The Importance of Focus
This week I share some tips that have helped me in my publishing career
Recently, the constant battle with my teenagers about spending less time on their devices has really made me reflect on my own ability to focus on everyday activities. We are constantly surrounded by distractions vying for our attention. And now, with the rise of AI, it seems that finding time to self-reflect and generate original thought is at a real premium.
I wonder sometimes if we’ll all eventually agree to outsource the whole tricky business of thinking altogether. After all, convenience over substance has had a long and healthy history in our brief residence on this planet.
As a teenager I was quite dismissive of what we would now call wellbeing or self-help resources. But after studying philosophy at Uni, I became more curious about how the mind works and what it really means to be super-focused.
Needless to say, focusing is actually extremely difficult, not only because of all the distractions but also because we’re always lying to ourselves about the actual nature of things. As we enter the end of January I wonder how many gym memberships will be cancelled as we tell ourselves ‘it wasn’t really for us’ because of other more pressing commitments.
This is just one example of how the mind will trick us into taking the easy way out, suggesting that our current lazy passing impulse is not actually an impulse at all but something that has a credible history. This eventually solidifies into statements like: ‘I was never really meant to be a (insert dream ambition) singer, painter, speaker or chef.’
Being focused is not just about being able to concentrate on a task, it means, for me at least, being really intentional about your actions and being goal-orientated - and that ultimate goal being to lead a happy and fulfilled life.
I might not be an expert in the topic of focusing, but I am an expert in my own experience of focusing - so here are some things that have helped me along the way in both my personal and professional life.
Like all great book recommendations, this was a book personally recommended to me by a great manager. It’s over 300 pages long but its message is quite simple - make a list. Well, lots of lists actually - just go through the process of noting everything down and then do the fun and exciting thing of attacking each point and crossing it off your list. It’s a simple exercise that teaches you - if it isn’t written down, it won’t be processed.
Do you have a sense sometimes that you are drifting and not actually doing the things you really want to do? That is because, my friend, you do not have a list.
Have Goals
If you don’t have short and long-term goals, how can you tell that you’re moving in the direction you want? Take time to write these down and, more importantly, the steps that you need to take to get you there. THEN find other people who have similar goals and learn from them.
Do Nothing
It’s really important to give your brain a rest by doing a form of exercise where you’re not thinking or worrying about things. This could be a simple meditation like lying down and focusing on just your breathing, or it could be going out and running a half-marathon. I’ve found the activity doesn’t matter as long as you can ‘slow down to the speed of thought’ as a good manager once said and recognise that…
‘You are not your mind’
This is a quote from Eckhart Tolle’s book ‘The Power of Now’ which is an interesting mix of psychology and Buddhism with some useful tips on how to meditate. It really helped me to recognise that the mind is like a machine which is always moving - thinking about the past and worrying about the future. Being able to focus on something really requires you to understand that distractions are caused not only in the outside world, but also in the interior. Another way of putting it would be to ask yourself how ‘present’ you are when addressing a challenge or working with other people. If you are only half-engaged, you might only see half the problem.
My first job was being a music journalist, running around London interviewing various artists. Often when it came to typing up the interview, I would notice that I was often missing the juicy follow-up questions in my interview because I was too distracted by the worry that I might not be able to ask my next question.
I think a good interview, as well as a good life ethic, is all about being prepared BUT you also need to be attentive enough to shift gears in response to an interesting change. Be present - which is often easier said than done!
Check in with yourself, regularly
From all the points above, this is probably the hardest - the idea being that you become so familiar with the steps above that you are able to self-reflect at key points throughout the day. My advice here is to invite yourself to your own meeting at the end of each week so you can reflect on how things have gone. Then progress to meeting yourself at the end of each day.
Keep Talking
Something I keep telling my kids is that you can’t work out problems all by yourself - we are social animals and our ideas need to be tested under social conditions. I can’t remember the number of times I’ve written something on paper that sounds great but the words fall empty and meaningless as soon as a discuss it with someone who is raising an eyebrow. You need courage in your convictions, and that muscle can only be exercised with other people.
And lastly, a little bonus.
Your best idea is always hidden behind your first
When I wrote this I immediately started to question it, because sometimes your first idea IS your best idea and it’s important to recognise that and NOT go hell for leather exploring all other ramifications.
BUT in the majority of cases it’s only by building up your first idea that you actually see the better idea that is connected to it. To use a musical analogy, I can write some great harmonies, but I can only do that once I’ve written the melody. In fact, I can’t see ANY harmonies until I’ve settled on the melody and excluded all other possibilities.
It’s a funny business thinking but I hope I’ve helped in some small way to help you think about your own thoughts, thoughtfully.
I talk more about the importance of focus on the SEO Mindset podcast.