Introduction
There is plenty of advice available on how to increase your
performance. One of the least talked about is the need for improved focus. You
could call focus the secret ingredient to success. We face distractions every
day. Our environment is filled with abundant stimuli, all vying for our
attention and ensuring that we will lose focus and have difficulty in
concentrating. These distractions make it difficult for us to perform at our
optimal level.
Mental focus is the deliberate and conscious effort of keeping
a mental spotlight on what we are doing. We block out distractions and hone in
on what is important. However, that is not always easy. The problem with not
focusing properly is not only that we feel outof-control, but we experience a
constant high level of stress, which can affect our health.
For many, trying to maintain concentration is a daily chore
with which they struggle. If we want to succeed, we need to improve our focus,
and luckily, that is skill that can be learned and enhanced. The fact is, we
have only so much mental energy to spare. It’s a finite commodity. As that
energy gets scattered in many directions, our brain simply rebels, as our body
does when we expend too much physical energy.
The ability to focus on one task becomes lost. That’s when
we become stressed. Frequently, our ability to focus is directly related to our
emotions. If a task – at work or at home – makes us nervous or anxious, we
actively seek distractions. If a report the boss is waiting for fills us with
panic, it’s easier to divert our attention to checking email, making phone
calls or chatting with someone at the water cooler than to concentrate on the
report.
At home, when a serious discussion with a spouse is necessary,
we may welcome the distraction of Facebook, Twitter and ESPN rather than face
the unpleasantness ahead. We may not do this consciously, but there are times
we certainly choose to invite distractions to keep us from focusing on
something that is important. And as a consequence, our work and relationships
suffer.
We will discuss how to keep a better balance between
positive and negative thoughts and how to creative habits that help us develop
a better focus on a daily basis. The good news is, focusing is not only a skill
we can learn, it is also a choice we can make. This book is designed to help us
make better choices to enable us to focus better.
Why We Need To
Focus
Being in focus is a purposeful direction and control of our
awareness to the present moment, where it is most needed. Never has this been
more important than today, when there is such an abundance of ready
distractions competing for our attention. So many of us feel anxious if we
aren’t checking Facebook updates, Twitter notifications and emails every few
minutes. Unfortunately, this has turned into a chosen lifestyle for many. Our
smartphone has become our lifeline.
We’re on the phone while driving and posting on Instagram
while grabbing a meal. Instead of focusing on what we are doing, we take pride
in “multitasking.” The problem with multitasking is that it doesn’t allow us to
do more, it merely dilutes and diminishes what we are already doing.
The good news is, our brain, like our body, can be enhanced
and developed. And like our bodies, this takes patience, time and effort. It
won’t happen overnight, but it will happen. Building our muscles is the results
of daily habits, and the brain is a muscle. We can train ourselves to improve
our focusing power and perform better until it becomes natural and second
nature. The better we become at focusing, the better we are able to control our
thoughts and our actions.
Does mental chaos seem natural to you, like a car battling
heavy traffic every day? Do you wonder how some people manage to get more done
and do it quicker and better? These people face the same focusing obstacles we
all do. Everyone does. They have merely trained themselves to overcome it instead
of remaining a victim to information and anxiety overload.
Computers allow information to be processed at a speed that
would have been unimaginable just decades ago. They have changed our lives.
Unfortunately, our brains are still working at the same pace. That’s why we are
suffering from circuit overload. In effect, some of us exist in a perpetual
mental traffic jam.
The more information we have, the harder we are forced to
work. Some days, it can seem that we are controlled by our computers and social
media instead of us controlling them. While we are constantly being interrupted
by emails, tweets, texts and coworkers in the next cubicle, our own mind can
add to the dissonance as we try to focus on our work while our brain keeps
replaying some painful past incident and other thoughts irrelevant to the
present.
