HOW TO OVERCOME A RESTLESS AND SCATTERED MIND

This is a common problem and has been with most of us since childhood. Often when the subject or the teacher was not interesting your mind would wander out of the lessons, out of the class and even out of the school to a wonderland of your own, which was far more adventurous and interesting. Your day-dream would be rudely interrupted by a nudge from your mate or a high pitch sermon from the teacher, but alas, this interruption was only temporary and soon you were back in your own world, the place you loved to be! What was even more bothersome was this wonderland was not a single place; it could be the football field, the village farm, the hill station where you spent your summer, the movie of your favorite actress or the girl who stole your heart in the inter-college debate! And all these interesting distractions were not only coming up in your mind while you were attending classes but also at home while completing your home-work, or helping your mother with household chores! This is the curse of a restless mind.

 

With 24x7 televisions, social media and the internet we all are so tuned into what’s going on that it’s challenging to find time to focus on ourselves. These add on distractions make us feel that we don’t have the luxury of slowing down or prioritizing our own needs. The natural pulls of the world tend to keep our mind scattered and diffused. To gather it and find balance with everything vying for your attention is the need of the hour so that we can concentrate on issues that matter most.

 

Imagination rules the world; if you cannot imagine it, you cannot become it. But this imagination or day dreaming must not come in the way of your work. It must have a time and a place of its own in your life, but should not come floating in when you are engaged in a serious pursuit which will definitely enrich you, empower you and make you enjoy life in its true sense. Taming your imagination so that you can control them, and they do not end up controlling you, is vital.

 

Multitasking

As long as we habitually skip from one activity to the next, from one train of thoughts to another, our restlessness prevents us from experiencing calmness, which is a prerequisite for success, peace and happiness. Your parents and your teachers have repeatedly emphasized to you that in order to succeed in a task, while undertaking it, give it all your attention, putting all other ideas, plans and activities aside. Multitasking may be a great talent, and may often be unavoidable, particularly for working mothers, but activities which require your 100% attention are not accomplished while multitasking. You can eat and attend to a telephone call and read a book simultaneously but you will not be doing justice to either the food or the caller and most certainly not the book. A restless mind will allow you only to skim the surface of your life without enjoying any of its treasures. Jobs may get done but there will be no joy or peace!

 

Give your full attention

While dealing with people who matter give them your full attention. Don’t let your mind wander restlessly to what else you need to do or where else you need to go. The more we develop the art of focused conscious listening to people, to music, to nature the more we can truly hear and appreciate their deeper message to us. Conscious listening to the world around us is a stepping stone to a newer world of self realization and meditation.  

 

Finish a job once you start

It is very important to finish a job first, before going to the next. Whether it is writing a report or reading a book chapter, or assembling the broken wall clock, or cleaning the closet, once you start it, do not leave it till you have finished doing it. I am of the opinion that every task or project has three stages:

1.      The initial stage of creative inspiration

2.      The hard work stage of overcoming all the problems involved

3.      The final stage of joy of bringing it to completion

So you can easily appreciate that you will deprive yourself of ‘the joy’ if you do not complete the task. It is easy to procrastinate in Stage 1 and abandon the project and not put in the hard work to push it to completion in Stage 2, but without going through the stages 1 and 2 you can never achieve the ‘joy’ of Stage 3!

What can we do streamline our restless mind?

This undoubtedly starts with taking good care of yourself, so you have the energy to concentrate on what matters.

Know what you want to do and prioritize: If you don’t know what you want and stuff is just floating in your head, you’ll never get the satisfaction of doing anything. So yes make a list of everything that is on your mind and then do the most important thing – prioritize. This is where you get to tell your brain to stop fretting about the small stuff and focus on what is really important.

Create FOCUS time: This is essential for managing your scattered mind because it forces you to engage in your priority activities that require concentration. Your mind can’t wander if your schedule says you’re focusing on the 1^st. priority task P1 between 9-11 AM every day. It’s a great strategy for staying present and productive throughout your day. Whether studying for a test, working on a project, brainstorming ideas with a colleague, or simply reading a book, carving out this time each day helps keep you focused and engaged.

