Ok Mr., Miss or Mrs. CMO and all marketers for that matter – be honest here. When was the last time you caught yourself staring into space? Or the time someone asked you to recall a certain piece of information, but you couldn’t put your finger on it? Chances are you’ve experienced one of these incidents already today. If not today, then certainly this week. Show The Distraction Problem A growing problem in the U.S. — if not the entire world, involves a lack of focus. Though we readily acknowledge it in school-aged children and teens, there’s been very little talk about how this issue is showing up among adults in high-ranking positions in corporate America. According to Gloria Mark, a professor who studies digital distraction at the University of California, Irvine, employers typically get only three minutes of consistent focus from an employee before he or she is interrupted with distractions. Perhaps more alarming is the fact that it can take an employee up to 23 minutes to return to the action he or she was engaged in prior to the interruption. It’s not just time these employees and their firms are losing. These distractions -- and the underlying lack of focus -- actually cost companies substantial amounts of money. A 2011 survey found that some businesses lose more than $10 million a year -- sometimes as much as $10,000 per employee -- as a result of a lack of focus. Six Common Causes of Workplace Disengagement The biggest challenge is that most businesses and staff have no clue what causes workplace disengagement and how their focus can be improved to maximize time and revenue. We have to identify the root causes in order to arrive at solutions. Below are the six most common reasons employees habitually lose focus while they’re on the job. 1. Sleep Deprivation You might have readily guessed that sleep deprivation is one of the most common reasons employees find it difficult to concentrate at work. “If you’re missing out on sufficient shut-eye -- most likely seven to eight hours a night -- you’re probably irritable, dealing with mind fog, and have difficulty managing daily tasks,” says Jessica Girdwain of Health.com. This doesn’t mean anything is essentially wrong with you. Limited concentration is a natural result of a lack of sleep. The good news is that you can reverse this pretty quickly. By going to bed earlier and giving yourself more awake time prior to departing home in the morning, you can feel more rested and attentive from nine to five. Making a conscious effort to get more sleep will work for most people. However, if you find you’re still not getting an adequate amount of sleep, you may need to see a doctor. A sleep specialist can help you implement strategies for getting better sleep if you (or your partner) suffer from a related disorder. 2. Poor Diet One cause you may not as be familiar with is a poor diet. What you choose to eat directly affects your brain’s level of functioning. According to various studies, consuming junk food and highly processed foods can actually shrink your brain. One study in particular shows that eating a diet with high amounts of fat and refined sugar causes the body to reduce production of brain-derived neurotropic factor, otherwise known as BDNF, which helps us to learn new ideas, recall information, and form memories. In order to reverse these effects, you need to switch to a healthier diet that contains more natural foods and fewer processed ingredients. Some of the best options for enhancing brain functioning include omega-3 fatty acids, green tea, walnuts, and leafy green vegetables. 3. Chronic Stress One factor that can swiftly diminish concentration and focus is stress. Stress competes with the brain’s cognitive centers -- areas that are responsible for developing quick and precise thoughts -- and as a result further collapses our ability to stay on task and be fully productive. Obviously the best way to relieve stress is by removing it altogether. If you can identify certain aspects of your life that are sources of stress, then address them as quickly as possible. If you can’t pinpoint those sources, or it’s impossible to remove them, then you may need to see a doctor to get a medical opinion. Regardless, you shouldn’t continue to allow stress to govern your work life. 4. Too Much Screen Time In 2016, it’s too easy to find yourself overwhelmed by technology and gadgets. These devices often help us become more productive, but they also tend to grow increasingly distracting. When you’re splitting your time between a smartphone, tablet and computer, it can become nearly impossible to get everything done. You find yourself working on one tool or program when a notification pops up on another. It’s a brutal cycle of distraction after distraction. One solution is to aim for more restraint. By reducing the number of devices and applications with which you engage, you can mitigate the likelihood of distraction. If you’re like most people, email may be one of your biggest distractions at work. It’s simply too easy to notice an incoming email and lose focus. The solution is to filter your inbox. “I’m a big fan of the email white list, which essentially means using a filter to only allow specific senders into your inbox,” says writer Adam Dachis. “This way you’re only troubled with people you’ve designated as important rather than getting everything all at once.” The process of setting up email filters differs, depending on the service you use, but Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo! Mail, and most major providers provide their users the option. 5. Bad Work Environments Losing focus often depends directly on the conditions in your immediate environment. If you aren’t comfortable in your office, you’re apt to focus on this discomfort and allow yourself to be distracted by it. For example, despite the popularity of modern open layout office designs, studies have shown that offices that lack adequate partitions frequently lead to lower productivity. The reason is that employees get distracted by coworkers, with either delight or irritation, and aren’t able to stay on task. 6. Physical Conditions Finally, there’s the factor that may be either the proverbial elephant in the room, or completely overlooked: physical conditions that force people to lose focus. The reason this doesn’t appear as the first item is that ADD and ADHD are often cited as scapegoats for other issues. When people have trouble focusing, too often they decide they have a disorder. While such disorders do exist, as we’ll note in this section, they’re often diagnosed when other factors get overlooked. Before jumping to the conclusion that you suffer from a disorder, take the time to consider all potential causes. In many situations, there may be an external factor that can be removed by conducting a comprehensive analysis of the situation. That being said, physical conditions do sometimes play a role. In fact, a number of different medical causes can produce what some refer to as “brain fog.” These include adrenal fatigue syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis, heavy metal toxicity, reduced blood flow to the brain, menopause and the side effects of various medications. Make Focus a Priority Zoning out and losing focus may have become major problems in corporate America. They happen on a daily basis and may be causing significant loss of productivity, diminished revenues and workplace accidents. If you find yourself chronically losing focus, it may be time that you did something about it. Consider the six causes above and make it a priority to get back on track. Also on Forbes:
