Anxiety can impact many areas of our lives, but one area that can take a real hit is our focus.
When you’re busy dealing with extreme anxiety, staying focused on other important tasks such as work duties, a relationship, diet and exercise, and many others can become nearly impossible. We only get a certain amount of energy every day and we need to disperse it wisely amongst tasks.
Often we find ourselves putting energy towards the tasks that don’t improve or enhance our day. When you are dealing with a lot of anxiety, most of your energy then goes towards managing that anxiety. And the consequence of constantly managing anxiety is a lack of focus on other tasks, activities, and projects.
Sometimes I am not sure how I still got through the workdays, trips, and various activities I’ve had to do in my daily life while I was dealing with extreme anxiety. Some of those days were brutal, to say the least, but they also taught me a great deal about improving focus while struggling with anxiety.
WHAT IS FOCUS?
Focus is a center of activity, attraction, or attention.
As New York Times Best Selling Author and Habits expert James Clear points out, focus can only happen when we have said YES to one option and NO to all other options. And as Tim Ferriss so eloquently said, “What you don’t do determines what you can do.”
ANXIETY DATA FROM AMERICA
1. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States.
2. People who suffer from an anxiety disorder are six times more likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric disorders than those who do not suffer from anxiety disorders.
3. Data in 2018 showed that 40% of Americans are more anxious than they were the previous year.
4. Over 40 million adults in the United States suffer from an anxiety disorder.
5. Approximately 7% of children between the ages of 3-17 suffer from issues related to anxiety.
6. Generalized Anxiety Disorder affects 6.8 million adults, over 3% of the U.S. population, yet only 43.2% of those 6.8 million are receiving treatment.
7. Approximately 15 million Americans suffer from social anxiety disorder. Both Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are closely related to anxiety disorders.
8. OCD affects 2.2 million adults or around 1.0% of the U.S. population, and is equally common among both men and women. Data shows that the average age of onset for OCD is 19, with 25% of cases occurring by the age of 14. One-third of adults who suffer from OCD first experienced symptoms in childhood.
9. PTSD affects 7.7 million adults or around 3.5% of the U.S. population. Women are more likely to be affected by PTSD than men. Rape is the most likely cause of PTSD, with many victims of rape experiencing PTSD. Sexual abuse during childhood is a good predictor of lifetime likelihood for developing PTSD.
10. Many people who suffer from an anxiety disorder also have a co-occurring disorder or physical illness, which can make their anxiety symptoms worse and their recovery more difficult.
11. Anxiety is as common among older adults as it is among young adults.
12. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is the most common anxiety disorder among older adults. Anxiety disorders in the older population are frequently associated with traumatic events such as a sudden fall or acute illness.
FIGURE OUT THE TYPE OF ANXIETY YOU’RE EXPERIENCING
The first step in reducing anxiety and improving focus is to figure out what type of anxiety you are struggling with so you can take the appropriate steps in managing it.
What do I mean by “type of anxiety?”
There are different types of anxiety one can experience – social anxiety, general anxiety (GAD), anxiety originating in the amygdala compared to anxiety originating from the cortex, and many others.
It’s always best to speak to a mental health professional when trying to figure this out.
But understanding what type of anxiety you’re experiencing will give you a much better idea of what tools and techniques you can use to manage and reduce it.
Not all therapies, tools, and techniques work for all forms of anxiety, which is why it’s important to understand the specific type of anxiety you’re experiencing.
TAKE METHODICAL STEPS TO MANAGE THE ANXIETY
Once you have an idea of what type of anxiety you’re dealing with, then it’s time to move on to the next step; taking methodical steps to manage it.
These steps will be different for every person based on their unique situation.
They could include anything from therapy, medication, breathing techniques, improved diet, more exercise, journaling, practicing gratitude, thought catalogs, and many other tools and techniques.
The key is not to “end” the anxiety, because that will never happen. You want to rather improve and manage the anxiety to the point where you free up the energy that used to be the anxiety, now to be used on focus and concentration.
ASSESS YOUR MENTAL FOCUS
After you begin to better manage your anxiety, the next step is to assess your mental focus and concentration levels. You’ll want to find out which areas of your life are affected by the lack of focus, and which areas are strong (if any). Then ask yourself the questions below to get a baseline of focus:
If you had to rank on a scale of 1-10, one being the worst and ten the best, where is your focus currently?
Do you experience this level of focus (or lack thereof) consistently throughout the day or just at a certain time?
Where does your focus lack the most? Work? Relationships? Social settings? Everywhere?
Are there any distractions keeping you from getting things done?
Do you have any health issues that impact your level of focus?
One fun activity you can do is track your level of focus throughout the day by keeping a three-week journal. Simply jot down 3 times a day (morning, afternoon, evening), your level of focus on the 1-10 scale. Doing this for three weeks will give you a more detailed and realistic view of your focus levels.
