Finding or rather maintaining focus in today’s distraction cluttered world becomes increasingly difficult for all of us.
Focus is the concentration of attention and / or energy on something. Concentrating your attention and energy on a single task will produce faster , better results that really matter.
In a world where we are constantly bombarded with information it becomes increasingly difficult to pay attention to one thing. And the ability to pay attention has become an asset. That ability to pay attention, to remain focused in other words is a definite edge.
Building up your ability to focus for long periods takes time but you can start today to lay the foundations.
Schedule your work day or your creative time into time blocks. Time blocking is a well known and accepted concept and it works. During the blocked off time you work solely on the project at hand without distractions. If your most productive time is in the morning then start your day with that time blocked off. Checking email, social media, answering calls sms messages etc., can all wait.
Resist the temptation, it will happen, to just check email or messages. Once you open up your email and start responding your focus has gone. It is now going to take super effort to get back to where you were. Effort that would have been better spent on the project in the first place. There is nothing so urgent that it cannot wait another 30 to 40 minutes.
Have a clearly identified task to complete during your time block. Make sure you have everything you need to complete the task, readily at hand, before you start. If the task requires research, then complete the research ahead of time.
Start with blocks of about forty minutes each. Take a five minute break between blocks. When forty minutes becomes easy add ten or fifteen minutes and gradually build up. But take breaks.
The ability to remain completely focused for long periods is what separates the top sportsmen and woman from the rest. In a work or creative environment is will allow you to increase you productivity ten fold.
In other words, it will make you Dynamic.