The human brain is very good at finding things to worry about and throughout this pandemic, it has only increased. COVID-19 is a health crisis that has also become an economic crisis that has taken a toll on all of us psychologically one way or another. As the majority of people have been stripped away from their normal routines, their hopes and future plans, all of the “what if’s” start to accumulate more than we can possibly comprehend. The stress from a global pandemic and other serious world issues paired with everyday stressors puts our brains into a “fight or flight” mode which in turn can disrupt our sleep, our breathing, as well as our memory and attention. So if you feel like your brain has been all over the place these last few months, you are definitely not alone and this is actually a normal response to all of the extra stress and anxiety we have been enduring.
For those that have been working from home, you may find that your productivity level has not been exactly up to par as when you were working on-site or at the office. When your work life and home life combine, the amount of distraction tends to increase especially if you have children and pets. No one was prepared for a global pandemic to rock our lives but here we are months later still trying to figure out the next move while juggling work, home life, staying informed on global news, and let’s not forget our own mental health. One minute you are looking up a recipe for dinner, the next you’re reading the latest headline about the pandemic on your Facebook newsfeed, and then you finally circle back to the work email you started 10 minutes ago and finally get it out the door. Our attention is being pulled in so many directions that you forget what day of the week it is and the lack of sleep is not helping either. Waking up in the middle of the night questioning everything and anything… Wondering if you blew a deadline or if you remembered to feed the cat dinner, recalling that you were supposed to get back to a client the day before and it completely just slipped your mind. We have to process a lot more than we normally do, all at once and we try to prepare ourselves for any possible scenario but 2020 just keeps on throwing us new surprises that we can barely keep up and we become more forgetful. We are multitasking more than ever before and our work productivity and work product decrease as we jump around from task to task instead of completing one task at a time. It’s harder to detach yourself from everything going on in your life and in the world and to just take a few minutes to focus on your mental health and just breathing.
A great tip decrease a scattering brain is to start off your day avoiding the black hole of all social media accounts after you wake up in the morning. Avoid checking the news as well if you have found that news is an instigator of stress. Instead, perhaps start your day with meditation and stretching and include reading a chapter of a book while you enjoy your morning cup of coffee or tea. How you start off your morning will set the tone of your entire day so set 30 minutes in the morning on self-care and make this a daily routine and priority! If you are reading this and feel like you have absolutely no time to fit self-care into your day, think of it as vital personal maintenance like sleeping and eating because it is just as important. When it comes time to clock into your workday, start your day off with checking your calendar, so you are aware what day of the week it is, and making a prioritized list of items you need to complete in the morning and items to complete in the afternoon of your workday. Every time you complete a task, cross it off your list and use that momentum to go to the next task or assignment. Between your morning and afternoon tasks, remember to step away and take a real 30-minute break to reenergize your brain so that you go into the remainder of your workday recharged, focused, and with a fresh set of eyes. Once you are wrapped up with the workday and have fed yourself and your family a healthy dinner, make it a priority to go for an evening stroll to clear your mind and/or collect your thoughts. In order to remain productive and have a healthy mindset, we need to prioritize our self-care and acknowledge our body’s physical and mental needs if we want to be at our absolute best.
Written by Alyssa A. Blando
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