Ryan Lopano Blog

Having stress take over can be a huge motivation killer. I just had this happen to me the other day. When you have too much going on, it can really take over and make you not want to do anything. It is really a problem because once you lose motivation, all bets are off. It is really a problem as it really stops you from doing most things productively. Johann Hari says, “The number-one reason… for their [attentional] problems… was stress” in Chapter 10. Because of this, it is really important to rest.

After having all of this time, it is important to take time for yourself and rest. You don’t need to necessarily go to sleep, but it is important to relax. Chapter 11 of Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention states, “Your brain doesn’t necessarily switch off as easily if you’re going, going, going. You don’t take that time to switch off and relax… Your brain becomes accustomed to thinking constantly.” This means that taking time to just turn off our brains is really crucial. Good ways to relax are taking a shower or bath, laying down and watching a favprote show or movie, or even just turning off the lights and going to sleep are good ways to relax. Just taking time to drown out the noise and just focus on yourself is really crucial.

Realistically, if you don’t do anything in regards to resting, it won’t benefit you. Hari mentions in Chapter 11 that, “As you become tired, your attention will indeed blink out … even if your eyes are open and you are looking around you, you can lapse … into a state called ‘local sleep.” Local sleep is basically your mind going numb. There are a bunch of things going on, and you don’t know what to do or what to focus on. That is why it is so important to rest. Without it, you are setting yourself up for failure and could potentially make it so that less stuff gets done.

Something specific that Hari talked about is financial stress. Obviously, worrying about money is going to take a toll on your stress. Stolen Focus talks about “If you have to worry about your financial situation … it takes a lot of the capacity of your brain. If you don’t have to worry, then it improves your capacity to think about other things.” This makes total sense, as financial issues will put a halt to anything you are doing. If you any bit of what you are doing is paused because of money, this can really demotivate you and make it impossible to get other things done.

All and all, it seems that getting rest is very crucial to preventing stress levels from getting high. By taking control over everything going on, you can manage your time better and lessen the amount you have going on at once. After that, you can get proper rest that helps everything else.