Finding it difficult to concentrate and focus?
I see a steady stream of articles admonishing us for our atrophying attention spans. Apparently these days none of us can read or watch anything longer than a social media post.
I also hear a lot of people talk about 'caregiver dementia' or 'caregiver brain' or whatever other term they've come up with to capture how hard it is for them to focus on things and keep details straight.
These days I'm not providing care and have a lot of freedom over my schedule. And you know what? Whatever issues I had with my attention span went away.
When I don't get enough sleep, when I'm stressed out, when I have more to do than I can possibly manage, I find myself behaving in ways we're told are endemic of our era: I can't focus, I lose track of details, I make mistakes, I get cranky easily, I find myself scrolling mindlessly through Twitter, I keep snacking on whatever's handy.
The thing is, the media makes it seem like there's something wrong with us, that we can't focus (or stop scrolling or eating wasabi peas) because we are weak willed and lazy.
That's nonsense. If we're exhausted, stressed out, and tasked with doing far more than one person can do in the allocated time, of course we can't be our 'optimal' selves. We get overwhelmed because it's overwhelming. We seek comfort because we are stuck in a shitty situation we can't improve.
We're human, this is how humans work.
This isn't something you can just work harder at. You can be a better human, but you'll always be human.
Few of us have the opportunity to change our circumstances. It's easy to tell someone how important it is to get enough sleep, but most people who aren't getting enough sleep aren't choosing to go without.
So, this is a reminder that when you make a mistake, lose track of time, feel annoyed, and can't focus on the task at hand -- it's normal.
It's not about you; it's about the circumstances.
PS. Totally unrelated to the above, I was reading about how when the Vikings overwintered in Newfoundland they were delighted by the long days, mild weather, and abundance of food growing wild.
When Jacques Cartier arrived he was horrified by how it was a cold, dark, barren wasteland.
It all depends on if you're comparing it to Greenland or France.
I keep thinking about this when I'm (still) shocked by how early the sun sets and wishing I could walk the dog without losing feeling in my fingers!
Bonne Bay, NL, Canada: Green Gardens trail in Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland. Photo by Timothy Holmes on Unsplash