Focus is the key to high levels of achievement in business, science and creative endeavours. Successful business people often cite focus as their reason for success.
According to Michael Simmons, Bill Gates first met Warren Buffett at Bill’s mother’s house. Gates’ mother asked everyone around the table to share the single most crucial factor to their success. Gates and Buffett both gave the same one-word answer: “Focus.”
Successful business people like these extraordinary exemplars know their goals are how to achieve them. They also have a set of core principles in mind for all their dealings and partnerships. Their focus — and discipline — means that they never stray from these principles for any reason. The more focused they are, the easier it is for them to make decisions without being distracted by other options.
The ability to focus on one task and not get distracted is becoming more and more a necessity in a world that is constantly bombarding us with messages. Mental focus is essential for high productivity. When you maintain your attention on a task for a longer time, you can accomplish more work in a shorter time.
The ability to concentrate and sustain attention over long periods has become rare and valuable. Even a “personal superpower” for many knowledge workers.
It is not easy to stay focused, and yet it is possible. Here are pretty standard tips that can help you maintain your focus level at work:
1. Prioritise and organise tasks according to their importance or urgency. That way, you can still have some free time for other things between significant tasks. The Eisenhower Matrix is an often-used way to break down your tasks into short timeframes.
2. Be realistic about what you can achieve within a given time frame. You do not want to set yourself up for failure. If you do, you often end up feeling overwhelmed at the end of the day with an endless list of unfinished tasks. How can a Pomodoro (Spanish for “tomato”) help you? The Pomodoro Technique is an effective way to help you get stuck into the first task within a project or larger task.
3. Reward yourself after completing tasks or meeting deadlines.
Getting your house in order
But what if feelings of doubt or dread cloud your focus? Your ongoing thoughts and emotions can fuel (or detract) from your focus. Enhance your sense of purpose when leading change. A sense of dread — perhaps a feeling of worry about the unknown or a lack of inspiration is present? These feelings may be overwhelming or draining. Regaining your sense of focus and purpose help diminish any resulting feelings of strain or discomfort.
Deliberate practice can pay off here. When you feel like an imposter if you were to rate your sense of purpose (out of ten, with ten being truly purposeful), what would it be? Do you pay close attention to your thoughts? Which ones are helpful and which ones are not?
Pay attention to your thoughts, without being overly attached to them. Could your thoughts cloud your focus? Does your “self-talk” prevent you from achieving the vital first step you need to take?
Is being deliberately unproductive a way to focus?
Make time for thinking about nothing at all — yes, zero productivity. Why? Often, thinking about nothing at all allows your subconscious mind time to ferment ideas. At other times you might calmly explore your change plans or muse over details within your communications. You might enjoy constant interruptions, bouncing off others and working with urgency. Yet, there is productivity in being seemingly unproductive.
Set clear boundaries around your services and boundaries for others in your team. Constant interruptions eat away at your capacity to focus. Change professionals deal with stakeholders up until before a change becomes “business as usual”. Fielding phone calls at odd hours from stakeholders is part of the job before go-live. Yet make a small window of time to “do nothing”. You can spend this time alone or with others. Just ensure you are focused on a change-related problem.
Managing your attention, energy and time
Practice deliberate attention. Benjamin Franklin, an eighteenth-century polymath, kept a virtues diary. In this diary, he focused his deliberate attention on a single virtue for a given time. His attention on a single virtue went for weeks. Weeks of disciplined attention meant he had a hyper-focus on developing one skill at a time.
Speaking of foundations and long-term aspirations: Are you getting a good night’s sleep, eating nutritious meals, and maintaining a good sense of humour?
Leading change or influencing others can be hard work. Your time and energy is limited — are you maximising your use of this precious resource? In the last two weeks, what percentage of each week was focussed solely on activities linked directly to your change objective? What percentage falls in the “top five high value uses of your time”?
Focus demands that you manage time energy. While you have to interact with a variety of stakeholders, choose how you engage if you can. With internal team members, be selective. Be selective in avoiding time wasters and those who sap your energy. Absorb the great vibe of helpful, energetic and supportive colleagues where you can. Their positivity has an invigorating effect on your energy.
Focus and accompanying deep thinking or sustained action takes discipline and needs to be an ongoing regular habit. Even if it is half an hour each week. It may take place late on a Friday or a Sunday night. Would dedicated thinking time sharpen your mind and your focus? Would your following week begin with a greater purpose?
As with most endeavours requiring discipline and a push to take the road less travelled, focus is your career super-power. Focus gives you the capacity to achieve incredible outcomes. What will you do today to build your focus?