How to Find Focus When the World is On Fire
Circumstances will never be perfect, but you can facilitate moments of flow.
I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling this perpetual “foggy-headedness” that has persisted for the past year. Much of that is due to the ongoing pandemic that overshadows everything, a feeling exasperated by non-stop societal crises in the United States (mass shootings, police violence, just to name a few). Our minds and emotions are being put through the wringer on a daily basis, compounded by all of our normal responsibilities like work, caretaking, and creativity. I’ve heard from multiple people lately that even fun things feel like a struggle, like reading or playing video games. So how do we find focus so we can do the creative projects we dream of doing?
The thing is: there will never be a “perfect” time to do things, and we can’t put our dreams on hold forever. Building a creative process during difficult times means that we create better processes that carry us through easier times, because the processes we’ve built already account for obstacles. So, even though it probably seems counterproductive, it’s actually a good time to figure out how you can create pockets of focus for yourself even when circumstances dictate otherwise.
I hope my disclaimer here is obvious: I certainly don’t have all the answers here and am still trying to figure this all out for myself. There are also additional considerations for folks with ADHD, anxiety, depression, etc.; focus is affected by our physical and mental state, and these suggestions certainly aren’t universal. But I have tried some strategies lately that may be helpful for you and I hope that at least one will set you on the right path!
Clean your workspace. (Yes, for realsies.)
Visual clutter turns into mental clutter. You don’t have to have a completely perfect and minimalist area, but if you feel that little pang of anxiety whenever you go to your designated workplace, it might mean that you’re associating work and creativity with negative feelings that are made worse by seeing a messy area. Messiness can become another thing contributing to guilt around productivity, and we can feel a sense of failure as if we’re not organized or capable of taking care of things.
Break this process into small, manageable pieces; you don’t have to tackle your whole house, just your desk. Start with a small corner of your desk or work surface and clear it one item at a time. Switch out a small item, like a plant or a candle. Make it a place where you enjoy working and feel a sense of peace rather than dread. If you’ve been working from home, you might even try working in a different area just to give yourself a mental break.
You can also add additional atmospheric elements, like lighting or candles, that your brain will associate with focus. I have RGB lighting above my desk and used my Streamdeck to create a “focus mode” automation. When I click the button, it changes my lighting to a dim blue and starts playing rain ambience on my speaker. My brain knows that this mode signals “focus.” I like automating processes for myself and understand that for most folks, this is probably overkill, but it’s just an example of how you can set up a calming work environment with just a few steps.
Get into the groove.
So much about finding focus is about tricking our brains into the focus state. We’re hardwired to think about a lot of things at once, so we have to sometimes force ourselves to focus on the task at hand. One way to do this is through music. Rather than seeking out something stimulating, like podcasts or music with singing/lyrics, consider finding immersive ambient music that puts your body into a flow state. It’s probably no secret that I’m a big fan of lofi, but there are three music platforms designed specifically for focus. I can personally attest to how much Brain.fm has helped me; it even helps me during times of anxiety when I need to slow down my breathing and calm down.
For even better focus, pick up a pair of noise-canceling headphones. GAME CHANGER!
Forget the to-do list.
Ready for a HOT TAKE? Sometimes to-do lists suck. Sometimes, seeing a list of things we have to do is, well, demoralizing. Sometimes they don’t really convey importance, priority, or the time/energy/creativity required from you.
When you’re feeling unfocused, tired, overwhelmed, etc. consider ditching the to-do list in favor of setting a focus task. The book Make Time (which we recently read for Scribemind Book Club) suggests setting a Highlight. This is one specific, reasonable thing you can tackle that day (or in the span of a few hours, for example). I mean it. ONE THING. It’s not the only thing you’ll do that day, but it’s the one thing that you’ll feel glad for having taken care of. When you set a Highlight, you’re giving yourself permission to focus on it and ignore other things temporarily.
Give yourself structure.
Here’s another thing you’re probably tired of me saying: creatives benefit from structure. We just do. Having some parameters — deadlines, word counts, prompts, etc. — unlocks our actual creativity, and we don’t get bogged down in the logistics.
Many creatives succeed with external pressure. For example, if I told you that I was calling you in two hours and that you need to finish a certain project by then, you’d probably actually get it done — because you have structure, both through the time limit and the external expectation that someone is waiting on you.
You can do this for yourself every day. What got me through a lot of projects in 2020, Year of the Plague, was time blocking. Sometimes I use the Ultraworking spreadsheet, but most of the time, I just set a timer on my phone (or use something like Forest). The trick to successful time-blocking is picking a reasonable task to complete during that time. In fact, it’s better to undercommit and finish something small than overcommit and have to carry the same task over from block to block. It’s OK if it takes you a full half-hour block to make a phone call — because once you get it done, it’s off of your plate.
The amount of time you choose for your blocks is up to you, and you can change it every day. Sometimes, I’ll set hour-long blocks from 8 a.m. to noon, since that tends to be my most “alert” time of the day and best suited for writing or intense creative work, and then switch to 30-minute blocks in the afternoon to get through smaller tasks like responding to emails or handling administrative tasks.
Additionally, I plan out my time blocks the night prior. This means that when I wake up, I don’t have to make decisions. I’ve already plotted out my day and can now simply process the day one block at a time. Of course, it’s rarely that “simple,” but when I give myself permission to spend a block of time doing only one thing, I don’t have to think about anything else during that time.
Time blocking is somewhat rigid and doesn’t work every day, but it’s a great go-to strategy when you feel like you’re in a rut. For example, I usually time block on Wednesdays and Thursdays, when my energy from the start of the week starts to ebb.
What are your strategies for finding focus? It’s certainly difficult right now, so give yourself some grace. And if you end up trying any of the above strategies, let me know how it goes for you by commenting below.