Focus Progress

My focus practice is going great! It's hard for me to tell if I am improving my ability to concentrate, but I am definitely interrupting myself less frequently during my 5-minute focus each day. I started out by checking the time every 30 seconds... well, more like I made it about a minute and a half before checking, then I kept checking, even though I had a timer on for 5 minutes and didn't need to worry about it. Now, I don't check the time but I do sometiems realize that my mind has started to drift and my belly muscles are relaxed. It happens only about 2-3 times per 5 minutes now.

I have noticed that I am paying better attention in conversations, and all I can say is, what a relief! I was worried something was utterly and irreversibly wrong with me. I can't say that better attention during conversations is wholly the result of the five-minute focus exercise I have been doing daily, or the result of my commitment to pay attention, being conscious of my wandering brain. It doesn't matter, though. I feel so much better!

When I first proposed this resolution for Project Resolution, I thought that maybe I was being a little... I don't know... too serious about my lack of focus and attention. But I recently found this article on LifeHacker.com and was comforted (and simultaneously alarmed) to find that the issue is more prevalent than I thought. And I'm not the only one who is engaging in a focus-fitness regimen -- the author of the article is worried about his brain, too!