Today’s letter includes:

• The struggles of finding focus from scatter
• An invite to the Letters of a Wandering Mind and download The Anchor & Sail Technique PDF

From Scatter to Focus

For many, feeling scattered is a regular occurrence. Not only do they struggle to get on top of their work, they can barely get on top of the moment.

 

Do I wash the dishes? Do I write that report? Do I get a snack? Maybe I’ll just watch something for a few minutes…

 

Meanwhile, they try multiple apps, systems, and techniques without success, each one collapsing under the last.

But every once in a while, they find a flow, a rhythm, a palpable feeling that they are a force to be reckoned with. Something clicks, maybe prompted by a deadline, and they get a tremendous amount of work done.​

 

Everything else can wait!

 

What matters is what’s in front of them. They are engaged.

But there is a struggle of moving from one engagement to another. Whether getting into that flow or breaking out of it to make sure other important matters are attended to, they stumble if they can make the transition at all.

This struggle is one of the major characteristics of what I call “a wandering mind”. Getting themselves to do something, despite knowing it’s important, is incredibly elusive. The speed of thought can be lightning fast. When in a flow, it’s wonderful. Otherwise, it can leave a trail of confusing messes. Completing projects or escaping boredom seems impossible.

Trying to find focus and, perhaps more importantly, a sense that they can do things responsibly and get to the things they want guilt and shame-free, seem just out of reach. Those moments of success bait them into thinking stability is just around the corner.

Who are these people who seem so organized, paying bills and returning phone calls effortlessly? What’s going on?

Several months ago, I put together an email series about the Wandering Mind and the struggles that come with it. You can read the original series beginning here.

I’ve since updated and extended the series, now titled “Letters of a Wandering Mind”:

You’ll get:

1. A free PDF of the Anchor & Sail Technique, a powerful and grounding pen & paper technique. The center of the technique is simple, though its practice can be developed and improved over time. Developed over the last several years, my Waves of Focus students and personal clients have regularly expressed how powerful and grounding it has been and how they carry it with them wherever they go.
2. Future announcements about the Waves of Focus.
3. The 11-part email series, Letters of a Wandering Mind. Here’s the table of contents:

• • The Exhaustion of Explaining One’s Self
  • Forcing Focus and the Moral Perspective
  • Deadlines and Fight or Flight
  • Cycles of Procrastination and Deadlines
  • Searching for a Simple Answer
  • Engaging & Tricking
  • 5 Ways to Engage
  • Working Memory
  • A Deep Focus on the Now & The Window of Challenge
  • The Ship of Now
  • Benefits of Structuring for Future You