ELIMINATE MULTITASKING WHEN POSSIBLE
One of the most common issues with lack of focus and anxiety is the idea that multitasking is efficient. The reality is that multitasking in many situations is very inefficient because it’s humanly impossible to concentrate on two tasks at the same time. Sure you can chew gum while playing baseball, or wash dishes as you listen to music, but you can only concentrate on one task at a time.
Multitasking is common in the fast-paced go, go, go society but it often leads to more anxiety and lack of true focus.
“Technically, we are capable of doing two things at the same time. It is possible, for example, to watch TV while cooking dinner or to answer an email while talking on the phone. What is impossible, however, is concentrating on two tasks at once. You’re either listening to the TV and the overflowing pot of pasta is background noise, or you’re tending to the pot of pasta and the TV is background noise. During any single instant, you are concentrating on one or the other. Multitasking forces your brain to switch your focus back and forth very quickly from one task to another. This wouldn’t be a big deal if the human brain could transition seamlessly from one job to the next, but it can’t.”
MANAGE ENERGY NOT TIME
This is one that took me years to figure out.
Most of us are conditioned into thinking that time is the most valuable asset to manage, but in reality, when it comes to improving focus, it’s energy.
You need to manage energy not time.
We only have a certain amount of energy to expend each day. When we take into consideration the amount of energy (mental, physical, and emotional) that it takes to complete various tasks, deal with certain people, and face different situations, we begin to see how precious a commodity our energy truly is for us.
So when you begin to plot out your day, think about the energy you are going to use for various tasks.
How much energy will you expend on managing your anxiety? Your work? Taking care of your children? Travel? Relationships? Working out? Cleaning around the house?
You’ll want to get a basic understanding of your energy pie chart. How much energy you’ll use on each of the tasks throughout the day.
TAKE SHORT BREAKS TO RECHARGE
Based on what you just read above, finding ways to recharge throughout the day is vital in both reducing anxiety and improving focus.
When you’re super focused on a specific task over a longer period, it becomes difficult to keep that level of concentration. As a result of this, you begin to lose performance and productivity. You need to give your brain a break to regroup and recharge.
Researchers have discovered that very short breaks that shift your attention somewhere else can greatly improve mental focus.
So whenever you are honed in on a task, make sure you take a few brief moments to mentally recharge by shifting your attention to something completely different. Doing this will help you maintain a higher level of focus and energy throughout your original task.
PRACTICE MINDFULNESS
Practicing mindfulness is a keystone habit for every area of life.
According to the official Merriam-Webster definition, Mindfulness is “The practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis.”
No matter what you are trying to accomplish, staying mindful throughout the entire task is essential in not only its completion but the level of productivity and efficiency you attain while doing it.
When it comes to managing anxiety and improving focus, staying mindful throughout the day helps in two ways: first, it’s a key in reducing anxiety, and second, it improves concentration levels.
In this Harvard article, they point out the following about mindfulness and focus:
“Mindfulness is about focusing attention on the present moment, and practicing mindfulness has been shown to rewire the brain so that attention is stronger in everyday life,” says Kim Willment, a neuropsychologist with Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She recommends sitting still for a few minutes each day, closing your eyes, and focusing on your breathing as well as the sounds and sensations around you.
One way to improve your mindfulness skills is through mindfulness meditation.
SCHEDULE PHONE-FREE TIME
Simply stated, our phones are probably the most distracting item we own.
Most people cannot go even twenty minutes without checking their phones. Although they are convenient and even helpful, our phones bring us a level of distraction that the world has never seen. Social media, text messages, Google searches, and many other apps keep us constantly engaged and interacting with our phones. This constant distraction leads to less focus on more important tasks, and can also lead to higher levels of anxiety.
James Clear says that he starts his day, usually the first few hours, with his phone in another room to avoid distraction.
IN REVIEW
Trying to improve focus alone is a challenge for many people, but doing so while battling anxiety can be an overwhelming task at times. But as you learn about both anxiety and focus, certain common patterns will emerge. Managing energy, not time, becoming mindful and aware of the present moment, limiting phone time, taking short breaks, as well as the other items mentioned above can help you achieve a higher level of focus even when managing anxiety. If I had to start somewhere, it would be with mindfulness. Become mindful of how you manage your days, what you focus on, where you struggle the most, and what type of anxiety you experience. After a while, some of these will become second nature to you, but you need to put in the daily work for that to happen.
If you have any questions or would like a free anxiety coaching consultation – contact me at brad@upplifter.com!
Although we strive to provide accurate general information, the information presented here is not a substitute for any kind of professional advice, and you should not rely solely on this information. Always consult a professional in the medical and health area for your particular needs and circumstances prior to making any medical or health-related decisions. For your health-related questions, please seek the advice of a licensed physician or any other qualified health care provider immediately.
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