When I sit down to do focused work, the first 10-15 minutes sucks.
It's uncomfortable. My mind wanders. I look for distraction.
This probably happens to you too. You then convince yourself that you just can't pay attention. That you're not cut out for deep work.
Then you give up.
But you shouldn’t.
No one’s brain goes from unfocused to focused immediately. That’s not how concentration works.
Your brain needs to increase epinephrine, acetylcholine, and dopamine. These are the neurochemicals that make concentration possible.
And it takes time for these to ramp up.
Which is why, after about 15 minutes, you usually start to feel like you’re in a much more focused state.
The lesson
Don’t give up before your focus juice kicks in. Know that it’s normal to feel uncomfortable and distracted when first sitting down. It happens to me too. We just gotta push through.