We’re living in a world of distraction, aren’t we? Our society is nothing but distractions all over us, and really the skill that we need is focus. And focus has two main elements. One is, do you know what you should be focusing on in the first place?
And two, once you know those things can you sustain your focus for a block amount of time? Those are two different skills sets. So in our world where everything’s bombarding us from different directions we first need to plan better. I believe a lot of people are reacting to their environment and they just do things based on what the environment is telling them instead of being more proactive and saying, “Hey, from 8:30 to 10:30 I’m going to write this memo. I’m going to write this contract up. I’m going to write this proposal up.” And that’s what they’re now going to focus on.
So we plan for what’s our target. What in that do we need to know about? Oh, maybe we need a customer’s file.
Maybe we need to ask some questions, make a phone call that is all pertaining to that project. So now I’m focusing on what’s relevant information for the project. That’s step one, isn’t it? Now we’re in there. It’s 8:30 to 10:00. Can you sustain your focus on the action steps that are going to get you closer to the completion of that project?
This is a big one right? Sustaining focus is a skill. Right? Our phone goes off, the telephone, the emails, everything’s bombarding us again to pull you away from actually performing in that moment. So a lot of people, step one they maybe can do, but step two is … they get very easily now distracted. So how do you get back on task?
First off is realize you’re off task. “Hey, I’m not where I need to be.” Two, kind of call yourself a mini time out and say, “Where do I need to go from here?” Now that’s asking a question. I have to re-evaluate where I’m at, and now where do I want to go? So good questions can help refocus you. Now in sports, they say, “Keep your eye on the ball.” Right? So actually your eyes track, that’s where our focus goes. So if my eyes are on my phone looking at Facebook, of course, my attention is where my eyes follow. So do yourself a favor. Follow where your eyes go. And now your eyes got to go back to the memo, your eyes got to go back to the contract. So your eyes are going to develop your focus, your self-talk is going to help redirect. Ask better questions, use your eyes better, and then you’re going to focus and sustain that focus until that project’s completed. And now you’re going to perform for success.