Swarnakshi Sharma March 9th, 2022 · 7min read Do you ever feel like you’ve been reading the same lines for over ten minutes or more? Or do you ever think about something mundane when you’re supposed to be listening to the meeting? List of ContentsDon’t worry, you’re not the only one this happens to. Sometimes, when I’m reading, I keep zoning out or when I’m watching TV. Spacing out for some time is not an issue but zoning out while driving or spacing out when you’re cooking – now that can be dangerous. Almost everyone zones out from time to time but the frequency of zoning out can increase when you’re too stressed out. Zoning out can also occur when you’re coping with grief, breakup, or other traumatic life experiences. Some people even use zoning out as a coping mechanism which might or might not be a bad thing. In this article, I’ll explain what happens when you zone out, why do people zone out, and how to stop zoning out. What Does ‘Zoning Out’ Means?When you zone out or space out, you experience dissociation. While on the same spectrum as dissociation, zoning out lands on the mild side of the spectrum. When our mind is overwhelmed and we’re stressed, our body responds to that stress with the flight-fight-freeze response. In the case of spacing out, our body generally bypasses the flight or fight part of the stress response and freezes. When our body responds by freezing, our mind responds by zoning out. Minds are complicated. They think that our survival depends on not fighting or fleeing but on shutting down. When we space out, it becomes harder for us to move or even speak. We experience a temporary numbness with our emotions when our body and mind prepare for any kind of shock. Please remember that zoning out may look a lot different depending on person to person. While in some, zoning out might include daydreaming, for others, it may rob them of movement. The symptoms, too, may vary. Children, specifically, use zoning out or spacing out as a defense mechanism when they feel the threat is near to protect themselves. It may be an instinctive reaction in some situations. What Does Zoning Out Feel Like?Let me use a simple example. When our computer is overloaded, it might hang or shut down to reboot. Zoning out is a little like that. When we are too stressed and our mind is overloaded, it might decide to shut itself down to reboot. Zoning out might feel a little like experiencing brain fog. Do you ever walk by the ship you were supposed to stop at without realizing it? Or have you ever eaten your food without realizing what you’re eating? This is what zoning out can feel like. While occasionally spacing out is common and even refreshing, zoning out frequently can be a matter of concern. Causes Of Zoning OutZoning out means our minds are running on default. You do an activity without realizing you’re doing it. Many factors can contribute to us experiencing dissociation: Sleep Deprivation: Whether you know it or not, sleep deprivation can take a heavy toll on your functioning. Sleep deprivation can be very dangerous especially when you’re driving. Feeling Overwhelmed: Feeling overwhelming emotions can also lead you to experience dissociation. Too much overload on your mind can cause it to shut down. Experiencing Trauma: If you’ve gone through a traumatic event, it is often possible for your brain to shut down until you can properly deal with the experience. Is Zoning Out A Bad Thing?Zoning out or daydreaming can be wonderful for boosting your creative muscles and brainstorm solutions. When you’re doing something that needs full concentration such as baking or playing video games, zoning out your surroundings can be useful too. However, while zoning out can have some positive points, it can have some equally negative points. Spacing out when you’re dealing with something such as an argument or during an important meeting, can become an issue in the future. Similarly, zoning out while driving can have fatal outcomes. Even if you’re familiar with the roads, zoning out when driving can lead you to have an accident. People also zone out when they want to escape something traumatic and while it can be a defense or a coping mechanism, it can be an unhealthy one. How To Stop Zoning Out: 5 Ways To Do When You Zone Out So MuchIf you frequently find yourself zoning out, you can try the following strategies: 1. Grounding TechniquesGrounding techniques can work wonderfully when you want to learn how to stop zoning out. These techniques aim to keep you grounded in the present moment. To stay grounded, you can try:
2. Keeping Track Of When You Zone OutIf you catch yourself zoning out, take a quick note of it. If you don’t realize you zoned out, ask someone (a friend, a coworker). Taking a note of your zoning out episodes can provide you insight into your behavior. Once you know when you zone out, you can try to change the pattern. 3. Practicing MindfulnessPracticing mindfulness can help you increase awareness of your surroundings and keep you in the present moment. In situations where your mind prefers to wander away, try to stay focused on what you’re doing. Many a time, I zone out when I’m doing the dishes, so instead of letting my thoughts wander, I focus on the task by feeling the way I’m holding a plate or on the temperature of the water. You can also try breathing exercises and focus on each breath as you inhale and exhale. This is something that can help when you’re driving. 4. Practicing Active ListeningIf you’re someone who zones out when others are talking, then you can learn some active listening techniques to help you prevent zoning out. You can try:
5. Practicing Self-CarePracticing self-care can help you manage your dissociation while also helping you release pent-up stress. Self-care can include:
Remember, too much stress can be one of the reasons that can contribute to your frequent spacing out. Ask For HelpIf you zone out occasionally, then there is no need to worry about but if zoning out is interfering with your ability to carry out your daily tasks, then you need to ask for help. Frequent zoning out or daydreaming can be a sign of ADHD or depression. If your zoning out is followed or preceded by these symptoms, then it is recommended you speak to a professional: A therapist or a counselor will guide you and support you while helping you explore why you’re experiencing dissociation frequently. A therapist can also help you come up with effective and healthy coping techniques. Book Your 7 Days Free Ecounselling I hope this article helped you understand why you zone out, its causes, and how to stop zoning out. For more, you can visit our website or write to us at . Take care and stay safe! |