It’s time we set sound mental boundaries. We’ve allowed our
brain to run amok, and it’s time to take back control. Sometimes, taking
control of our mental focus is a simple as learning to say no. There are a lot
of demands on our time. We are led to believe that doing more is the road to
success, when in reality, it can lead to unfocused confusion. We need to
actively and carefully choose on what we concentrate. A lot of times that means
doing less, but doing it better.
If you’re worried about paying the bills and an important
report is due at work, you cannot focus on both and give the problems equal
attention. If a loved one is facing serious health issues, and your thoughts
are on getting a new job, you need to choose what is more important.
Making these critical choices starts with awareness. It’s
easy to push negative thoughts and emotions away and pretend they don’t exist.
But those thoughts will remain in your brain, creating havoc with your ability
to concentrate. The easiest way to handle these choices is by acknowledging
them and saying, “I will think about this matter later and focus on what’s
really important now.” This is setting a conscious boundary in your mind. The
problem still exists, but by making a choice, it no longer serves as a
distraction. Practicing mindfulness, as discussed in the following chapter, is
a great help in accomplishing this.
Not all focusing problems are that clear. Every day, we face
dozens, if not hundreds of distractions. At the office, we may consider it
necessary to check email every half hour, talk to anyone who comes into our
office, and agree to take on any task we are given. Business seems to demand
multitasking in order to achieve greater productivity. In reality, we are still
doing one task at a time, but are shifting back and forth and devoting less
attention to all tasks. We are focusing less, when we should be focusing
better.
Multitasking is one of the major thieves of concentration
power. Bouncing from one task to another makes us less efficient and robs us of
needed energy. You may think you’re being productive by checking your email
while calling a client, but in fact, you aren’t focused on either task and are
being less effective than you could be.
Get into the habit of listing your priorities and sticking
to them, although flexibility will be necessary at times. A daily to-do list
can help you sharpen your focus. Interruptions will still occur, but you can
minimize their negative effect. Our brain is genetically geared to concentrate
on one thing at a time. That is how we function best.
Multitasking actually slows down our thinking and
decisionmaking ability. Consider that every task, no matter how unimportant,
deserves your full attention. In the end, this mindset will help you accomplish
more.
If necessary, put block on social media and create a
schedule for when to check email and phone messages. Athletes and artists use
the terms, “in the zone,” to describe that ultimate state of mind that allows
them to focus only on their performance and become totally absorbed by it. At
the office, it can be referred to as being “in the flow,” a term coined by
psychologist Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi.
This flow starts by setting goals for yourself. Know each
day what you want to achieve. These goals should be specific. “I will work hard
today,” is much too vague to be effective. Actual goals would be, “I will
finish that long report before lunch, then I will do 2 hours of research for
the upcoming project.” This kind of specificity will make it much easier for
you to keep your concentration on the task at hand.
It is easier to concentrate on what you are doing if you are
confident in the results. One of the most effective confidence-builders is to
visualize having completed the task successfully. Confidence is a positive
belief in yourself and a desire to succeed. This can apply on any level of
business.
A corporate leader requires confidence in his vision. So
does the person who answers the company’s phone. All of us have experienced the
difference between calling a company, only to be met with indifference, and
getting a person who spends time listening to us and makes an effort to find a
solution to our problem.
Confidence challenges us to do our best at any task.
Negative emotions, such as self-doubt, serve as a constant distraction as we
keep questioning ourselves and our ability. Recognizing these emotion is the
first step in dealing with them.
Staying in “the flow” and enabling full concentration means
saying no to interruptions, distractions and negative thoughts. Anything but
the task at hand can be handled at another time. Get into the habit of focusing
on just one thing, whether it’s brushing your teeth, preparing dinner, or
writing a memo to the boss. If other thoughts intrude, simple put them aside.
You can also increase your focus and concentration at work
by doing less. As we have already pointed out, concentration involves choices.
Choose wisely. Checking off your to-do list is a useful gauge of how well
you’ve conquered distractions on any given day.
