07 December,2010 09:30 AM IST | | Sukanya Ghosh
Have you been forgetting things at work? Absent-mindedness is a sign of excessive preoccupation and stress. Not only does it affect your productivity, it also manages to make you miserable and upset with yourself at the end of the day. An absent-minded person usually has a lot on his mind.
The nervous system is on an overdrive, and the heart has to pump thrice the amount of blood to the brain than it normally requires. Chronic levels of preoccupation, we would call it.u00a0 Or, in other words, thinking, thinking, going mad! Here are some remedies for this common problem:
Breathe easy
Easier said than done? Not really. Our body has given us a natural mechanism to achieve this -- our breath. Just by focusing on your inhalation and exhalation pattern, you can bring yourself back into the present moment, each time you find yourself slipping away. Almost like magic, this technique will anchor you back to the here and now of things.
Have a work-life balance
Absent-mindedness is often due to boredom. A certain sense of disconnect, when faced in relation to one's work, can cause the person to drift away and escape the drudgery.
In such cases, one needs to look for ways to keep oneself motivated. Join a hobby class, meet more new people, go out more often, indulge in things you are passionate about -- basically, get a life outside work!
Nap it up
Nap more often if you can. A 10-minute catnap is the perfect way to stay aware and present to the tasks at hand. Just put your head down even if you're at the desk and you'll find yourself recharged and better equipped to tackle deadlines. Go slow on caffeine; contrary to public opinion, those endless cups of coffee or tea do nothing more than keeping you merely awake. They definitely do not cure absent-mindedness!
Stay hydratedu00a0
It is equally important to keep up the energy levels of the physical body. Our body needs to replenish its lost reserves on a regular basis. So make sure you drink lots of water and get adequate sleep.
Make a list
Get a weekly wall calendar that has big squares designated for each day. Write down your job-lists on these, so that you can keep throwing glances at it every now and then. And the best part is the joy that you'll get out of scratching out the jobs that are complete.
The memory game
>> u00a0Always make it a habit to write down things. It's always easy to remember the
written word
>> u00a0If you have a colleague with a sharp
memory, share important information with him/her. It might help when nothing else does
>> u00a0Stick post-it notes on your PC for
immediate tasks. Their sheer visibility won't let you forget things
>> u00a0Maintain different files/diaries/notes for different tasks. Remembering gets better with proper organisation
