Why can't I focus at work

The usual suspects

You've probably blamed the obvious things:

Too many distractions. Slack pings, email notifications, your phone. So you turned them off. Still couldn't focus.

The wrong environment. Too noisy, too quiet, wrong chair, wrong lighting. So you optimized. Still couldn't focus.

Not enough sleep. Fair. But you've had good sleep days. Still couldn't focus.

The task is boring. Sometimes. But you've struggled with interesting tasks too.

None of these are wrong, exactly. They're just not the real problem.

The real problem

Here's what's actually happening: you don't have a focus problem. You have a starting problem.

Once you start, you can work for hours. Getting started is where everything falls apart.

Think about it. When you finally break through and begin, the work flows. You look up and an hour has passed. Focus wasn't the issue. Initiation was.

Your brain is waiting for something before it engages. You're not sure what. So you sit there, circling the task, hoping something clicks.

Why starting is so hard alone

Starting requires a spark. Something that gets you over the hump and into motion.

Some people generate this internally. They decide to start, and they start. Their brain cooperates.

For the rest of us, there's a gap. We decide to start. Then we sit there. The decision doesn't trigger the action. We need something external to bridge the gap.

In an office, this happened automatically. Someone nearby was typing. A meeting was in ten minutes. Your manager walked past. These micro-pressures created just enough activation to begin.

Remote work removed all of that. Now you're alone in a room, trying to make yourself start through sheer willpower. Good luck with that.

The simplest fix

You need another person. Not to help. Not to manage you. Just to be there, working on their own thing, at the same time you're working on yours.

This is called body doubling. And it works embarrassingly well.

The other person doesn't do anything. They just exist nearby, in work mode. That's enough to flip the switch.

It sounds too simple. It is simple. But simple isn't the same as fake.

When someone else is present and working, your brain stops negotiating about whether to start. It just starts. Their presence is the spark you couldn't create alone.

This works through a screen

You don't need someone in the same room. A video call works.

Get on a call with a coworker. Each say what you're working on. Mute. Work. That's it.

No accountability theatrics. No checking in every fifteen minutes. Just parallel presence. Two people, doing their own work, at the same time.

Your brain doesn't know the difference between someone across the table and someone across the internet. It just needs to know someone's there.

Try it once

Next time you can't start, don't try harder. Don't turn off more notifications. Don't reorganize your desk.

Ask someone to work alongside you for an hour. A coworker, a friend, anyone. Get on a call, say what you're each doing, and work in silence together.

The first time feels weird. Do it anyway.

You'll start. And then you'll wonder why you spent so long trying to do it alone.