4 Simple Ways To Tame Your Scattered Mind

If you follow me, you know I’m a huge believer in taking time to disconnect, whether you are on vacation or the weekends with your family or giving yourself some downtime in the evening.

Taking time to truly be away from the daily stressors at work, and not constantly being on your phone/checking in, can let you focus on other important matters like quality time with your spouse and kids, and a chance for you to recharge.

Even during the workday, it’s important to get rid of distractions when you are focusing on a task or conversation.

But what do you do when you can’t seem to turn your mind off, leaving you feeling scattered and constantly bouncing from one thought to the next?

When you can’t help thinking about that big presentation coming up or the conversation you had yesterday with your manager that didn’t go very well.

Or when you are in a meeting, and even though you look like you’re listening to what others have to say, you are really thinking about something else.

Or when you are tucking your kids into bed at night, and you are thinking about all your to-dos for tomorrow.

Instead of truly being present in the moment.

When you are not focusing your attention on the right things at the right time, you miss out on the joys and small opportunities of each day – with your employee, your spouse, your kids, even yourself. 

We spend a lot of our time and energy focusing on the things that we did already or the things that need to be done.

And this can easily happen when we get caught up with all the things we have to do each day at work and at home.

Concerns about the future, regrets about the past, comparing oneself with others, and constantly thinking about how things could be better – these are examples of typical thoughts.

And, when those thoughts tend to be negative, they cause more anxiety and stress.

By focusing your attention on the present moment, you free yourself from over-thinking and tame your scattered mind, and become more mindful of your thoughts and actions.

The best part – you 100% have the ability to focus and train your attention!

Here are 4 simple ways to start building your attention muscle . . .

1) Meditation.

There is no right or wrong way to meditate. Focus your attention on your breathing.

If your mind wanders a lot, consider these thoughts as passing events, nothing special. Then try to gently bring your attention back in the present moment.

Try not to focus on ideas such as “success”, “failure”, “doing really well”, or “trying to relax.” Try to approach your experience with an accepting attitude, or in other words, allow it to just happen, “that’s just how it is right here, right now.”

And, when your mind drifts (which it will) simply bring your attention back to your breath and the moment.

You can small with 5 to10 minutes daily.

2) Focused attention on a routine daily activity.

Choose one to three daily routine activities, such as brushing your teeth, putting the kids to bed, eating, doing the dishes, walking your dog, and the like, and when doing that activity, give it your full attention and focus.

Notice what you are doing and what’s around you, and pay attention to the smallest detail. When your mind wanders, bring it back to give your focused attention.

During the next week, choose daily routine activities on which you will consciously focus your full attention. Later in the week, write down about your experience.

3) Focused attention in a conversation.

This one’s especially relevant at work! Pay attention to how you engage in a conversation. Pick a conversation or meeting and focus your attention as fully as possible and the person/people with whom you are communicating.

The moment you notice that your thoughts are distracted, return your attention to the conversation. Try to be as present as possible and give your full attention.

4) Ask yourself anytime you notice you are distracted, “What’s most important right now?” 

And shift your attention to that.

Practice noticing when your thoughts drift and then focus your attention in the moment – when you feel worried about the past or the future – to what’s going on in the here and now.

Finally, if your worry and overwhelm still gets the best of you in the moment, shift your attention to a more positive thought such as gratitude or a more optimistic view.

Though it takes effort, it will get easier and it’s and well worth it!

For me, my attention skill grew significantly when I started paying more attention during routine activities like putting the kids to bed, rather than just going through the motions – you can find novelty in anything if you put attention to it.

The more you practice this, the more natural it becomes. It’s a muscle you build and can benefit all areas of your life!

All my best,

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What Next?

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Stacey L. Olson is a Leadership and Certified Positive Psychology Coach, has 15 years of corporate experience and has gone through her own transformational change from burning out to balanced in life while performing at a high level (both in her corporate career and own business). She works with professionals who want to work less, live more and be their best even with all the demands, high expectations and messiness of everyday life. Stacey is the founder of The Balanced Leader™ program and offers executive and leadership coaching, workshops, and speaking.