Focus and Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a somewhat vague term for many people,
invoking ancient Buddhist beliefs. While the practice of mindfulness does go
back thousands of years and includes meditative practices, it is much broader.
Mindfulness refers to a specific learned state of awareness. The more
out-of-focus our mind is, the less we are actually aware of the immediate
moment. Mindfulness keeps us in touch with the present.
Practicing mindful means living in the present. Many of us
are controlled by past pain and future uncertainties in such a way we never
experience the here and now. Our thoughts can naturally shift from today to
yesterday to tomorrow. When we stress over bad sales, unpaid bills or failed
past relationships, we effectively invite distractions into our minds instead
of focusing on solutions to our problems.
Mindfulness allows us to control our meandering thoughts and
shift the focus back to today. When we are trying to get something done, a
wandering, distracting mind can make it much more difficult. That’s why
establishing control over our thoughts rids us of distractions and helps us
accomplish our needed tasks. Mindfulness is an inner voice that tells us, “Hey,
this is what’s important. Focus on this, not that.” This effectively reduces
our stress, which then helps us concentrate even more effectively.
Practicing mindfulness is using building blocks to a better,
more effective you. One of the ways we can increase mindfulness is through
meditation. Mindful meditation focuses our attention on our breathing as we let
go of any intruding thoughts. This simple exercise, when practiced regularly,
helps us control the way we concentrate.
Practicing mindful meditation is easy and very pleasant and
relaxing. Just find a quiet place and take a comfortable seat. Close your eyes
and just focus on your breathing. Put everything else out of your mind. Follow
your breath as you inhale and exhale. If thoughts intrude, and they will,
simply accept them without judgment and bring your focus back to your
breathing.
This exercise is very powerful and effective in handling
intrusive thoughts and emotions without being controlled by them. While you
should set aside a specific time each day to meditate, perhaps 15 to 30
minutes, a short breathing meditation at your desk can bring you back in focus
during stressful days at the office.
Focus and Procrastination
Procrastinators frequently have a great deal of difficulty
in concentrating. We put off something important, then we become overwhelmed
with stress. As we’ve discussed, stress is what makes it difficult to
concentrate, because it remains in the background. You’ve put off paying bills
or making crucial calls? You know you have to act, but you avoid doing
anything.
The problem will not go away. Instead, it will nag at you
incessantly. It will be on your mind while you try to concentrate on work,
interfering with your thoughts. Procrastination is fueled by fear, and fear is
a negative emotion that will keep you out-of-focus.
We procrastinate for many reasons. Usually, we’re afraid of
making mistakes or that we won’t live up to expectations. Better to do nothing
than to fail. So, again, we invite distractions into our lives. It’s easier to
read a few interesting blogs than to focus. At least, it’s something we know
and can deal with.
To stop procrastinating, we need to become aware of our
avoidance tactics when it happens. This is where being more mindful can help
us. When we become aware of trying to avoid a task, we need to stop then and
there and deal with what is making us uncomfortable.
Our ability to concentrate will increase tremendously when
we take start facing what makes us nervous and deal with it. Think of something
you have been avoiding, such as working on a major report that will become due.
Pick a short time limit, perhaps 15 minutes, and focus on nothing but the
report.
For just 15 minutes, nothing exits for you but that report.
You won’t finish it, but you will get started. Do this again the following day.
Fifteen minutes is a time limit with which you can deal. When it becomes more
comfortable, increase the time span.
Tackling something we need to do in small increments makes
it easier to keep our concentration sharp. It becomes less threatening to work
on something for 15 minutes than for an entire afternoon. Just knowing you’re
doing something will alleviate much of the anxiety. And you’ll be sharpening
your focus every time you do this.
Learning how to concentrate is a learned skill, and every
time you make the effort, you will become better at it. Soon, handling
unpleasant tasks in such a manner will become a habit.
