I normally flip through the news first thing and today an article by Dr Mercola, about the difficulty in focusing and concentrating is a subject that I can relate to this 100%. Read this brief article below
Feeling distracted? You’re not alone. A new study shows the average attention span has dropped to just 47 seconds, down from 2.5 minutes in 2004. Constant phone notifications and nonstop scrolling are training our brains to lose focus faster than ever.
Experts say you can rebuild your attention span with simple habits. Try turning off unnecessary alerts, taking short walks, or doing just one task at a time. The Pomodoro technique — 25 minutes of focused work followed by a 5-minute break — is a great way to start.
Most of all, be patient with yourself. Your brain needs practice to focus better, just like a muscle needs exercise. Start small, stick with it, and over time, your ability to concentrate can improve.
I must not expect too much of a short article so I identify this as the stimulus to think about my own position.
When it comes to reading books
I’m a great one for being attracted to be latest and greatest and this includes books. I absolutely love buying books especially the lazy way through Amazon where you can decide that you want to book at say 6:30 in the evening and by lunchtime next day it has arrived.
The number of books that I have is now so great I cannot find books that I know I have so one of these five days I must assemble a couple of bibliophiles to help me in my massive task; I must have the better part of 1,000 books. My love affair with books has been with me since my teen years and I’m almost at the stage of needing yet another bookshelf.
The problem is I don’t like throwing any books away. So I will buy a book, study it for say 20 minutes and then put it aside because another book has come along which is more attractive. Us Geminis like to know a little bit about a lot of subjects but I agree that this trait is a bit extreme in my case.
Continually checking messages
I have noticed that I check for messages and emails more frequently than I need to but seldom does the content merit an immediate response and that is certainly something I can deal with. I have an unrealistic expectation that people will respond to my emails immediately or within a couple of hours and when a day goes by without a response I think they forgotten or haven’t received it.
The truth is that they were either not at their desk or doing something, and they come back later with some sort of apology. I will try to contain my impatience. Difficult.
Making a list of tasks and priorities
I was helped by the meme that ‘some tasks are important and time sensitive, others are important but not times sensitive, others are unimportant and can be left until convenient. My man shed containing my tools is long due for a clean out but I’ve left it and left it and now it is so full I can barely get in the door.
I’m glad to say that I get the urge from time to time to do something, normally when the weather is clement and when I don’t have too much else to do. In other words that timing has to be right. The making of lists can be depressing when you contemplate the number of items so maybe we shouldn’t go to the trouble of making a list and just do things as we become aware of them.
Meditation
Of all things I’m worst at is meditating because after a few seconds I think of all the things that I want to do. A much better form of meditation for me is to stare into the embers of a bonfire or go for a walk or look at the sea from a cliff – or even mowing a lawn
Visit to the dentist
A new system has been installed at Wellsway Dental Practice in Bath where we now have to sign in every time we visit and agree in advance to paying a certain amount of money for the treatment. I can see all sorts of problems here as when the dentist finds that more work needs to be done so the original agreement has to be amended.
Rosie the long suffering reception is says that when she leaves at the end of day it’s like her head is going to explode. I wish that everyone who designed clever clever systems could actually experience the systems first-hand as a user.
NHS vs Private
I had to have my denture relined. During the course of the years, the gums receded a little bit and the dentures become loose so they tend to rattle around and even fall out which can be embarrassing if you are eating so this had to be attended to.. Once again this is where private work seems to me the only way.
The standards that are required cannot be obtained on the NHS. I went in yesterday Thursday 23rd May and had an imprint taken, was without my upper denture for 24 hours and went in to get the revised product which arrived at 12:45 today Friday.
I have great respect for the NHS in general but the costs of even the NHS seem to have gone up so much and I’m not sure whether the dentist has time to do all the work so they have to rush a little bit. The cost for this intervention was £199 which I was glad to pay. As Francoise says your eyes and your teeth are of prime importance.
