The Power Of Focus

In today’s world we seem to be forced to rush around in everything we do. For the majority of people, most days follow the same routine. It doesn’t matter if you are a business owner, employee, stay at home mom, or a full time college student. The morning starts off with your feet hitting the floor running. Rush, rush, rush. The more you get done, the more it seems you have to do.

Are you tired of living this kind of life?

Why is it that the things in life that you really want to get done always seem to be the things that you never get close to?

The answer is: Focus.

This one word, if acted upon correctly, could change your life dramatically.

First, let’s look at a simple example of how most people allow themselves to lose focus. Let’s say that it is lunchtime and you want to read a book.

You go to a small café and order a nice sandwich. You sit down at your table with your lunch and the book, which you have been looking forward to reading all day.

You take a bite of your sandwich and open your book to begin reading. You have only read half a page when all of a sudden a very noisy group of people come into the café, which makes it very difficult for you to concentrate on your book.

After about 5 minutes, you are finally able to ignore the noisy group and get back to reading. You are on the next page when your mobile phone rings. It’s one of your friends that you are supposed to be getting together with later that night. You chat to them for about 5 minutes.

Then you find where you left off reading when the waitress comes over and starts clearing off your table, which distracts you once again. A few minutes later, a family member rings you, and this conversation takes up another 5 minutes.

Before you know it it’s time to start heading back to work and you have only read a page and a half!

Now, this is a very simplistic example but I believe it shows the basic reasons why people don’t accomplish the things they want to get done.

So how do you use the power of focus to get things done properly?

1. Select a specific time frame and a length of time.
Set the time that works best for you. This may be in the morning, lunchtime, or once all of your family has gone to sleep. Also pick a length of time. Thirty minutes, forty-five minutes, or an hour, whatever works best for you. By setting a specific time frame and a length of time, you make sure that this time is free from all distractions and that you don’t cut into a time when you need to be doing something else.

2. Select a place.
Make sure that the place you select is conducive to what you want to do. If you need a quiet place, don’t go somewhere that has the potential of getting noisy. If you want to network, go someplace where you will be in contact with the right people. It is very easy to lose focus of what you are doing if you are not in the right setting.

3. Select a purpose.
If you don’t have a purpose you will never get anything done. Select one or two things as your purpose. Remember, it’s all about focus. Don’t try to cram everything in all at once. If you want to get several things done, set up a different day for each one.

4. DON’T GET DISTRACTED
This is the most important point. Don’t set up a time that will prevent you from focusing. Don’t choose a location that will prevent you from focusing. Don’t try to do too many things at once, which will cause you to lose your focus.

If your phone rings, let it go to voice mail. As long people know you will call them back, most of them will not mind leaving you a message.

Turn off your T.V. Unless your purpose requires you to watch something, the T.V. will only distract you.

Make it known that you are not to be disturbed during this time. Children, co-workers, and family can be some of the biggest distractions. Don’t let them ruin your focus.

As you begin to implement the power of focus, you will start to see yourself accomplishing more. Just imagine what one hour a day of focused self-improvement will do for you in a year’s time.

How many novels could you read in a year? How much quality time with your kids will this allow you to have? How many more sales calls could you make?

The power of focus can change your life.