Surrounded By Distractions

Not everyone has the ability to sit down and focus on a project with their undivided attention for hours at a time, or even minutes at a time.  Some of us can’t ever give something our complete and undivided attention, though we may work just fine while giving things most of our attention.  The distractions are annoying but manageable.  There are some of us, though, that just can’t seem to focus on anything for very long without getting sidetracked or distracted, to the point we have trouble getting anything done that requires any concentration.

I’m not talking about people with ADD or ADHD here; that’s a completely different issue.  I’m talking about people who have no learning disabilities or cognitive impairments who have more than occasional trouble focusing on tasks.  It’s still possible to get the work done, but it’s more difficult than it should be, takes longer than it should, and often isn’t done as well as it could have been if it does manage to get done.

I do this from time to time, but it’s not a constant thing for me.  Probably if it were constant, I’d actually be diagnosed with ADD, and I’d have some resources at my disposal to help me deal with it.  Instead, I just have days, sometimes weeks, where I simply cannot focus long enough to do anything complicated.  It’s perfectly normal for anyone to have this problem, but society makes it difficult to deal with because we aren’t allotted any real downtime to wait it out.  We’re expected to work, work, work, no matter what.

This was a problem for me when I was going to school, both in high school and then in college, and it continued to be a problem when I was in the workforce.  Most of the time, I’m a fantastic student and a fantastic worker.  I’m smart, resourceful, and creative, and whatever I had to do was done well.  Most of the time.

Sometimes, though, my focus just abandons me, and whatever brainpower I have left to work with is scattered and distracted.  The most frustrating part of it is that, normally, the task at hand would be no problem for me.  It would take concentration and effort, but I’d be able to do it.  Distracted, it becomes akin to climbing Mount Everest.

Society doesn’t allow for these fluctuations in ability, and instead we’re judged for not being up to par.  At the same time, the pace and noise of daily life is such that distractions are everywhere, almost unavoidable, and relentless.  Yet we’re expected to be constantly at the top of our  ability to tune everything out.  Even those of us who excel at tuning out the noise will be worn out by it occasionally.

I have a few ideas as to why things happen this way, and some ways to cope with it, but rather than list them like I usually do, I want to hear your ideas first.  Am I the only one who experiences this, or are there others?  Why do you think it happens, and what can be done about it?

I’ll follow up on this post in a few days with what I have to say after I hear from some of you.

EDIT to add:
How to Concentrate Amidst Distractions

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