PSYCHOLOGY
GIVE YOURSELF A break
Are you suffering from attention fatigue? Heidi Scrimgeour discovers why ‘soft fascination’ is the answer
Expert advice
Karin Peeters is a life and career coach, counsellor and therapist. She is the founder and director of Vitalis Coaching and Therapy. vitaliscoaching.com
Ruth Thomson is a career coach and trainer. Her mission is to help women create lives they love filled with work they love, freedom and purpose. ruthlouise thomson.com
In the midst of lockdown, I had a moment of simple bliss. It felt like a ‘factory reset’ for body, mind and soul. It had been a long, tiring day at my desk. I’d been cajoling my reluctant children to complete their online school lessons in between hustling for freelance work and worrying about my parents, who were shielding. Wearily, I looked up from my laptop and glanced outside.
Something about the movement of the trees in the breeze framed against the window in the evening light looked magical. I was transfixed, gazing at the garden and losing track of time. When I came out of my little reverie, I felt different. In a moment of quiet attentiveness, something had been restored.
Teachers used to tell us off for this. They labelled it idle daydreaming but these days psychologists call it ‘soft fascination’. To simplify the premise, it does you good to do more of the things that soften your focus. Activities that require intense focus – such as writing a report – can have a negative impact on your wellbeing and performance, while activities that soften your attention – such as getting lost in thought while watching branches dancing in the breeze – can invigorate your brain and boost wellbeing. No wonder working while homeschooling was so exhausting.