Break it down and keep it simple: Once you have chosen your priority task number one break it down to the simplest form of action. Every step should not take more than 15 to 30 minutes to complete. If it takes longer, break it down further. Ever step finished will give you a sense of mini-accomplishment, which in turn will stimulate you to go to the next step. The smaller the task, the less time it takes to get done, the more you’re likely to stick with it. This is a good way to tell your brain to just stay with it for 15 minutes!

Do it slowly, one task at a time: Don’t try to speed thing up in an effort to save time. This triggers your brain to drift to what you want to do next instead of what you’re doing right now.  Your brain can focus on one thought at a time, so make it about what is right in front of you. Do things slowly and deliberately. You will feel much better once you complete your task because you would have not only reached the destination but enjoyed the whole journey!

Take notes: Taking notes is an excellent way to stay focused on what you’re learning and studying, but it can also help manage your scattered thoughts. When we take notes, we engage different parts of the brain and muscle memory, which helps us focus more intently on the task at hand.

Take breaks and avoid overstimulation: Don’t be tempted to work nonstop for hours on end. This will lead to burn out and you won’t have enough motivation to start again. Once you have finished 3 or 4 parts of your task of 15 minutes each, take a break of 10 to 15 minutes, guilt free. So whether it’s turning off electronics, getting outside, or listening to relaxing music, find a few things that help you relax so that you can avoid over-stimulating your brain and come back fresh to focus on the rest of the priority task.

Task is more important than time: Focus on working and getting your tasks done, regardless of what time it is and how much time it takes. This way you are guaranteed to work instead of finding excuses to postpone things till tomorrow, when you can work on them bright and early. Don’t be tempted to do something else because you can’t seem to get started on the task at hand. Sooner or later inspiration will come and you’ll be surprised by how effective five minutes of silence can be in sparking your genius. Yes, time is important, but it cannot be your master.

Manage your time intelligently: Everyone’s schedule is different, but most of us have the same blocks of time in our day. So challenge yourself to use your time wisely and prioritize activities that help you meet your goals, such as studying, exercising, and socializing. Prioritizing activities that help us be productive and effective is important for staying focused throughout the day instead of letting distractions and last-minute rushes rule your day.

Keep going: If you fall off the wagon, just pick up and start again. There is no reason for you to give up. Review what you did and what went wrong, learn from it and move on to your next plan of completing the task. Remember, a failure is not a waste of time; it has shown you a way that you need to avoid in future.

Exercise your body: Whether it’s a quick walk around the block or going for a jog, exercise helps release endorphins that improve mood, energy levels, and mental focus. They boost energy levels and mood, which is why exercise is so helpful for managing mental fatigue.

Exercise your mind: Meditation is the exercise of the mind and it helps your mind to calm down and relax. Mindfulness is about focusing on what’s happening right now rather than letting the past or future dictate how we experience life. It can help manage distractedness by slowing down the racing thoughts that keep us from staying focused on one task at a time. Practicing mindfulness allows you to stay in the moment and block out distractions.

Power down and reboot: Give yourself free days to enjoy, away from tasks to do. This is a time for you to relax, have fun and spend time with your loved ones. Use your off days to unwind and empty your mental cache. After a break, you’ll feel energized and motivated to get back to your tasks.

Enjoy what you do: Make it fun. Embrace your playful inner child and use your imagination to make the best out of every task. Even the most mundane thing can be fun and entertaining. Imagine that someone is watching you and commenting on how brilliantly you’re working. You can have a conversation with yourself as you work and pep yourself up with words of encouragement. Great players and athletes do this all the time.  

So, let’s get focused

I want to eliminate anything that can distract you from finishing this post.

• Do you feel like you want to do a million and one things this instant?
• Do you lack the ability or desire to stay with your task till you complete it, including the simplest of tasks?
• Do you feel unmotivated to start on something that you really want to accomplish?
• Are you easily distracted and everything in the entire world seems more interesting than what you’re doing?
• Are there things you need to do that remain undone because there is no outside pressure/deadline to force completion?

If you answered yes to any or all of the above questions then you have a restless mind.  Welcome to the club. There is nothing wrong with being distracted every now and then, or not even getting anything done. But when it becomes a constant in your daily life, you can fall into a stressful trap of avoidance, or worse, trying to catch up and make up for lost time. You will then fail to accomplish what your fullest God given potential once promised. So, let’s get focused.