Do You Get Distracted When You Are Organizing? 5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Concentration
Reading time – 10 minutes
Decluttering, organizing and donating, it’s all easy—well, if you could concentrate, that is. Concentration can sometimes be very difficult, especially if you have a lot going on in your life.
1. Five Easy Ways To Improve Your Concentration.
Stop Multitasking
How often are you working on decluttering, then you see in the corner of your screen that a new email has arrived? You immediately stop your work and head over to check out the email. Although you may think this saves you time, every time you leave your work, it takes time to get focused again or you may not make it back to the space you are decluttering.
Instead of constantly watching for emails, Facebook posts and text messages, turn notifications off and check them at regular intervals throughout the day (such as early morning, mid-morning, once at lunch, and mid-afternoon and at the end of the day) I’ll talk more about multitasking in section 2.
Take a Physical Break
You know it’s important to take breaks, but the type of breaks you take are also important. Instead of taking a break at your computer with a snack, get up and walk around. Doing something more physical on your break will help you to concentrate better when your break is over.
Get More Sleep at Night
The number one thing affecting your concentration is the amount of sleep you get every night. Instead of skimping on sleep, make it a priority and try to get 8-9 hours each night. You can make this easier by going to bed and waking up at the same time each day, even on the weekends.
Eat Healthier
Did you know that the junk you are eating could be harming your concentration? A diet high in sugar, dyes, and artificial flavours makes it difficult to focus. Cut out the processed foods, and when you need a snack, eat some nuts or veggies. Plan healthy snacks for your decluttering and organizing day that you can quickly grab.
Drink More Water
Many people run on nothing but coffee from the minute they wake up in the morning until it is time to go to bed at night. But coffee contains a lot of caffeine, making it difficult for you to concentrate on your work. Try having just a single cup of black coffee in the morning with breakfast, then switching to water for the rest of the day.
Overall, being able to concentrate isn’t easy. But if you can make the above five changes in your life, you may find that you no longer struggle to stay focused on tasks. You will be amazed at just how much you will be able to accomplish! I’ll take more about the benefits in section 3.
2. How Multitasking Hurts Your Concentration
Have a lot on your plate to get done for the day? It might seem easier to get it all done if you multitask. Multitasking relates to doing two cognitive tasks at the same time. You can still organize and chew gum. Multitasking used to be seen as a superpower. But the truth is, multitasking hurts your concentration big time. Read on to find out just how bad it is to multitask when trying to concentrate on getting things done.
Your Brain Can’t Multitask
According to the American Psychological Association, there is no such thing as multitasking when it comes to your brain. Although you may think you are doing multiple things simultaneously, your brain is constantly switching back and forth between tasks. Thus you will tire faster when you multitask than if you focus on one task at a time. Think about when you declutter for 30 minutes without breaking your thought process. You get more proficient and productive at making decisions and the process goes faster.
Task-Switching Takes Time
Besides just tiring you out as your brain goes back and forth between two tasks, this task-switching takes up valuable time. You may not notice it, but it can take up to three minutes for your brain to fully switch over to a new task. And if you are taking three minutes between each of your tasks, this can quickly add hours you can’t afford to be wasting. When you are organizing, you have to access the space, plan where things will be stored and decide how to store them. When this process is broken up with text messages and emails, you need to start over to determine where you left off in your plan.
Thoughts Aren’t Allowed to Flow
It isn’t just the time and energy wasted. When you are constantly demanding that your brain switch subjects, this doesn’t allow your brain to think very deeply. When you multitask, you’re much more likely to accomplish two tasks of lower quality than when you focus on each task individually because your brain hasn’t had the time to think through both tasks completely.
Creativity is Stifled
Additionally, when your thoughts aren’t allowed to flow, this stifles your creativity. And depending on your task, this creativity could be essential to creating and innovating new solutions, thinking outside the box. It will also make it more difficult to overcome roadblocks that might come up in deciding what to do with things, donate, sell or consign. And if you can’t solve challenges while you work, you may find yourself stuck—wasting more time than if you hadn’t tried multitasking in the first place.
Overall, your brain actually can’t focus on two things at once. This process of switching back and forth between tasks is both a time and energy waster. Plus, it doesn’t allow thoughts to flow, thus stifling your creativity and increasing the chances you’ll come to a problem you can’t solve. This is why you should absolutely stop multitasking during the times when you need to concentrate.
3. The Benefits of Improving Your Concentration
Do you wish that it were easier for you to concentrate? You aren’t alone. Many people find that they aren’t able to concentrate as well as they should be. However, it’s important to work on your concentration skills because there are many benefits to improving them.
You’ll Improve Your Memory
Did you know that concentration is an essential part of memory function? When you can concentrate, this allows your brain to catalogue and store information for you to recall later properly.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, if you are suffering from what you think are memory problems, these are likely concentration problems in disguise. So if you can fix your concentration problems, your memory problems will resolve as well. Having a good memory is an essential part of being successful in life.
You’ll Increase Productivity
When you can’t concentrate, your mind is probably constantly drifting to far-off places and worlds that aren’t your own. This, of course, hurts your productivity levels. When you can adequately focus on the task at hand, this makes it easy for you to get more accomplished (and hopefully finish the task), giving you more time to work on other tasks!
You’ll Boost Self-Control
Being able to focus and concentrate even when many things are around to distract you is one of the ultimate forms of self-control. Self-control is like a muscle, and the more you can practice exercising it, the better it will get. The more you concentrate, the easier it will become and the more self-control you will have in other aspects of your life.
You’ll Improve Your Problem-Solving Skills
When you learn to concentrate, you let your mind pursue thoughts more deeply, enhancing your creativity and innovation skills. Creativity is the key when it comes to problem-solving skills. Better problem-solving skills are essential if you want to push yourself further in life, because if you can’t solve problems, you will find yourself stuck in a rut that you can’t get out of at some point.
Plus, problem-solving skills are often essential in organizing your space. When there is no correct way to do it, you must problem-solve a solution that works for your personality and lifestyle.
Concentrating isn’t easy, but if you can learn how to concentrate, there are many benefits you can reap. You will not only improve your memory, but you will also boost your productivity and self-control. Your problem-solving skills will also improve, making it easier for you to declutter and organize your home easily and quickly. So if you want to move forward in life, it’s time to work on improving your concentration abilities.
I think I have covered the topic completely. Let me know what I missed in the comments.
Julie Stobbe is the 2024-2025 winner of the Harold Taylor Award for outstanding contributions to the organizing industry and Professional Organizers in Canada. As a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach, she brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of teaching to reduce clutter, in your home, office, mind and time. She guides, mentors and supports you to be accountable for your time, to complete projects and to reach your goals. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
