How do I get my focus back?

To give some background, I worked in IB for just under two years and was let go during the wave of layoffs earlier this year. I got a role in a different industry and have no desire to return to finance in any capacity. I felt that IB was damaging to my mental health due to a litany of factors that have been discussed extensively on this forum, and I noticed myself getting particularly frustrated with the constant distractions in the form of hundreds of outlook and teams notifications per day regarding a bunch of different tasks.

Growing up, I was usually able to focus on a given task for long periods of time. I could sit down and work for hours on end, and I rarely found myself getting easily distracted even while I did my last year of undergrad remotely during the pandemic. My final semester of college was so busy that my daily schedule was work>lunch>work>dinner>work>1-2 hours of videogame>sleep, with little deviation even during weekends. It was stressful, but I didn't feel a compulsion to check my phone or distract myself until it was time to wind down for the night. I now find myself getting easily distracted, not just in my new role but even in everyday life outside of work. I get the feeling that I somehow adapted to the chaotic nature of banking, and I'm having trouble switching back to how I used to be. I steer clear of short-form video, and my use of social media has not changed much since high school, so I don't think that has much (if anything) to do with it. 

I thought I could get my life back after leaving the industry, and I have to some extent, but I don't feel as "sharp" as I used to. I plan to seek professional help for this after the new year, but I wanted to know if anyone here has had a similar experience and/or would have any tips on how to regain my focus.

7 Comments
 

Work for 30 minute period and then take a 5-10 minute break then try to get more stuff done. This increases focus while you’re working and also helps with general productivity of getting things done 

 

There was a good screen time app that prevented people from seeing certain apps for an amount of time (so no YouTube, P*rn, TikTok, Wso etc). Just block off however number of hours per day from distracting sites so you can be focused on what you need to get done 

 

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