Focus First
The beginning of the new school year is a VERY busy time! in addition to all the requirements for school, its also the kickoff for the new year of sports, clubs, community and church activities. Students are back in the routine of trying to balance school work with all their other activities and commitments. Parents are juggling work and making arrangements to get all the kids to all the places and, once again, it feels like too much.
Summer was a brief escape, but Fall is a reminder that the world is noisy and we have constant notifications, endless to-do lists, and distractions at every turn. We desperately want this semester or this season or this school year to be different, but we’ve never been able to make that happen. And we’re beginning to think we never will!
Is there any hope for quieting the noise and taming the tasks?
YES, there is hope, otherwise known as FOCUS! It’s not surprising to hear me say that focus is important. After all, it’s part of the name of my company. But, what does it mean to focus and why should it be the first step I take? Focus is defined as “a point of concentration” or “directed attention”. And that’s the secret - focus first so that you can be consistent and effective.
What does FOCUS look like?
If you have ever watched a big horse race, like the Kentucky Derby, you have probably seen the horses in the race wearing something called “blinders” around their eyes. Blinders are used to block the horse’s peripheral vision. This limited field of vision is meant to decrease their ability to be distracted and force them to focus on what they can see directly in front of them. They don’t get distracted by the crowd or the cameras or the noise because their attention is only directed forward.
Now, let’s apply that same idea to humans. Instead of lights and crowds and cameras and noise, we have action items, deadlines, social media, relationships, health, fitness, school work, bills, taxes, and on and on and on. When everything feels urgent, we become paralyzed by inaction. Because we cannot do everything at once, we find ourselves doing nothing. OR, we start several things but finish none of them. We need “blinders” to help us set limits and direct our attention. Unfortunately, human blinders aren’t forced on anyone. If we are going to use them, we have to be the ones to put them on ourselves.
How do I learn to focus first?
Pay attention to your patterns. Before making major changes, spend a little time noticing how you go about your days. Keep a list of what you do, when you do it, and what the results are. Then, identify patterns that keep you from staying focused. Become a student of yourself and learn as much as you can about why you do the things you do when you do them. Once you have identified your current patterns, it’s easier to direct your attention to your most pressing needs.
Limit your distractions. Distraction is one of the main enemies of focus. Distractions make it harder to focus in the beginning and, when you are focused, distractions make it almost impossible to stay focused. Every distraction stops what your brain is doing and forces it to start doing something else. That reduces the effectiveness of what you are doing and it increases the length of time it takes you to finish anything else. Studies show that recovering focus after a distraction takes 20-25 minutes per occurrence. Not to mention, distractions lower productivity, accuracy, and comprehension. Making simple changes like silencing notifications on your phone and getting enough sleep will make a significant improvement in your ability to focus.
Enhance your environment. Learning to focus first means creating an environment (physical and mental) that helps you work at your best. When you want to concentrate and maintain that concentration, make sure that you have a place to go that has good lighting, comfortable furniture (but not too comfortable), few distractions, and adequate space. Also, make sure that your mental environment is conducive to your doing what you need to do. Choose a single task to think about and complete before doing something else.
Protect your energy. One of the things that can make a huge difference in your ability to focus is to understand your personal energy and plan your activities accordingly. For example, if you need some time after you wake up to get moving, you don’t want to plan for your most difficult work to be scheduled at 8:00 a.m. Likewise, if you wake up ready to go, you should plan to tackle your most difficult things ASAP and save the things that don’t take as much mental load until later in the day.
Stop trying to multi-task! The reality is that your brain is not capable of doing multiple, complex things that require complete attention at the same time. It can switch between multiple things very quickly, but that is not the same thing. If you don’t do anything else, making the commitment to direct your attention to one thing at a time will dramatically improve your speed, accuracy, quality, and stress level!
The best news about FOCUS is that its a habit that can be cultivated and strengthened! Just because you have struggled to focus in the past doesn’t mean that you always will. If you serious about making FOCUS a priority, the next step is to start practicing. Then, keep practicing and training until it becomes a natural part of your daily routine.
