Focusing when the world is on?fire

Things are chaotic, if you’re like me you’ve struggled to focus, be productive, and stay positive. Here’s what I’m trying.

• Don’t be so hard on yourself
• Step away and take a break
• Limit news consumption to preserve mental health
• Step out of your normal environment and try to work outside
• Exercise and eat healthier to build mental fortitude

I’m not sure how this article will come across, but honestly I’ve had a hard time trying to focus over the past few months.

It feels like everyday another bombshell is fired off, discovered, or created. We are constantly in this flux where there is no longer a dip in news.

Everyday a new breaking story is being rolled out which requires our attention and to a large degree these stories are so impactful it’s less media sensationalism and more just raw reporting of what’s happening.

I’ve found myself over the past few months, falling into a situation where I’m so distracted by the current events taking place everyday I can barely think, plan, or be productive. Which leads to me extending my work hours far into the evenings to compensate.

I feel very fortunate and grateful as a lot of folks are struggling out there with work and all though it hasn’t been a cake walk for my company we are still alive and kicking.

Now, only after many months of spending hours spiraling down the rabbit hole of each new story. I’m starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel.

Here are some strategies I’m using to try to “focus while the world is on fire”.

Don’t be so hard on yourself

This is actually one of my personal mantra's. I repeat this to myself frequently as I’m constantly in a flux between good and bad.

The rollercoaster of running a small business is real. Especially during unprecedented economic, health, and social instability.

Some days I’ll be on top of the moon with motivation, inspiration, and creativity. I’ll strategize about the future, take action, and feel like superman.

Other days, I’ll be hit with an array of changing circumstances that require halting future plans, shifting things around, working into the night/weekends, and planning on how to dig out of the newest hole that’s formed.

Because of this flux, I try to repeat to myself,

Don’t be so hard on yourself

Almost as a way to pat myself on the back and give myself a reminder that all though things are down, they will swing back. To me this phrase takes origin from Buddha who said, “everything is temporary and subject to change”.

Therefore, no matter how hard things are today or in this moment at some point they will subside. It’s also a reminder to not be so caught up in the feeling of being “superman” for so long that I forget that eventually a new problem will be revealed and once again I will need to claw my way out.

Step away and take a break

Stepping away and taking a break would seem obvious, but it’s less obvious when you still have energy and haven’t burnt yourself out yet. Imagine taking a break before you’re burnt out and being proactive versus reactive. That's a crazy thought.

Typically, if I fall prey to the news cycle rabbit hole I will only see clearly looking backwards once the toll has been taken and my ability to focus has been lost.

How I try to recenter myself somewhat depends on the type of rabbit hole and the severity, but here is what I’ll try:

• Comedy or non-news related content, even a short video can help stop mental looping
• Closing my laptop, tossing my phone, and staring at space for a few minutes
• Writing down what my thoughts are and trying to get concerns out of my head
• Exercise, pushing myself until all thoughts are gone (more on this later)

Limit news consumption to preserve mental health

Sometimes the best thing you can do is to conserve as much energy as possible and that may be through ignoring some of the latest news and waiting for a daily recap of what happened.

This has been pretty effective as it allows me to stay up-to-date without being on the frontline watching each tweet or story roll-out. Instead, I’ll wait for things to finalize and then I’ll become “informed”.

In practice, I’m still actively working on this one. However, the fact that I’ve written this article is a testament that I am making progress towards conserving my mental energy. At least enough to sit down for multiple hours writing continuously.

Step out of your normal environment and try to work outside (if you work remotely)

For those of you who are fortunate enough to work remotely, then it might be worth trying to step outside of your house or apartment and to try working from a park bench with shade.

In the before time, when we weren’t battling all of these different angles, I would typically work out of a coffee shop a percentage of the day even with an office. Due to the pandemic, this has been a weird adjustment. I would intentionally avoid working from home as it was too easy for me to get distracted in various things.

I still can’t quite put into words why this shift in environment was critical to my mental health, creativity, and productivity. However, I will say that I tend to thrive in environments where most people aren’t working and more importantly where everything around me is the opposite of work.

Since the coffee shops have been closed for multiple months, I’ve tried to work from home and I’ve found myself being too “comfortable”.

This has led to me recently experimenting with working from park benches with shade as an alternative to a coffee shop. It’s not ideal. But, I’ve found myself having bursts of motivation and any tasks which seemed heavy at home are much lighter from a park bench.

As I write this, I'm currently sitting at a table outside near a park and all though the chair isn’t comfortable, I’ve written this entire article in a single sitting without moving, going to the bathroom, or anything else. This is a big change for me, which is why I've pointed it out twice to almost shake myself into remembering where I've been productive and where I haven't.

Exercise and eat healthier to build mental fortitude

Something that I wasn’t the best at before all this chaos, was eating healthy and consistently exercising. The ups and downs of the startup rollercoaster always gave me a tangible excuse why I needed to eat fast and skip workouts.

I’m happy that over the past three weeks, I’ve started running again. I used to run on a treadmill at the gym and do workouts with gym equipment. Now I run outside and track my runs with the Nike Running App.

I’m currently sitting at 45 miles ran for the month of June and I should be able to cross over the 50 mile threshold for the first time in the next few days. Which is not something I ever thought I wanted to accomplish.

I was also able to set a personal record of running 13 miles in 2hrs and 2 mins, which was brutal, but worth it as I've enjoyed looking back at it over the past couple weeks.

Since then my average run is around 5 miles and I’ve clocked one more 12.5 mile run since the 13 mile run a week before.

This type of long distance running has been a great way to feel like I’m accomplishing things and a welcome distraction from the chaos. And of course a way to clear my mind of any things currently bogging me down.

It’s also given me a daily example of a situation where I’m given a choice and it’s not an easy choice. Keep running despite the pain in order to hit a goal I set for myself or turn back, stop, and give up.

I’ve already given in to the second option and quit a week ago on a hard run. Stopping left me with a feeling that I haven't been able to shake for a few days. The feeling of allowing myself to quit when I could see the finish line. Looking back on it, I no longer feel tired, I no longer have pain in my legs, but I can see clearly where I didn’t push myself over the line and that's not something I want to repeat. The consequences of stopping are silent, no one knows, but I know and in a more serious situation, I can't afford to stop short.

This all started when I set off to run 5 miles and by the end of it I had ran 12.5 miles. My legs were beaten up and I was barely making progress. At the end of the run, I was fully aware of how many miles I had run. I knew that I was within a mile of beating my record and all I needed was a little bit more. A little bit more pain, but a reward that I could cherish and a feeling of overcoming adversity that would make me stronger.

At this moment where I was faced with the choice to stop or keep going, I had already been running for 2hrs and I had kept a steady pace. Now at the very end, after two hours with only 5–10 minutes left to beat my record. I stopped.

I feel like it’s important to practice what it feels like to cut yourself short and take the easy way out when you already worked so hard to get there.

A quote from Eric Thomas that I’ve had in my head for a long time, but has taken a whole new meaning lately is:

Don’t quit now. You’re already in pain, might as well get a reward from it.

When I stopped, I made a promise to myself to not do that again. Two days later, I was in a similar situation where I was at 3.5 miles and heading past the turn back to my apartment. My legs hurt from the current run and the 12.5 mile run a couple days before. I was tired and it was late. I had enough excuses to stop.

Once again, I had a choice. Either stop now or push through it, run past the turn and go for 5 miles.

This time I didn’t stop and give up at the end. I ran through it, I kept going and finished that run at 5.5 miles. It was a good moment and something I hope to keep repeating not only in running, but in every aspect of my life.

Obviously, you may be thinking “Hey Ryan, what happened to don’t be so hard on yourself”. Well to that, my only thought would be if something is in my control, I'll take full responsibility. If something isn’t in my control and I’ve done what I can do, then I try not to be so hard on myself.

Conclusion

We are living through a crazy time filled with a constant stream of chaos and breaking news. It’s overwhelming. It all feels important. However, if you’re like me you need to be strategic with your energy.

You need to some degree “ignore” things temporarily so that you’re not spiraling down the rabbit hole of consumption.

I’ve laid out some ways that I think about this and how I’m currently adapting myself to both try to focus and build mental fortitude for the days that lay ahead.

If you found this article interesting, let me know in the comments ??