Why Can’t I Get Anything Done?

A Plunge in Productivity

Just when we seem to be bouncing back from shortages of face masks, toilet paper, and webcams, I’m keenly aware of another thing in increasingly short supply—my ability to concentrate and get things done. Apparently, I am not the only one. Last week, my otherwise self-motivated high school son mentioned that he had several assignments due but was finding it hard to focus on getting anything started. Since then, a number of friends have mentioned the same sort of problem. What’s going on here? Hopefully, we are no longer buying into the idea that we should be making the most of quarantine by upping our productivity, but does that mean that we must resign ourselves to a perpetual state of mental fog, decreased attention span, and feeling annoyed as part of the new normal?

Mental effort has a cost—we pay attention, after all—and our store of the neurochemicals that underlie mental energy gets used up over time. Thankfully, these neurochemicals are a renewable resource. But like most renewable resources, if we burn through too much too quickly, we may find ourselves caught short. We’ve all been there. Getting through an extended interaction in a shaky second language, trying to get work done while ignoring distractions, or taking a hypervigilant trip to the grocery store in the time of coronavirus can leave us feeling mentally fatigued in a way that is nothing like the satisfaction of physical fatigue after a hard workout. As these mental expenditures add up, it becomes more difficult to focus, ignore distractions, make decisions, and exercise self-control. And that’s when things can start to go south. Our productivity declines and we make mistakes. We walk into a room and forget what we’ve come for. We give in to temptation and make poor food choices. We can no longer tamp down small annoyances so we snap at our kids or partner, unaware that low mental energy may be the real problem. 

For most people, and in normal circumstances, mental energy is topped up after a good night’s sleep. But when circumstances aren’t normal, or when we consistently overextend ourselves, mental fatigue can become chronic and sleep alone is no longer enough. This is the situation in which many of us now find ourselves. We are living in a chronically stressful and uncertain time, worried about our health, our livelihoods, our loved ones and our community. We are unable to do many of things that normally help us recharge and we are not getting some of our usual mental aid. For example, many of the tricks that teachers use to get and hold students’ attention do not translate well to online learning and so students are having to expend more of their own mental resources staying focused. Likewise, many teachers are working longer hours to both plan and deliver online learning, and they are doing so without the benefit of the energy they normally get from interacting directly with their students.

Boost Your Mental Reserves

The current situation is unlikely to resolve itself any time soon, so we need to be proactive in building up our mental resources. What can we do? We can try to rein in distractions and other things that tend to be fatiguing, but for many people that is empty advice at the moment. Another approach is to create opportunities during the day to boost our mental reserves. According to psychologists Stephen and Rachel Kaplan, who studied mental restoration extensively, one way to restore your mental energy is by putting yourself in a place or situation that occupies you brain in a way that is pleasant, makes limited cognitive demands (where you don’t have to think too hard, be vigilant, or practice self-control), and leaves enough room in your mind for quiet reflection. This last part is important, because if we allow space for thoughts that have been percolating below the surface to bubble up, it can help clear the mind, leaving fewer internal distractions that take mental energy to tamp down. 

The Restorative Powers of Nature

One mental restoration strategy that works for almost everyone is being in nature. There are many studies showing that as long as we are not trying to multitask, being in nature (walking, gardening, sitting on the terrace) for as little as 30 minutes can boost our ability to concentrate. What’s more, sustained regular exposure to nature can help build up our mental reserves and buffer us from on-going stress. Psychologists Frances Kuo and William Sullivan, at the University of Illinois, have spent years studying residents of a large Chicago public housing project and have found that residents who have access and views to nature outside their apartment (based on lucky random assignment to a unit with a green courtyard versus one of concrete) score higher than their counterparts on tests of concentration. This better concentration is associated with less impulsivity and aggression and with being better able to deal with major life issues.

We have been getting advice from many people lately to get outside for our mental health and there are many good reasons for doing so, including human connection, sunlight, exercise, and a change of scenery. For some people, this list of benefits includes mental restoration, but the reality is that for many people it does not. Marc Berman (now at the University of Chicago) and his colleagues compared the effects of a nature-filled walk versus a walk through an urban area on people’s ability to concentrate. Before the walk, participants’ in the study were given a test of concentration followed by a memory task that was designed to be mentally fatiguing. They then went on a roughly 50-minute walk, either through a nature-filled college campus or an urban area, and were tested again. The results of the study showed that the concentration abilities of the nature walkers had improved significantly by the end of the walk, but the urban walkers were no better off than before. 

