Help! I’m so stressed out I can’t focus on work!
It happens to the best of us. We sit down to work with the best of intentions but find our minds start churning like a hamster on a wheel. And suddenly we’re stressed out about not just work, but so many other things in our lives.
In today’s episode I offer three possible reasons that could be turning the hamster wheel in your mind and how to regain your focus based on each option.
Regardless of what’s causing your stress, self-care is a great tool to help build your resilience and reduce the impact that stress has on your life!
There are a lot of things that can cause stress, I’m going to cover three common causes – see what resonates with you:
Do you have undone tasks (outside of your work) that are weighing on you?
Perhaps the room you’re working in is messy, you’re out of clean clothes, you promised your roommate you would make dinner, or you’re anxious about a phone call you need to make.
This problem tends to be magnified if you’re working from home, and faced with all of your home tasks as well as your work tasks at the same time.
Ideally you would take care of the tasks weighing heaviest on you first, once they’re off your plate, it’ll be much easier to focus on the next highest priority – your work.
However, sometimes you have deadlines that require you to focus on work first. If you can’t address a task that is stressing you out right away, schedule in a time and date to take care of it – add it to your calendar and treat it like a non-negotiable.
When you sit down to work, do you feel fidgety and anxious? Or are you drowsy and fuzzy headed?
In this case you might need to either burn off extra energy or get your energy moving to clear your head.
Try to some physical activity – outdoors in fresh air would be best if you’re feeling drowsy or fuzzy headed. Try taking a walk, putting on your favorite music and having a dance party for one, or anything else that feels like fun and gets your body moving.
Is there so much on your plate that no matter how many tasks you take care of you’re still stressed out?
If this is how you’re feeling, it’s important to start engaging in stress reduction activities.
Try taking a few slow, conscious, full, deep belly breaths before you sit down to work. You might also practice a few minutes of meditation, yoga, or a mindfulness practice before beginning to work.
No matter what the cause, if you find yourself suffering from stress on a regular basis, make sure you’re getting enough self-care in your daily routine. If you need help getting started, get my free Self-Care Toolkit which guides you through creating a self-care routine that works for you and your life.
