3 steps for regaining focus
For the past month I have lacked focus. My motivation and enthusiasm for activities I typically get jazzed for has been non-existent. I have struggled to maintain the structures in my workday and am easily overwhelmed and exhausted before the day even starts.
My current state screams burnout. I have been here before and typically a long vacation or a job change helps rejuvenate me and return me to my normal, high-energy, highly motivated, and confident state. But this is different. How can I possibly be burned out? I am barely working. I have reduced my hours dedicated to my business to care for my child and ensure I have time for myself and loved ones.
Burnout, according to the World Health Organization, “refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.” Yet here I am meeting the official definition of burnout with no real, relaxing vacation in sight and no clue when my child will be in school or childcare full-time again.
The truth is I am emotionally, mentally, psychologically, and physically exhausted. I am running on empty, yet each day requires me to muster the strength to take in more data and make informed decisions about every aspect of my life. There is no coasting right now. And the burden is heavy.
This applies to everyone. We all are dealing with a lot of intense issues and uncertainty. COVID-19, an economic downturn, and the Black Lives Matter Movement have generated a lot to take in, digest, learn and make decisions about. One of the big issues the country is dealing with right now is enough to cause anxiety and stress. Put all three together and everyone’s mental health suffers.
With no easy way to rejuvenate in the near future, we need to find ways to regain our focus and feel good about the contribution we are making to our business and lives. Here are three steps every business owner and leader can take to get back to doing what you got into business to do.
Acknowledge your burnout and the emotional toll the world has had on you. Moving forward denying the impact of the heavy things happening in the world is not healthy. It is important to spend time recognizing what is causing the additional stress. Spend time processing and identifying how the stress is showing up for you. This is not something that will happen over the course of an hour-long walk. It will take days of repeatedly working through the new information that is adding weight to your stress and mental well-being. If you take a walk or journal or mediate on what is creating the distress each day, you will quickly make progress back to focus. Creating the space to deal with the non-work issues that are hampering you will generate space to focus at work.
Reset your goals. The first six months of the year have been nothing like anyone could have expected or predicted or conjured. You need to re-visit and reset your goals for both the long-term and the coming months. Much of what we wanted to achieve this year is no longer possible due to shutdowns and downturns. And for many, long-term goals have shifted and need to be updated to reflect what you now want to attain. You can make progress in 2020, but it is important to re-calibrate your goals based on the current reality of the economy opening again.
Create small plans for each week and day. Do not try to conquer all that has been lost or needs to be achieved in the next month. You need to look at your fresh goals and determine what is the most important task for the week or day. We are all getting new information daily and need to be able to shift as things come to light. As you continue to process the external events affecting our emotional, social, and psychological well-being, we need to adapt our plans to accommodate. Ensure each day and week has time allotted for mapping out what can be achieved in the next day or week. This will help you maintain focus in future weeks.
These three steps are not easy. We are not living in an easy time. With the level of uncertainty, anxiety and discomfort around the issues we are being faced with, it will be a long time before focus and calm are a daily norm. But we can take steps now to ensure the stress, anxiety, and burnout do not become more intense. Take the first step with me and we can all move one step closer to maintaining focus and control of our business success.