Navigating the Urban Landscape

Unfortunately, nature is in short supply in many urban areas. In Barcelona, unless you are lucky enough to live near the beach or a green park, you often have to go out of your way to find nature. Pre-pandemic, I would plan my walks to pass through green streets and parks, I would stop to admire flowers, and I would look up to the mini-oases on many balconies. But this has become much more difficult. My urban neighborhood is not particularly green and the park with the most greenery inexplicably remains closed. Even if I could find a route with more nature, walking for me at the moment does not meet the criteria for a restorative experience. I am expending mental effort being vigilant about social distancing, keeping track of time, predicting the movement of other walkers, and suppressing my urge to yell at un-masked runners invading my personal space while breathing heavily. This morning, I went out for a walk with my family and far from being restored, the experience was so mentally fatiguing that we spent the next hour bickering with each other. I will continue to get outside, but I will seek my restorative experiences elsewhere.

Little Corners of Green

Thankfully, there are other ways to enjoy the restorative benefits of nature. About a month into my quarantine I realized I had reached an alarming level of mental fatigue and for a couple days I took a break from trying to be productive and instead spent hours on our little terrace, enjoying the birds and getting to know the habits of the various bee species that visited our plants. I left my phone inside but had a pen and paper with me so that I could jot things down that seemed important—things to do, ideas for future projects, groceries to buy—getting them out of my head and onto paper so that I didn’t have to spend mental resources trying to remember them. I felt so much better after these couple days that my entire family started taking their own terrace time. 

Whether you are on the terrace, looking out the window at the nature below, or lucky enough to have a garden or access to walks that are more restorative than mine, maximize the restorative aspects of your experience. Put your phone away and don’t try to multi-task. Let your gaze linger on plants and birds, feel the wind, and relax your mind. If you are walking or cycling, pick a park as a destination and linger there as long as you are able. If you are out with family or friends try to spend at least part of the time not conversing and instead appreciating your surroundings.

Set Your Mind Free

While nature seems to be a particularly powerful antidote to mental fatigue, there are other things you can do to help restore your mental resources, and these may vary from person to person. My husband finds it restorative to free-write on the terrace (continuous writing for 20-30 minutes without thinking can be meditative and help clear your head), my daughter finds baking restorative (but only if no one is in the kitchen bugging her), and my son often listens to music to effectively recharge. Other things that might be effective are meditation, yoga, making art or music, and exercise.

Some of the things we enjoy and tend to turn to when we need a break may paradoxically not be restorative from a cognitive standpoint. Socializing, for example, while important for many reasons, might be restorative for some but fatiguing for others. Studies show that video games, social media, and much of what’s on TV are not mentally restorative because these types of activities tend to grab all of our attention, draining us in the process. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that you abandon whatever show you are binge-watching. There is a place for sheer entertainment and escapism and that may be part of what is getting you through this crisis. Just realize that you are not necessarily being mentally recharged in the process.

Find Your Groove

Do some small experiments to find what works for you. Ask yourself if the activity allows you to get away—at least mentally—from everyday work and distractions. Is it something that is mentally peaceful, relaxing, and effortless? Is there enough going on that you’re not bored? Is there space left in your brain for problems, concerns, or other thoughts to bubble to the surface of your mind? Allow yourself to be in that place or experience for 30 minutes or more without distractions and assess how you feel. When you find things that work for you, try to do them daily.

Does this sound self-indulgent? Something you don’t have time for? Think about how the woodcutter who regularly takes the time to sharpen his or her axe chops more wood more safely in a day than one who forges ahead with a dull tool. Similarly, when we invest the time to keep our mental energy topped up, we are more efficient in the long run. We make better decisions. We are better parents, partners, and friends. We have more mental energy to participate in our communities. And we are infinitely more pleasant to be around. The best news is that the process is enjoyable—you are not being selfish by taking your coffee or vermouth out on the terrace and tuning out the world, you are simply engaging in the critical task of maintaining your brain power. 

Anne Kearney is an environmental psychologist and artist who currently lives, writes and makes art in Barcelona. Her work is inspired by her decades of experience studying the interactions between people and their surroundings while working for universities, non-profits and NASA. She has a B.A. in Cognitive Science from Stanford University, and a M.S. in Resource Policy and Behavior and Ph.D. in Environmental Psychology from the University of Michigan. You can find out more about her work at annekearneyartist.com.