Can’t Focus? Try Zoning Out.

your mind needs to rest
take a break from all thinking
zone out to hone in

release conscious thoughts
clear your mind of everything
create a blank slate

embrace the blank space
empty field of potential
where new ideas seed

The human mind has demonstrated many remarkable capabilities, and one major flaw:

It doesn’t come with an “off” switch.

I often find myself in endless loops of thoughts: ruminating, speculating, wondering, worrying, planning, remembering, reflecting, strategizing, considering.

Figuring things out.

Even when we are asleep, the mind is churning: processing and consolidating ideas, information and all we take in.

I like to think of the mind as a form of “bandwidth,” like the cables that bring the internet into your home. All of this constant churning occupies bandwidth. When the bandwidth is full, everything slows down.

Even the most rote tasks become difficult when we have strained our cognitive processes.

There’s no energy left for anything else.

“Zoning out” often gets a bad rap, but shutting everything down is exactly what we need when the channels get too full.

It’s ok to give into mindless distraction as a way to clear the channels.

When I find myself so overloaded with thoughts that I can’t focus on what I need to do, my habitual conditioning is to push harder.

But I’ve learned that pushing harder doesn’t work in those situations.

I know that’s a sign I need to shut everything down and zone out.

It can feel counterintuitive, but clearing out the clutter of the mind is often what leads to new creative breakthroughs and ideas.