Have you ever wondered why it is so easy to pass time doing all the things we aren’t supposed to? Well I’m wondering the exact same. I’m currently at my job while the boss is out on a site, and I cannot focus for the life of me. Despite my countless medications and general interest in the work, my brain is still doing jumping jacks.

With that being said, I wanted to talk about a few strategies I’ve found that help me stay on task, particularly in an academic setting, but I’m sure it’ll still apply to most tasks.

GET SOME SLEEP

As basic as it sounds, there is nothing more refreshing than waking up in the morning before school/work on your own volition. In my own experience, arriving at my obligations while feeling fully refreshed makes me feel as though me being there was my choice. In turn, this results in an overall more productive day.

REACH A BALANCE

We may be routine based creatures, but that should not be taken too literally. Throughout history, humans have always kept a balance between survival and recreation. Nowadays the majority of people spend most of their time indulging in one side. I know too many people who are fully dedicated to their work, and equally as many people who are fully immersed into the online zeitgeist (I may or may not be part of the latter.) If you often find yourself in one of these two routines, try integrating a bit of the opposite into your daily routine, and you may find yourself feeling a bit more motivated to complete those tasks you’ve been putting off all day (or year.)

IDENTIFY DISTRACTIONS

I had a period of two weeks where my task was to scan receipts. This should’ve been done in a day or two, but Balatro said no. Don’t allow yourself to have a Balatro at work. Everyone’s Balatro may be different; for some it could be TikTok, for others it could be a blog. Whatever it is though, identify the issue, and remove it from your view during school/work hours. Is this a bit drastic? Of course it is but in the digital age our brains move so fast we could be offset from our work in a matter of seconds. All it takes is one thought and next thing you know you’ve spent the last 30 minutes writing a blog post.

These are very basic pieces of advice, and sometimes we like to search for a deeper meaning in things, but in reality you can only deal with the more specific problems in life once we deal with the overarching ones. Sleep is the most important thing here. Every creature on Earth finds time to recharge, so we are no different.

Also stay hydrated that’s a life changer.