To stop procrastinating and rid yourself of the fears that
keep you from being able to concentrate fully, try the following:
• Become
aware of what you do when you procrastinate. Do you call friends? Spend time on
Facebook? Play computer games? Knowing what your triggers are will enable you
to stop.
• As
we have discussed, break down a large task into smaller tasks. Concentrating on
one thing for a short period of time will make it easier to focus for longer
period.
• Create
small deadlines for yourself. If spending the day cleaning the house seems
intimidating, set aside half an hour where you concentrate on only one area and
nothing else.
• Stop
waiting for the perfect time to start. The time will never be perfect, so get
started now.
• Many
times, we delay starting a task because we’ve afraid our ability isn’t good
enough. The need for perfection is invariably paralyzing, and we end up
delaying a task for fear of failure. While we should always do our best, the
need for perfection can have the opposite effect. It’s impossible to
concentrate when all we can feel is fear. And fear makes concentrating almost
impossible. Make a conscious decision to do the best you can. It will stop the
mental paralysis and clear the way to better focus.
You Can’t Concentrate If You Don’t Feel Good
By now, you realize that concentration takes a lot of mental
energy. When we don’t feel our best, our energy level becomes low. We find it
difficult to muster the ability for razor-sharp concentration. For optimal
health, both physical and mental, you will find the following habits very
helpful.
• You
may not see the connection between the food you eat and your ability to
concentrate, but your brain needs proper nutrition in order to function. A diet
of fast foods, sugar, unhealthy fats and preservatives will affect not only
your body, but your mind. Seek out plenty of fresh produce, lean proteins, fish
high in omega 3 fatty acids, nuts and berries. These foods will give you the
necessary energy and nutrition to make concentrating easier and natural.
• You
won’t be able to concentrate when you are sleep-deprived and tired. Eight hours
of sleep isn’t a luxury, it is a necessity to keep your mind functioning.
• When
our energies are scattered, exercise is usually the first thing we give up.
Regular exercise will increase your ability to maintain necessary concentration
when you need it. This doesn’t mean you need to spend two hours at the gym
every day. Take a walk at lunchtime, take the stairs instead of the elevator,
park your car a few blocks away from where you are going. Just keep moving, and
your brain will thank you.
• Before
going to bed, create a to-do list for the next day. This list should be
specific and list everything you need to accomplish. This clarifies what tasks
need to be done, and makes it easier to concentrate on one task at a time.
• Take
a break. We’ve been discussing how to heighten your concentration level and
getting more accomplished. However, downtime is necessary for your body and
brain to reboot. Even if you are busy, a ten or fifteen-minute break will clear
your mind and enable you to focus better when you resume the task.
Better Focus Boot Camp
The mind, like the body, can get flabby and lazy. And like
the body, your mind will strengthen with regular exercise.
Welcome to your mental boot camp.
If you simply plod along and let your mind move in any
direction it wants, your brain muscles will weaken and atrophy. You need to
take control and whip those muscles into shape so that focused concentration
becomes second nature.
• Be
a kind drill sergeant. Just as you need to build up your physical stamina
gradually, you’ll be building your mental muscles slowly. If you overdo it, you
are far more likely to become discouraged and give up.
• Give
yourself timed tasks. Start with just five minutes and concentrate totally on
what you are doing. Stop and rest. Five minutes of intensive concentration can
be labor-intensive. After a break, do another five minutes of concentration.
Double the time each day, so that your ability to concentrate grows slowly but
surely. At this easy pace, you should be able to single-mindedly concentrate on
a task for over an hour in less than two weeks. It will have become a natural
habit!
• We
discussed the importance of lists. Now that you’re in boot camp, you’ll take it
a step further. Make of list of your favorite distraction tactics – social
media, talking to friends, cooking, shopping – whatever you know you do when
you are in avoidance mode. Keep this list handy. Whenever you find yourself
tempted to indulge yourself, make a conscious decision to step back. Don’t turn
on any social media, and don’t start any activity that will keep you from your
primary task. This will take willpower. However, once you become aware of how
you invite distractions into your life, it will be easier to resist temptation.
