What is monkey mind and how to deal with it?

We are often lost in our thoughts all the time. The mind never stops chattering. And if you sit down and observe for 2 minutes about the things that you have done in the past 3 or 4 hours, you'll notice your mind was occupied with thoughts even when you were busy. And this is the difference between the people doing their work with fully focus and and others doing with less concentration. 

The mind jumps from one thought to another as monkey jumps from one branch of the tree to another. 

I would like share my personal experience in this context. 

When I was at my job, I remember that many a times I tend to forget the work that I have completed. And this thing frustrated me a lot. The reason behind was my mindset. Honestly saying, there were numerous thoughts that came across my mind during work. And it was simultaneous. On one side I focused on work and on other I kept on talking to myself inside my head. Now the reason behind is that I hardly observed my thoughts. I was just talking with myself as if the scenario inside mind is happening for real. And it became part of my habit with the passage of time. I lacked presence of mind.

 Although I was desperate to change my state of mind but I was not aware of the things that could help me out. And to solve any problem, you first need to understand that properly. Now the fact here is that there are too many distractions at present times. You can switch off your phone but there is no switch to shut down the thoughts. So the best way in my opinion is to write down every single thought inside your head. This method is called journaling in which you write down everything you feel and think in a notebook. It will bring clarity in thought process. Trust me this habit will surely be fruitful in the long run as well.    

Now its not that you are done with it and won't have unnecessary thoughts in future. All you need to do is change your habits slowly. Because we need to understand that our mind is not a computer that once you scan the virus and then delete it. Its a constant process. We need to change our habits to change our life. It depends from person to person. There's no specific time period for this, but definitely you'll begin to notice the changes within a month. The very first thing you need is patience. Don't rush to control your thoughts, the situation would get more worse with desperation.

Just start with deep breathing. Take 3 to 4 deep breaths. Sit quietly for 10-15 minutes and notice what thoughts are coming to your mind. I can guarantee you that developing this habit would help you understand your mind to a great extent.