Focus… Here’s a Simple Secret
to Master It
FOCUS! FOCUS! FOCUS! Do you ever get tired of hearing this one word over and over again?
I mean, whether you’re watching motivational videos, reading self-development books, or attending keynote speeches — everybody emphasizes FOCUS.
Unfortunately, nobody tells you why?
Well, if nobody else does, then I’ll take that one.
Focus increases your productivity.
It helps you do more, achieve more, and be more in less time.
Say you spend the usual 9 to 5 earning your livelihood.
Out of those 8 hours, how much time do you actually spend working?
According to the United States BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics), people are only productive for about 173 minutes in an 8-hour workday.
That’s not even 50% of the working day.
The minutes don’t even add up to 3 hours.
Let’s do a little more math and look at it from a month’s perspective.
Considering a 40-hour workweek and 4 weeks a month, you work 160 hours.
Out of those 160 hours you are only productive for 57 hours and 40 minutes, more or less.
So, the work that you do in a month can easily be completed in 8 days, give or take a couple of hours, if you are focused.
Now, look at this whole thing from your perspective.
Imagine running your own company.
It’s small. You’ve just started it and are handling everything yourself. Like everyone else, you want to grow your business as quickly as possible.
Also, like everyone else, you only have 8 hours a day to work on it.
What do you do?
You stay focused on the task at hand and try to get as much done as possible, right?
Say, 6 out of those 8 hours you manage to stay focused.
You will still be 50% more productive than your competitors.
Think of it as an unfair advantage that you can gain.
So, instead of increasing your hours, become more focused and increase your productivity.
How to Stay Focused?
Now comes the million-dollar question.
How do you do that? How do you find and maintain focus?
Seeing that no one else is talking here, I’ll take that one as well. 😊
To stay focused, you have to drown out all the noise around you, which is, in this case, distractions.
The technology-driven modern world can be, or rather is, very distracting.
Your phone could constantly be beeping and lighting up with new notifications.
Your smartwatch could be vibrating every few minutes.
Or you could simply be browsing YouTube, social media, or some irrelevant website just to kill some time, instead of working on the task at hand.
The solution; take back control of your mind. Oh! And, it ain’t easy.
Many of us live with the notion that we can multitask rather easily.
But that’s exactly what it is, a notion — a presumption. And you have to leave that presumption behind.
The best way to do that: meditation.
10 minutes of meditation daily, can do wonders. Just don’t let your mind wander while doing so.
Concentrate on controlling your breathing when meditating.
Yes, for the first few days your mind will drift off, but you have to bring it back to focusing on your breathing.
Do this, and within a week, you will feel the difference. Your thoughts would have become more controlled.
The next step is to disconnect yourself.
When you decide to take on a task, disconnect yourself from everything that can be a distraction.
Silence your phone, disconnect it from your watch, pull down the window blinds or curtain, turn off the music, put up a do not disturb sign outside your door if you’re working from home, or tell your colleagues to not disturb you for a while, if in the office.
Just ground yourself.
If you have been regularly meditating for a few days, then disconnecting yourself won’t seem so impossible.
With distractions out of the way, keep your thoughts concentrated solely on the task at hand. And before you know it, you’ll find yourself focused and motivated, ultimately enhancing your productivity.
Don’t Forget, Focus is the Key!
