Updated: Apr 13, 2021
See if you can relate to any of these:
You are out taking a walk or run out in nature or in your neighborhood and you cannot remember anything you just saw or heard. Your brain was completely elsewhere.
Someone is speaking directly to you and your mind is somewhere else -- like your to-do list, worrying about another problem, or the conversation with a co-worker from earlier in the day (or week).
You sit down to do some work at your desk and an hour goes by and you still have no work done.
You find yourself sitting to practice meditation and you find yourself physically there, but mentally in another time zone.
Being focused is a part of life. When we struggle with focus or concentration, oftentimes people feel frustrated either with themselves or the situation. The problem usually is that people don't understand why they're having focus difficulty, so they cannot figure out what to do.
Some possible reasons for having difficulty with concentration or focus could be:
A packed To Do List. We know that when your brain is trying to look at many things at once, concentration will weaken. This will also cause us higher levels of stress and your ability to concentrate severely decreases even more.
Worry. Worry is very prevalent and is a self-inflicted cause of stress.
Lack of Sleep. Most of us know what it feels like to not have had enough sleep and if you think about it, when we are tired, we cannot focus easily.
Perfectionism. Do I need to express how pervasive this one can be on stress levels?
Boredom. Focus and concentration is also challenging when we are bored.
Mental Health Concerns. One of the characteristics of depression and anxiety are concentration or memory issues. If you are suffering from either of these, you may experience issues of focus.