Focus tips

[ethel]

This works as a companion-thread to Mic's 'short term memory' thread.

I've nearly got memory sorted out thanks to alarms, a calendar/diary, and getting people at work to put ANY request in writing via email, and then using my inbox as a 'to do' list with coloured flags denoting priorities.

However, I still have major issues with focus. One of today's red-flag chores was to check a certain part of our site for errors and report them to IT. I opened our homepage, promptly forgot why I was there, found a typo in a heading, fixed that, then while I was in the editing system also pulled a bit of outdated stuff I noticed needed tidying up and reported yet another unrelated problem to the department that manages that bit of the site... and half an hour later, I had totally not done what I set out to do.

Any tips? I'm sure I'm getting worse...

[energeia]

My problem is kind of opposite--I get so focussed on what I'm doing that I space out all the other stuff I'm also supposed to be doing. I'm bad at multitasking.

At work, I keep a piece of paper on my desk and write down stuff as I think of it that needs doing and cross the item off once I've done it. Course, this requires me remembering to look at the piece of paper with the list

At home, if there's a time-sensitive thing I need to do, I set the timer on the stove and then, when it goes off, I usually remember that thing.

[energeia]

Oh yeah, I also send emails to myself with the task in the subject line. I don't open the email until I've done the task (and I then just delete) so that the unread emails stand out more.

[micgrace]

And one of my tricks when writing a report is to include notes in each section on what I need to find or need to add /do etc before I forget it. When done I delete. Thank god for office. And references I collect as I go along on another file. It works. And well.

Only way I can organize myself to actually do a task of writing.