WHY FOCUS IS CRITICAL TO YOUR SUCCESS

What would you say if I told you that your success is determined by your focus?

Focus is basically the ability to concentrate one’s attention and efforts on a singular point.  In an era of multi-tasking, juggling, and balancing multiple responsibilities and projects, we have become ineffective. 

Technology has dynamically influenced our culture.  We are currently living in a period of new technological advancements where what is created and purchased by a consumer today is old news tomorrow.  Our phones are little computers constantly chirping at us.  There are over 60 plus social media sites that beg for our attention.  Many people cannot wake up in the morning without checking their email or social media accounts before getting out of bed.  Technology has controlled much of what we do.

The advancement in technology is great in many ways, but it has also been a detriment to our focus.  It has been researched that once our phones distract us, it takes at least 30 minutes to get our minds focused back on what we were doing.  Phone distractions are responsible for a lack of productivity in many work places, life-threatening car crashes, broken relationships, and a killer of creativity.

Although cell phones are one of the biggest distractions, anything that takes your mind away from the task at hand.  No matter the distraction, we must find a way to focus better in order to be more successful.  Here are four ways to develop a better focus.

1.    Declutter your mind.

I remember watching a few episodes of the American reality television series Hoarders.  It is a show that depicts the real-life struggles and treatment of people with compulsive hoarding disorders.  Your house may not be cluttered, but have you checked your mind?

I think we would all agree that a cluttered mind is worse than a cluttered house.  A cluttered mind is a mind full of worry, guilt, and negative self-talk.  These things leave the mind cluttered with fear, chaos, and self-doubt.

One way to rid your mind of this clutter is to intentionally change the way you think.  Watch the words that come out of your mouth.  Instead of succumbing negativity, tell yourself to stop and replace the negative with something positive.  Lastly, reflect on your past and learn from it.  Much of the mental clutter in people lives has been there for a long time, but we aren’t aware of it.  More importantly, we don’t learn from our past clutter.  So the past clutter becomes present clutter.  

What is cluttering your mind causing you to lack focus and clarity on your success and significance journey?  

2.    Create a focused workspace.

There was a time when I had many notifications sent to my phone until realized that the notifications were distracting me from being productive.  I learned quickly that I needed to create a more focus workspace.

Focus is critical when you are creating, working, or relating with people.  Some of the biggest distractions in a workplace include the following: cellphones, the Internet, gossip, social media, email, unproductive meetings, unnecessary breaks, noisy/talkative co-workers.  Of course, all of these things are part of many of our daily work life.  However, we must know the appropriate time to utilize each of these things aforementioned.

What is it you need to do in order to create a more focused workspace?

3.    Master your technology.

I mentioned earlier in this blog how we live in a digital age.  One of the primary distracters for many people is their cellphone.  The cellphones do just about everything these days, which is why they are called smartphones.  Our phones are so smart, it seems as if they have taken some of our smarts.

The pings, vibrations, and other notifications indicating you have a voicemail, text, or a social media update is a constant source of distraction.  Perhaps the best thing we all can do is turn off this devices and notifications when we need to be working.

What technology do you need to master in order for you to have a better focus and better productivity?

4.    Get sleep.

One way to become more focused is by getting more sleep.  It is easy to substitute sleep to work with the belief that extra work will bring about success.  Former chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers Michael Hyatt said, “Shortchanging your sleep to get more done is actually sabotaging your success.”

Research tells us you need at a minimum six hours of sleep, but no more than eight hours to completely oxygenate and rejuvenate your brain.  Otherwise, your focus will suffer.

How much sleep are you currently getting?  How much sleep do you need to have a better focus?

Focus is critical to you success.  When you are focus, you will find yourself being more productive and successful.  What will success look like for you?  Well, that’s another blog post for another time.  But know you will experience and abundance of success and significance.

What are two things right now you can do to improve your focus?  Please leave a comment below.

Bryant

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