Focus

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

These last two months have been really intense. Maybe it’s the same thing for many of us when approaching Christmas. A ton of stuff that needs to get done before the holidays. Anyway, yesterday I started to consider a different approach to my “hard work”. I know I haven’t been using my full potential. Here’s what I did. I mounted an illuminated sign right below my computer screen that says FOCUS. It is illuminated so it is impossible to not see it. I am convinced that focus is the number one success factor in all areas of life. It is also something that I have a hard time with. My thoughts are sometimes bouncing back and forth inside my head so quickly and ever-changing that it can become tedious. Some of it is genetical, I get that, but the rest might be my own creation. It is my habits that determine my focus. The focus sign might sound silly, but for me it actually worked. Yesterday I did a whole day of deep, uninterrupted and focussed work. From 08:00 to 17:00. I am completely blown away of how much work I got done.

I have experimented with focus in the past. I remember when I was taking the course in Philosophy of science. That was a really hard course that required extreme focus to take in the dense and heavy texts on topics like objectivity and the creation of knowledge. Back then I realized that the only way that I was going to pass this course was to enter a state of focus and deep work. I started to go to my office so that I arrived there at 07:00 in the morning. I made sure that my telephone was switched off, not flight mode, I actually turned it off completely. Then I shut down Outlook and all other forms of communication on my computer. And finally, I shut the door and pulled the curtains so that people could clearly see that I was very busy. I was just as thorough with eliminating the social interruptions as well. Web browsing was prohibited, and I didn’t even talk to my colleagues. Not until lunch time at 12:00. That’s when I came back to the world. After lunch I opened up my mail, started talking to people and got back to normal. But I am convinced that in my deep working morning hours I got more work done than I would normally have produced in a whole day.

Now some of you are thinking – and rightfully so – that “I cannot go offline! My work/family/clients require me to stay in touch and connected. That is true but there are solutions to that. Create a profile on your phone that will always let through the important calls like family. Inform your boss or partner about your deep work plans and get them a hotline to be used for emergencies. But most of the things that interrupt us, can wait a little. Personally, I have found that the morning hours are gold. If you start working several hours before everyone else, you won’t even have to turn off your phone and the mail will be silent. And another important thing with doing the deep work in the morning is that you start with a “blank slate” in your head. Whatever you do, don’t read the news in the morning. Don’t allow yourself any external impressions. Not until your deep work session has finished. You will be amazed by the results.

The trick is to keep your brain “in the zone” and never ever get interrupted. A small interruption can rob you of 10-15-30 maybe an hour of productivity, when you try to realign your brain. One of the most destructive inventions known to man are notifications on your computer or phone. Right now, go ahead and TURN THEM ALL OFF. There is nothing that will ruin your flow as effectively as notifications. You can try the following: Stick to a habit of deep work in the morning hours, maybe only up until 09:00 or 10:00? With time, your work/family/client will learn that you are unavailable during this time and they will adapt accordingly. By not giving them this time, you will in fact increase the total time you give them in the long run.

Everyone wins.