Why is being focused so important in today’s world? What results happen when you are focused? Does being focused make you less stressed? Happier? If it’s so important, why don’t people focus more?
Being focused on one thing for a certain period allows you to do a better quality of work, more work gets done quicker, and your creative ideas flow easier. Being focused on one task at a time is less stressful on your mind. And being less stressed allows you to be happier.
You can get a copy of my FREE Report to Improve Your Focus and Increase Your Productivity.
What it means to be focused
Being focused means that you have clear goals and objectives and your work is dedicated to achieving those goals and objectives. When you are deciding what you are going to do in any given moment; you base your decision on how you can make the most progress towards your goals with the time and resources available.
Being focused in the present moment means that you are solely focused on the one activity that you are trying to complete. Anything else is unimportant so you shut out all distractions and give your full and undivided attention to the task at hand.
The alternative to being focused
The alternative to focus is doing a whole lot of everything, jumping from one task to another without ever getting a whole lot done. People who are not focused end up spending their time doing anything but their most important work. Their choice of what to do is often dictated by:
- Urgency
- Other people's priorities
- Bullies who dictate to them
- Whatever feels easiest
- Whatever makes them feel busiest
Think of multitasking where people think they are accomplishing a great deal but they are actually working slower and to a lower standard. Time and time again, it has been shown that multitasking is not really possible and doesn’t really work. Being focused and completing one task at a time before moving on to the next has always been the most effective way to approach your work.
The difficulty of being focused
It’s difficult for people to remain focused on one task for a variety of reasons. For one, we live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with TV, radio, cell phones, Internet social media, as well as a much larger population that lives closer together than ever before.
Also, the modern economy is almost entirely dependent on consumerism. Governments, companies and credit institutions need us to keep spending so that they can keep raising money through taxes, sales and lending. This means that there are more and more disruptive ways (text messages, emails, phone calls, mail, billboards, neon signs etc.) to push advertising and marketing messages in front of us. It is difficult to even go for a quiet stroll or sit quietly in a park without having something advertised to us.
With so many people trying to get our attention, it is more and more important that we learn to shut it all out and get focused.
It’s difficult to get completely away from all these distractions. One way is to go to a room where you can shut your door and turn off your phone and email notifications but even then, you must avoid telling anybody that you are there.
The benefits of being focused
There are endless benefits to being focused but the following are some of the most important:
1. You are quicker
When you focus on a single task, avoiding distractions, your brain becomes focused on that task alone. This lets you complete that task much more quickly than if you are trying to complete two or more tasks at once.
For instance, let’s say you need to write a blog post, do your bookkeeping for the week and research information for an upcoming speech. The best thing to do is to set aside all but one task. So, for this example, you want to give all your attention writing to your blog post. That means turning off the TV, cell phones, social media pings, closing your door and putting all your attention on writing.
What we too easily forget is that our brain is far more powerful than a computer. It has the most amazing processing power and its creativity and intelligence are virtually limitless. When you focus on one task, all that power is working on the task. You can’t fail to get the task finished quicker than if you were dividing your brain power between 2 or more tasks.
Being focused is the key to hitting your goals, on time, every time
2. You produce higher quality
By giving all your attention to the task without distraction, you can get it done much more quickly and with fewer mistakes. Your work will be of a higher quality as well. Another benefit to being focused is that your creativity will kick in too. You’ll come up with new ideas associated with the task at hand.
This is great if you are someone who creates in some way. This includes traditional creative types like artists, writers, photographers, designers and musicians, as well as people who create products or services, teachers, researchers, stay-at-home parents, executives, bloggers, and anyone who needs ideas. This means just about everyone can benefit.
When you are constantly switching between tasks, it is very easy to lose your place and make a simple mistake. It is also easier to come up with a good idea and then forget it because you are working on the wrong task.
3. Less stress
Being constantly connected to others and having many distractions that take away your focus can affect your stress levels as well as your productivity. When you aren’t focused, you don’t get as much done as you could if you were truly focused on the task you’re doing. This causes you to fall behind with your work and you end up becoming stressed.
When you are not focused, it is difficult to determine what work you should be doing and what work you shouldn’t be doing. For example, you may end up doing work which:
- Should be done by someone else
- Should be delegated
- Should be outsourced
- Should be automated
- Or worst of all; shouldn't be done at all
You can easily end up taking on too much work and you become overwhelmed and overworked. If this happens, it doesn’t take long to experience some severe stress.
You can get a copy of my FREE Report to Improve Your Focus and Increase Your Productivity.
4. You recruit your subconscious mind
Focusing allows your subconscious to do the work. Think about when you learned to ride a bike or drive a car. It was difficult in the beginning, but when you began focusing on what you were doing, your subconscious took over and helped you learn. The same is true in your everyday tasks. Once you begin focusing solely on one task, your subconscious helps you do them quicker and easier.
While you are busy working on one part of the task, your subconscious mind will be working away on another part. If, like me, you write articles you will have noticed how, once you are clear on the subject matter, you can just keep writing with little need for hesitation.
While you are writing paragraph 1, your subconscious mind is organising your thoughts for the later paragraphs. It is being focused which allows you to achieve this level of flow.
The Modern Professional's Guide to Organisation and Focus
Organisation and focus are critical for productivity. With 'The Modern Professional's Guide to Organisation and Focus' you will gain practical advice on how to improve your mindset, strategies and tactics in the areas of organisation and focus.
Conclusion
It is easy to get carried away with all the new technology which tells you that you can do more things at once; leading to a more productive day. But that is nonsense. It has always been more effective to focus on one task at a time and see that task through to completion before moving on. Being focused is the key to success. It is not about doing the most work; it is about doing your most important work to the highest standard. Only being focused allows you to that.