How’s your focus?

If you were to rate your current level of focus on a scale of 1-10 (1: goldfish attention span to 10: like a child watching tv), where do you land on the scale?

I was talking with my colleague the other day and we were discussing some of the fall outs from the pandemic. One has been a decrease in attention span and an increase in overwhelm. There are the usual suspects: social media, youtube, etc. But I’m curious about what else may be driving this decrease?

On a separate occasion I was speaking with lawyer who shared that his level of focus was paramount to his partners. And the difference between his work ethic and level of effectiveness was based entirely on his ability to hone in, stay focused and progress through one task at a time. This struck me as particularly interesting as many clients are overwhelmed by having so much to do- and yet potentially doing less than they were before. How is this possible?

If we could focus better, would we feel less overwhelmed?

Chances are, a few years ago your sense of focus may have been higher. Where are you seeing the biggest impact? Who is this affecting? And ultimately, is this worthy of a change?

Once we become aware of something- for example our ability to focus- it’s hard to become un-aware. So, consider yourself now aware.

If this is an area you’d like to improve, start by asking yourself: how would I rather it be feeling? Identify that way of being. And then, define one small action item that you can do to bring you one inch closer to that feeling. Whether it be, reading for an extra 5 minutes, completing the top 3 items on your list or listening to a full song. You choose the challenge- make sure it lines up with your objective. Good luck!