One thing... a few things ... too many to count ... or none at all?
What Is Focus Anyway?
From Merriam-Webster:
Noun:
- a center of activity, attraction, or attention
- directed attention : EMPHASIS
- a state or condition permitting clear perception or understanding
Verb:
- to concentrate attention or effort
Remember when you first learned to ride a bike? Your initial focus was simple. Stay on. Get it to move. As you gained confidence, your focus shifted to the path and steering. You had to look where you wanted to go. If you focused on the curb or a tree, guess what? -- You inevitably steered right toward the dreaded obstacle!
Every goal is a wish to create something we want in our lives.
Focus is what drives our energy and actions in the process of attaining those goals.
What We Focus On, We Get More Of
If we focus on limits, our brains adopt a scarcity mindset. The path becomes crowded with obstacles and the goal seems harder to reach. Our mind asks, "Why can't I?" And then it comes up with answers. This often leads to self-doubt and a less resourceful state.
If we focus on our strengths, our brains adopt an abundance mindset. We ask better questions. Empowering questions offer new ideas, information and move us to action. When we ask, "How can I?", our brain also comes up with answers. When we are able to focus on what is working we can create a snowball effect.
What Derails Focus?
Multi-tasking
What happens when we multi-task, is that we're really just switch tasking. We switch rapidly back and forth between 2 or more tasks. Result? We are incredibly less productive.
- Tasks take longer
- Mistakes increase
- Stress levels increase
On average it takes 25 minutes to get back on task after being interrupted.
Try this exercise from Dave Crenshaw - it's eye opening!
Not Measuring
When we don't measure, our focus can get blurred. When we measure progress, we get feedback. Feedback allows us to see if we are moving closer to our goal or farther away. Measuring a smart metric helps us figure out where, when and how to adapt. It also keeps our concentration tuned in.
Not Using Emotional Helpers
Focus requires fuel. An emotional helper is an emotion that energizes your focus. Identifying your top 3 emotions and choosing ways to enhance them can have a huge impact on the intensity and longevity of your focus. You can enhance these by using your 5 senses, music, metaphors, memories and picking people or animals that personify the emotional state to name a few.
Experiment:
- Decide: What is 1 thing right now you want to accomplish? Get crystal clear and write it out.
- Set: a time frame. 2 weeks? A month? 6 months?
- Maximize: What is 1 emotional helper that would fuel your focus? List 4 ways to enhance that helper to create an energy state of flow. Spend 3-5 minutes daily engaging that emotion.
- Minimize: Eliminate distractions. Outsource and automate where you can.
- Add: What is 1 metric you can use to measure your progress?
See how it feels and where it takes you!
