Struggling to concentrate at work

[allgoodd]

I'm struggling to concentrate at work and I'm not sure why. I have anxiety so I'm wondering if it's that, but I work from home and find myself really struggling to concentrate at times. For example, today my manager asked me to do some research into a topic for a couple of hours and then report back what I found. I struggled to motivate myself and would read and reread the same sections as I just couldn't concentrate. I felt sleepy even though I wasn't tired, I got myself a coffee, some water, opened a window, etc but nothing helped. Then 20 minutes before my 'deadline' the stress of it motivated me enough to be able to concentrate and finish the task. It happens quite a lot. Other times I'll have tasks that are more engaging and I can get in the zone and concentrate for hours, so I don't think it's a cognitive issue.

Does anyone experience anything similar or have any ideas if it's anxiety or something? Thank you

I do that and call it "mentally checking out". The clue is surfing Mumsnet! I'm particularly bad for it right now as I'm at the tail-end of a long project and due to leave it in a few months for something more engaging (fingers crossed...)

I get like this sometimes. I can’t really help, I don’t know what it is, but sometimes I have wondered if I’m a bit ADHD. I think that lots of us are now because of the internet and phones. It’s like we’re training ourselves to be almost permanently distracted. I find if I cut down on internet / screen time and I meditate that my concentration increases. I also get anxious, but sometimes I think that the distractedness causes the anxiety as much as the other way round. I think they feed off each other, if that makes sense. Anyway, that’s probably not much help, but I don’t think you’re alone!

Me! I have lots to do and can't concentrate on any of it. Partly because I have done all my favourite bits of work and currently just have the necessary but boring stuff left.... I don't feel anxious just a wierd combination of tired/stressed/bored all at the same time.

I am sure the secret is to be a more organised and diligent person but the creative side of me is like Fuck It hence pissing time away on mumsnet....

I get like this sometimes too. Can be very productive then will have bouts of it and end up with emails from my boss asking why I haven't chased up this or that or asking me if everything is ok. She knows I get anxiety but sometimes I don't even realise Ive missed something which is worrying. I now try to leave my phone elsewhere- obviously hasn't worked now 😂 or make a to do list so I can cross stuff off. When I leave stuff I then get in a mess and it makes me more anxious I'll be in trouble.

I am exactly the same. I WFH and suspect ASD.

What I struggle with is being on my own. If I was in the office I'd talk to someone for a couple of minutes as a distraction and get back to it. At home, with my phone, it's too easy to get distracted.

I do blame phones etc. Cos when I was younger and doing my degree mainly at home, I wasn't like this at all.

I have got over this and the key is bite sized chunks. So let’s say the research is on cat toys, I might break into- what cat toys are on the market? What price range? What types of cat toy and what do they do? What are the reviews like for cat toys? Which toys are trending? Etc

I can research each part quickly and easily. Then I might add an intro and summary and make a valid point or two, add bibliography or links and boom! Finished

Thank you all - it's good to know I'm not the only one! For me it's not even about getting distracted, I'm pretty good at staying away from my phone whilst working. I just kind of stare at my work laptop screen just struggling to motivate myself to do anything. For example, this morning I needed to make some updates to some slides. I opened them up and went to the first slide and couldn't concentrate enough, so went to the next slide and still couldn't concentrate, so then I read through my emails and then tried to go back to the slides but still couldn't concentrate. Then an hour before lunch I suddenly can finally concentrate and get in the zone.

I also struggle to concentrate when I have meetings. If I have a meeting at say 11, I'll struggle to concentrate between 9 and 11 as I know I have the meeting coming up.

What happens when you can’t concentrate. Do you start day dreaming or do you just feel uncomfortable? I think it’s still possible to be distracted without actually looking on your phone - like being distracted by thoughts.

I have definitely felt a lot like this when I’ve been going through stressful periods. I’m going through one now and I’m finding it so hard to get motivated to do small things that need doing until they absolutely NEED doing.

I get like this sometimes. I find when I something that seems huge and overwhelming to do that I put it off and off by procrastinating and doing little jobs instead. I really need a deadline to motivate me. If things are boring I struggle to get stuck in. I have started giving myself “focus hours” where I put my headphones in to cut out the office noise and focus solely on one task for an hour. it sort of works!!

@allgoodd have you considered ADHD?

I'm exactly the same - struggle to complete anything unless I have a deadline. Struggle to concentrate without adding movement etc etc

I thought this is why deadlines exist, mostly. It's not always that they're real, it's just a way of getting tasks done. Not wanting to do tedious stuff is pretty understandable.

I do this all the time. Exactly as described. I have ADHD. But if this is just a recent thing then it won't be ADHD. Symptoms need to be present before age 12. You'd also need to have other symptoms.

Anxiety can cause difficulty concentrating.

By the way this..

"Other times I'll have tasks that are more engaging and I can get in the zone and concentrate for hours, so I don't think it's a cognitive issue."

Also sounds like ADHD. It's called hyperfocus. You find something interesting then you can't switch off. That's because....

-Three things help ADHD brains switch on: interest, novelty, urgency.

• ADHD is not a lack of attention it's an inability to direct your attention where you need it. So sometimes you attention gets hooked onto something and you can't draw it away.

Do you have anyone to keep you accountable? Or have a deadline. Without a deadline, or someone who is going to call me to account, I will procrastinate till the cows come home.
I also actively try to ditch a job I hate to someone who likes it or can do it better. There's often something I can do for them that they were avoiding in a similar way.
I think it's ok for workloads to change and evolve, otherwise we'd all die of boredom!

This is me. Have considered it might be ADHD, but think I’m just unmotivated. However, recent Covid has definitely made it much worse - have you tested positive within the last few weeks OP?

ADHD