Calm the Water - Recovering from Distraction and Overwhelm
Calm the Water - Recovering from Distraction and Overwhelm
You're only a few breaths away from a calm, tranquil pond.
Somehow, sometimes your day starts on the wrong foot.
I’m a big fan of priming the pump and following a routine that sets the path for success, but sometimes “starting the routine fails to happen.” On those days, it’s almost impossible to get anything done.
Unfortunately there isn’t a silver bullet solution to get in the groove, it can be a battle if the conditions aren’t right.
It’s all about setting those conditions.
Start With Your Breath
When you get off track, it can be impossible to convince yourself to do the right thing. Anyone with ADHD can tell you that knowing you need to do something and actually doing it can be separated by a chasm.
The first thing you can do, the first thing you need to do, is just breathe. Big breathes, like you’re sighing.
Breathing pulls your mind out of your distraction or overwhelm and makes you be present.
To re-capture your day, take that first breath. Then take another. Every time you start to think, take another. You’re smothering that gremlin that wants to chase distractions with oxygen.
Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.
—Thich Nhat Hanh
Clear Your Work Area
Keep taking those breaths, slow, steady and deep. Let the breathing anchor you and keep you present.
If you’re working on a computer, start closing down browser tabs, or closing down the browser. Remove the ability to do anything but your task at hand.
If you have something to do in the “real world”, collect your things and take them away from anything and anyone that can distract you.
Breathe.
You want to get monastic, both in your surroundings and your mind.
A cluttered workspace leads to a cluttered mind, a clear workspace leads to a clear mind.
— Jody Gates
Find the First Step
There is something small you can do to get started, identify what that is and do it.
Applaud your productivity.
If you can do 1 thing, you can do 3 things. If you can do 3 things you can do 10, but only focus on one at a time.
You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.
— Zig Ziglar
Return to Your Breath
It feels as silly to write as it does to read, but just keep looping through these things.
Take your breath every time your mind starts to wander. Leave your current place when it starts to become too distracting.
Don’t get mad when you slip, only celebrate when you finish a task.
Remember that it’s just a bad day, not a bad life.
This is a muscle you can build. The more you practice it, the less often you need it.
Deep inhale? Clear your mind.
Long exhale? Release your thoughts.
Finding your breath is the basis for a calm, mindful brain.
Calming your mind can free you from stress, anxiety, overwhelm and negative thinking.
Whether you’re struggling with ADHD, any Neurodivergent brain traits or just get easily distracted and overwhelmed, this process will help you.