It’s hard to concentrate right now (and that’s okay)

As a relatively new freelancer, starting self employment during the pandemic was honestly a bit weird.

I’d been thinking about going freelance for years, and had a pretty good idea of what I was getting myself into but I was unprepared for the feeling of being on my own all the time coupled with distractions and overwhelm.

I’m not saying this to downplay what I love about self employment - because the freedom and flexibility is amazing, and I count myself incredibly lucky to be able to work on my own terms.

But imposter syndrome, anxiety and isolation are real. And the pandemic has been making it worse. I have found my concentration to be all over the place. I work but I am distracted a lot.

I thought it was just me, but when we talked about this with other self employed people, I was reassured to learn I wasn’t not alone. And when I found this article on The Guardian recently I felt a sort of vindication and relief to put a name to what I was feeling - brain fog.

Feeling distracted doesn’t make you a less good employee / business owner / freelancer - it makes you a real human. Everyone is distracted, overwhelmed and trying their best. What I’ve realised is when we talk about things they get less scary. And it’s okay to validate how you feel. If you are feeling the brain fog too, welcome to the club.

So what helps? I like the pomodoro technique where you work for 25 minutes and then have a break (like we do in the co-work club) and using the Ivy Lee technique (where you list the six, and only six, tasks you want to do in a day and then work through them in order, only moving on to the next one once you have finished the one before).

I am also embracing working working in the flow - meaning if I’m really not feeling it one day I’ll take a break and work when I am feeling more inspired - sometimes that means working in the evening or on my non-working days. There is no point sitting a desk (or kitchen table) to put the hours in if you are not getting anything done. This is one of the real perks of self employment in my mind - I’m the boss so I get to chose how to do it in a way that works for me.