How to take control of your focus in this overstimulating world
“Your mind is a powerful tool... use it to your advantage!”
Over the past few years, the pandemic has allowed us to consider what is most important to our mental well-being. Whether that was reevaluating our value in our current job roles, redefining our relationships and at-home responsibilities, or reconsidering our life plans, goals, and dreams. After this mental reconstruction is done on each of us, the next question is, how do I get to where I want to be in the physical realm? Do I need to change where I’m putting my energy and time? These questions have been on my mind these past few years, and today, I will share 3 ways to take control of your focus so that you can feel more in tune with where you want to go, who you want to be, and how you are going to get there.
Be proactive
Photo by Morgan Housel on Unsplash
If you regularly wake up in a bad mood, it’s more beneficial to shake it off and choose to have a better day than anticipated. You can do this by turning off the news, putting your phone on do not disturb for 1-2 hours in the day, and not checking your social media accounts until a specific time. If you have family members who may need to contact you, you can select their name as an emergency contact. Also, you can let your family members and loved ones know your intentions so they can be aware not to call you during these times. Setting aside time for yourself every morning is a great way to take control of your day. If you are like me and need a bit of variety in your routines, here are some of my favorite ways to start my morning:
Yoga stretches
Journaling with prompts if needed
Practice Gratitude by saying Thank you to God for waking up, my place of living, etc
Walk in the park
Listen to the gospel or uplifting music
Listen to one of my favorite YouTubers’ newest relevant topics (S/o to Cassandra Mack and RC Blakes)
Practicing these tips helps ensure you don’t run on autopilot and prepare for your mental well-being for the day.
Be intentional
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“If we don’t plan our days, someone else will.” - Nir Eyal
I have needed help with taking the time to plan out what needs to be done for the week. I will have a list of items that I take notes on, but getting to each item can be erratic or not as consistent as I would like. I decided to be intentional about my days if I wanted to knock off items on my to-do list. In the book Free to Focus: A Total Productivity System to Achieve More by Doing Less by Michael Hyatt, the author mentioned a great habit builder I’ve used regularly since reading his book earlier in the pandemic. I’m paraphrasing, but he suggests using some time the night before to write your intentions for the next day. Writing them out before going to sleep reinforces your intentions in the subconscious, and you are more likely to accomplish your goals the following day. Also, instead of adding a long list of BIG goals that will take time, you can break down a goal into small parts and assign an action for each part for multiple days. When you see more of your goals being accomplished or headed in the right direction at the end of each week, remember to celebrate! Don’t just move on to your next set of goals without showing yourself some love for making progress! Here are some of the fun ways I celebrate myself when I accomplish my goals:
Listen to music and dance it out.
Saying to myself out loud I am proud of you, Britt! You did it! Then, repeat some of my favorite positive affirmations/scriptures.
Drinking a glass of wine and treating myself to an at-home spa night
I use Groupon to book a nail appointment if I don’t like using my at-home products.
Go to Publix and pray that the bakery has a mango key lime pie to buy! (IYKYK)
Make fun ways to celebrate yourself, and share the comments below this post!
Also, I recommend reading his book because he provides several other strategies you can use, such as creating automatic email responses for various scenarios, whether as a business owner, an employee, or even for thank you responses to job interviews. I have tried many of his methods and will continue implementing them. I’ll keep track of my progress and share it with you all in the future!
Be encouraged
Photo by sydney Rae on Unsplash
When you are feeling overwhelmed, there are various methods you can use to recenter yourself and remain focused. In this blog post, 4 tried and true methods to recenter yourself, I have shared my favorite ways to get back to me that can be used at any time. If you use one of these methods to clear your head, you can focus on the items on your to-do list. Check it out and share your experience trying any of the methods yourself!
In my post, I mentioned journaling as one of my methods because being alone with your thoughts and writing or typing them out can help you organize them. Sometimes, it is hard for us to keep the faith and continue moving forward because we are so clogged down with the big cake filled with everything we haven’t done, sprinkled with negative past experiences and added dash of worries about the future. I highly recommend journaling your thoughts for a week and seeing what difference it makes in changing your approach to life.
Always remember you have control over what you pay attention to. It is challenging to stay positive and maintain faith in humanity when only listening to and looking for negative things. Change your outlook by taking control of your days and focusing on what you can control!
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