1. Practice relaxation breathing and progressive muscle relaxation(as often as needed). 2. Work in short time increments (~20 min). Use a timer. Take breaks.

1. Practice relaxation breathing and progressive muscle relaxation(as often as needed). 2. Work in short time increments (~20 min). Use a timer. Take breaks. 3. Spend time up front defining the problem you're working on. Iterating on this will help clarify your thinking along the way. 4. Spend time writing out explanations of what you don't understand. Iterate on this until you feel you understand (i.e., the Feynman technique). 5. Keep a log of some sort. Key thoughts, actions you took, observations you made, lessons you learned. Keep it brief, but keep it. When you're feeling unfocused/lost, review your log.