Razor-sharp focus: the key to your future

Your focus is your future - Shane Parish

I took a sabbatical from work and the one thing that I get asked most often is what I do with my time, how do I spend every hour of the day. While I dont have an answer to what I have achieved (yet) during this time, I am pretty clear about one thing - I have done enough in my life up til now, to be able to take a break, and embark upon a journey of self discovery. It is a process and it takes a hell lot of time.

The one thing that really helps in this journey is to be able to focus on the task at hand. The task may be extremely simple or a complex one, but it is the focus of your thoughts and actions that are key to getting results.

In ‘As a Man Thinketh’, a hundred years old book, James Allen says,

“All achievements, whether in the business, intellectual, or spiritual world, are the result of definitely directed thought, are governed by the same law and are of the same method; the only difference lies in the object of attainment.”

Multiple articles, books, blogs and podcasts later, I have arrived at the following list (do follow Shane Parish on twitter and The Mindset Mentor podcast). Even though I was doing some of the things suggested unconsciously, some of the strategies suggested by these great thinkers can really change the game. So I am going to list down these strategies in two parts - Part I, I call the no-brainers and Part II are the ones you need to track consciously for a period of time, until they become a habit. I call these brain-doers (just something I coined. What’s important is to deeply understand the concept and consciously implement).

no-brainers

1. Keep that phone away for as long as possible, as many times in a day as possible

2. Get enough sleep. Wake up to an alarm clock. Do not look at the messages and emails or better still, the phone for the first hour after waking up

3. Meditate daily. Make it a practice. Set a time and shuffle every other work/task

4. Get an accountability partner - whether it is for workouts or for a side project. Review with a partner and schedule it on your calendar

5. Even though I am a proud multi-tasker, studies have shown, it only results in less than perfect, sub-quality results. Especially women, love to do this. Consciously try to focus on serial-tasking - one thing at a time

brain-doers

1. 90/90/1 - really loved this idea. Do one (difficult) task, every day for 90 days, for 90 minutes each day. You will get sh*t done

2. Rate your focus at the end of every hour for one week. See a pattern at the end? Use this to identify the time when your focus is the highest and schedule your tasks accordingly

3. Make music your cue to focus. Play the same music for one hour every day while you focus on a particular work. While my husband listens to ‘ Dark Necessities - RHCP’, The Mindset Mentor podcast suggests binaural beats on YouTube

4. gretchenrubin.com suggests using creative commands to satisfy the brain’s love for pattern and novelty. Imagine picking up from a pack of cue cards - “wake up at 3:30”, “discard something”, “start from scratch”... there are so many of these pure genius commands at https://gretchenrubin.com/2020/08/spark-creativity-with-undirected-directions

5. The pomodoro technique is a great way to focus in small chunks (25 min) of time. Really helps to stop procrastinating. There are many apps that help with this, but a simple alarm can do the magic

While you try all or one of these suggestions, remember to unwind and take a break. There is art to doing nothing. Stare at a blank, walk in a jungle, watch the birds and clouds. If you fail, start again. Try something new. But never stop trying.

"You will be what you will to be", James Allen, As a Man Thinketh.

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