Where is your focus? If your answer is more than one thing, you may not actually be focusing at all!
The definition of focus as a noun is “a point of concentration”. A point. Not two points, not three or four or five, a singular point of concentration. As our world continues to get louder and distractions run rampant around us, it is easy to lose focus of what it means to focus. When we focus, all our attention is on a single problem/goal/task. We are not checking our phone every time it makes a sound or context switching every 15 minutes. Every time we shift our thoughts away from that single problem/goal/task, we lose focus. We can then refocus on a new thing, but the process of focusing takes time.
Imagine trying to focus a camera on an object. You first need to point the camera at the object then maybe adjust some settings to get the object in focus. It’s not an immediate swing the camera around and boom the object is in focus. There are usually lots of things in the view of the camera, the environment, other objects, lighting, etc., and it takes some time to get the camera to focus on the object you want it to focus on. Especially, if you have literally swung the camera around from one thing to another.
Our brains also need this time to adjust and focus when we change what we are trying to focus on. If we are constantly changing our focus, how much time are we spending in focus mode vs in getting into focus mode?
Block out time and adjust your environment so that you have minimal distractions surrounding you. Ensure you are not constantly context switching. Maximize your focus time over your getting into focus mode time. We accomplish our tasks much quicker when we are focused.
Remember, we can only focus on one thing at a time. Each change in focus takes time before we can get back into focus mode. Help your brain be more efficient, minimize context switching and distractions, and remember that focus is on a single thing not multiple.
In closing, I want to leave you with a major realization that came to me this week. You can focus on the good or you can focus on the bad, but you can only focus on one thing at a time. Choose wisely.
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