Most of us have many things to do at any given time. Even if it is a day-off from work or school, we still have multiple things that we want to do. These can range from anything like paying taxes to just playing a game with your friends. It really does not matter what the task is because in our mind it is still something that we have to do and unless there is a very clear distinction, it is often hard to prioritize them efficiently. The problem arises when we start working on a task by assigning a time block to it, but instead of focusing on that task alone, we let our mind roam freely to think about other tasks that are yet to come. Everyone does it to some extent but most people do not view it as a problem but rather a natural behaviour. They think that it helps them to plan ahead so they can jump right on to the next task once the current one is done. The issue with this logic is that they are ignoring the fact that this planning comes at the cost of delaying your current task itself. So, instead of focusing only on one thing and completing it in the most efficient way, people delay it by ironing out the details of other takes which they have not even started yet.
While thinking ahead is a good thing in general, but it usually doesn’t suit everyone and more importantly, it does not fit for every task. The reason why I say that it doesn’t suit everyone is because in order to think ahead effectively, you have to be able to predict realistic scenarios that are likely to manifest when you begin with that future task rather than outlining idealistic goals that you would like to achieve. Secondly, the reason I said that it doesn’t fit for every task is because some tasks are generally more easier to do than others. For example, going to work or school every day is way less desirable to having a rest or playing games in the evening. It is easier to convince yourself to do the latter than the first and because of this stark differentiation between your desire to go through with one activity, it can begin to seep through to your other activities as well. Going forward with the same example, you do not really need to spend time and plan ahead about how you are going to rest or play games in the evening but you can still spend hours thinking about it if you let your mind roam freely. You can be sitting in your classroom or in a meeting but your mind can be playing Call of Duty or visiting a relative’s house. So, be mindful of how much time you are actually taking away from your current activity and how it impacts your productivity for it.
Another thing that people often complain about is that they just do not find the time to try something new or have fun in their lives anymore because they are just so busy each day. Yes, it is possible that you are now indeed busier than you have ever been in your life or that your responsibilities have increased drastically for some reason but the fact that you are complaining about not finding the time to do something that you want to do indicates that you are trying to fight a downhill battle against burning out. Even if you keep grinding, you are not happy. For such cases, try to honestly analyse whether you are really focusing on your activities or are you worrying about other things while doing them. If you are thinking about comfortably going to sleep at night while you are taking a meeting or a lecture, then you are not getting the most out of your lecture and when you do eventually come back to reality, you will not only find out that it was not the time for you to rest yet, but also that you have missed out on what you originally came to do as well. It would be as if time just slipped through your hands and you gained nothing for it. Similarly, when you do get home and it is time to go to rest, you can find yourself worrying about what it is that you have to do tomorrow. So, even when it is time to do something that you really want to do, you are letting your mind roam freely to other things which is affecting your rest. When you do not find satisfaction of doing any kind of activity then you tend to think that it is an issue with time restrictions and that by having more time, you will be able to think about other activities and get a good sleep as well. If that is something that you find yourself doing, even if you were not aware of it before, then try to focus only on the task at hand and forget about other things completely. You cannot control how much time you will have but you can most definitely control how you are going to spend it.
In conclusion, I would just like for you to observe how your mind works while you are doing any activity(preferably start with something that you do not enjoy as it is easier for your mind to get distracted). Now I know that sometimes in your life you can genuinely be too busy with multiple activities and even worries to focus on just one thing and some can even use it as a tool for them to get motivation in their current task. In such cases, what would be best for you is to at least be mindful of how much time you actually take away to do that and how much help it provides you in return. What I can offer is just an idea, but you know your life and more importantly you know yourself better than any other article or video on the internet. I sincerely believe that as long as you critically analyze how your mind works, you can get the best results for yourself. Good luck!
