Funke had made a schedule the day before, she even had a dream about it, but after doing the first task, she found it hard to complete the remaining tasks no matter how hard she tried. She went to bed that night feeling sorry and disappointed in herself. She tried again the following day but she could not focus long enough to complete two tasks in a row. Feeling sorry and sad once more, she gave up, she had always had issues focusing on something for longer than 30 minutes and she thought a schedule might help her accomplish that.
A few of us have to go through periods where we can't seem to focus on anything, from something as minute as a house chore or something as big as a work project. Sometimes it happens every day, and sometimes it happens once in a while. I have discovered that the first step is acknowledging the fact that it is difficult to concentrate on things for a long period and accepting that. Then proceeding to gradually condition the mind to focus.
Funke acknowledged and accepted the issue, but then decided to force her mind which is wrong. Making lists of things to do is an excellent idea, but in between the list, there has to be breaks, most especially for things u love doing. If you notice that when u lose focus u tend to sleep, try to concentrate for hours at a stretch with the thought of sleeping when you are done at the back of your head. You use delayed gratification, that way you can concentrate while also giving the mind what it is used to. Also, another way is positive reinforcement, when you notice yourself losing focus, commend yourself for what you have achieved, understand that it is ok to zone out, and slowly cajole yourself to going back to the task at hand. Make time to do the things you love doing, try to develop your interests and talents, also try to practice relaxation and meditation. Get plenty of exercises and also talk to your friends about what is going on.
I used this little method of mine and now I am able to concentrate for a long period of time without taking little breaks in between. When you use delayed gratification, at a point your mind starts to learn how to focus more and in the end, you do not need to reward it.
