news break from 3 to 3:15, then work from 3:15 until 5. The news will be there when you have time to catch up. Whatever happens, you won't miss it. You're just working on something else right now.
posted by Autumnheart at 4:05 PM on July 27, 2017
posted by Autumnheart at 4:05 PM on July 27, 2017
Response by poster: Thanks so much everyone. I best answered a few I hit today but all were helpful.
I did, in fact, get work done. I did: Xanax, a huge cup of coffee, tough love, and a song by Robert Plant and Alison Krause on repeat which has helped me before (it is a song that sort of....sways, and I find it mesmerizing).
I also had to go to the doctor's this afternoon, where I waited two hours for an appointment and had to work tethered to my iPhone. For some reason, that was really helpful in focusing also (it's such a boring, unfamiliar, bureaucratic place--I also love working while waiting for car maintenance in car dealerships).
But hey everyone my medical marijuana card is up to date now.
Hugs to all. Thanks Metafilter.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 4:59 PM on July 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
I did, in fact, get work done. I did: Xanax, a huge cup of coffee, tough love, and a song by Robert Plant and Alison Krause on repeat which has helped me before (it is a song that sort of....sways, and I find it mesmerizing).
I also had to go to the doctor's this afternoon, where I waited two hours for an appointment and had to work tethered to my iPhone. For some reason, that was really helpful in focusing also (it's such a boring, unfamiliar, bureaucratic place--I also love working while waiting for car maintenance in car dealerships).
But hey everyone my medical marijuana card is up to date now.
Hugs to all. Thanks Metafilter.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 4:59 PM on July 27, 2017 [2 favorites]
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