• Make
sure 15 to 30 minutes of mindful meditation becomes a regular part of your day,
regardless of how busy you are. The power of meditation to quiet your mind and
enhance your ability to concentrate is enormous. A study using 140 volunteers
in a 2-month meditation program showed that each participant had measurably enhanced
his or her ability to concentrate.
• Mindfulness
has a powerful effect on the brain, so practice being mindful every day. It
involves slowing down and become totally aware of what you are doing using all
your senses. If you are eating, notice the color, aroma, texture and taste of
the food instead of simply gulping it down. When walking, take a few minutes to
really notice a flower, a rock, or any other object. How does it feel to the
touch, how does it smell, how do you feel holding it? These exercises create a
heightened awareness that will hone your focus to a razorsharp edge.
• We’ve
discussed the importance of physical activity to help your brain improve its
concentration abilities. In boot camp, you’ll be challenging your brain until
it has the mental equivalent of 6-pack abs. Read a classic novel that requires
you to actually concentrate. Do crossword puzzles regularly. Learn to play
chess or a musical instrument. These activities sharpen challenge the mind and
sharpen the brain muscles very effectively.
• Develop
better listening habits. Just hearing what someone is saying is not the same as
listening. Active listening requires concentration and using all your senses
and full focus. Don’t just hear the word, but be aware of the tone and body
language of the speaker. This is mindful listening, which engages your entire
brain.
In Conclusion
The choice whether to actively live a focused or unfocused
life is yours. One of the problems with focus is that it isn’t really
encouraged in today’s world. In many ways, it is discouraged. We are told that
we must balance job, relationships and leisure time because each is important
in our lives. At work, we are told to take on multiple assignments and complete
multiple tasks at the same time. We are also told we should be “networking”
with our coworkers instead of concentrating on our work.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to get ahead on the job,
while at the same time having a satisfying social life. But there are times we
need to become single-minded in order to succeed. That means concentrating on
just one thing. In today’s world, that can be challenging.
We can focus all we want, but if we focus on the wrong
thing, we don’t accomplish what we set out to do. That is why it is important
to prioritize. If we want to succeed, we first need to know on what to
focus.
If we are constantly torn between different tasks, we are
adding needless stress to our life. We are unable to function optimally when
our concentration is being torn in different directions. It’s critical to
prioritize your goals in order for each to receive your complete attention. If
you don’t, you’ll be spending a lot of time in a mental fog.
In addition to a daily to-do list, have a weekly review
list. Things come up, and you need to remain flexible. If you’ve planned on
finishing a report, but your daughter’s important recital pops up during that
scheduled time, you may need to make changes. By having a weekly schedule, you
can shift things around when necessary without stressing out and become unable
to concentrate on both important matters.
Create habits that will help you keep your power of
concentration at a high level. As discussed, a to-do list is essential. In
addition, creating habits at work will help keep you focused. Have a time for
checking and answering emails and stick to it. Have another time for taking and
returning phone calls.
Know your own body rhythm. Some people function best in the
morning. If that is you, prioritize your most challenging task first thing.
Allot a certain amount of time to concentrate on that task, then move on to the
second item on your list. Prioritizing can reduce a lot of stress and enhance
your ability to concentrate when your energy is high.
When you go through life unfocused, you get less done yet
work harder, because distractions scatter your energies. It is virtually
impossible to be and do your best when you spend much of your time in a mental
fog. People will stop relying on you, because you can’t always honor your
commitments. You disappoint employees, families and friends alike.
You will never know how much you are capable of if you don’t
actively focus your mind on what you are doing. Our time here on earth is
finite. Why not use it to the best of our ability by increasing our awareness,
focus on what really matters, and enjoy all of life’s abundance rather than
settling for scraps.
