11: When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?

We’ve reached the 11th and final question “Tribe of Mentors” by Tim Ferriss ( see all previous questions here), and it’s a good one!

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, or have lost your focus temporarily, what do you do? (If helpful: What questions do you ask yourself?)

There are three great answers that I pulled from the book.

The first is from Neil Strauss, who chose to break the question into two different answers:

Overwhelmed and unfocused seem like two different problems. I’m thinking that overwhelm is about mentally managing what’s coming from outside yourself, while unfocused is about mentally managing what’s going on inside. Overall, what would work for both is to think of my mind as a computer, and the RAM is full. So best to shut it off for a little. For me, this means stepping away from work for anything from a cold shower to a surf to meditation to a breathing exercise outside to talking with someone I immensely enjoy. Anything healthy that gets you out of your mind and into your body is ultimately good for your mind.

The next is some advice from Andrew Ross Sorkin that I’ve heard before, yet I still struggle to implement: