“But I had it just a minute ago…”
Sound familiar?
Distractions are not your friend. Scattered attention, task switching… Whatever you call it, it can cause us to misplace items or to lose track of what we’re doing. Focusing on a single task, without distractions, is key.
Common distractions include conversations, internal chatter, phone calls, text messages, dropping things, sudden pain, unexpected noises, multitasking, switching tasks or simply having people walk by when you’re doing something.
Look for patterns of behavior, then make a plan. Manage distractions by pausing for a moment and making a mental or written note of what you were doing before you switched tasks.
Notice where you put something — really notice. Finish what you are working on before checking a text message or answering a phone call. Pause for a moment so you can note where you were in a task prior to doing something else.
“Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimension.”
~Oliver Wendell Holmes
Look at the numbers and select letters which spell out the correct word.
ABC DEF GHI JKL MNO PRS TUV WXY
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1. Woodwind 3 5 8 8 3 _ _ _ _ _
2. Medication 2 7 7 4 7 4 6 _ _ _ _ _ _ _
3. Popular sport 7 5 4 4 6 4 _ _ _ _ _ _
4. Form of punctuation 7 3 7 4 6 3 _ _ _ _ _ _
5. City in a warm climate 6 4 2 6 4 _ _ _ _ _
6. Something to eat 9 6 4 8 7 8 _ _ _ _ _ _
7. Someone in the family 2 6 8 7 4 6 _ _ _ _ _ _
8. Common last name 2 6 3 3 7 7 6 6 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
9. A special occasion 9 3 3 3 4 6 4 _ _ _ _ _ _ _
10. A cartoon character 7 6 6 6 7 9 _ _ _ _ _ _
11. A foreign location 7 2 7 4 7 3 7 2 6 2 3
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
12. Reason for returning something 9 7 6 6 4 2 6 5 6 7
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
HINTS – FIRST LETTER
- F 7. C
- A 8. A
- S 9. W
- P 10. S
- M 11. P
- Y 12. W
ANSWERS
1. FLUTE
2. ASPIRIN
3. SKIING
4. PERIOD
5. MIAMI
6. YOGURT
7. COUSIN
8. ANDERSON
9. WEDDING
10. SNOOPY
11. PARIS FRANCE
12. WRONG COLOR
“The brain is a lot like a computer. You may have several screens open on your desktop,
but you’re able to think about only one at a time.”
~William Stixrud, PhD, Neuropsychologist
