Don’t start dissociating, you’re on the clock!
You know what’s annoying? When your mind starts wandering while your working. You’re trying to focus on a particular task, and then some random thought jumps in and throws your whole mental train off-track. Then, before you know it, you’ve spent thirty minutes trying to remember the name of the guy who played the Tall Man in Phantasm. Work can be boring sometimes, but you gotta keep yourself focused and sharp if you want to get everything done in a timely manner.
An organized desk is the first step towards staying focused. Keep random distractions out of easy reach. That goes quadruple for your phone; if you can grab your phone easily, you’re gonna start fiddling with it. So put it in a drawer or your bag or just somewhere out of easy reach. If you’ve got some paper lying around, try making a schedule for yourself. It doesn’t have to be a rigid, time-based affair, just a simple order of operations. Following a laundry list of tasks helps you to get into a flow.
If you find your subconscious wandering, distract it with some music. The typical choice is slow, relaxing tunes, and with the prevalence of lo-fi music channels on YouTube, you’ve got plenty of options on that front. Though, personally, I like high-energy music for this purpose. Keeps me awake, gives me something to type along with, and gets my blood pumping. As long as you’re not too distracted by the song itself, the background noise can be very helpful.
If you really can’t stay focused no matter what you try, perhaps you need to take a break. Stand up from your desk, go take a walk, maybe get yourself a drink. As long as you’re not away from work for too long, it’s okay; we all need some time away from the screen to get some air and stretch our legs.
