Do You Know How to Guard Your Focus?
Stolen Focus
These days, it’s not uncommon to wonder if your attention span is getting worse.
If you feel this way, you aren’t wrong. And you aren’t alone.
In fact, studies show that a significant portion of the population feel their attention spans are shorter than in the past.
Recently, a survey conducted by Crucial Learning confirms that two-thirds of people find it difficult to focus at work. Worse yet, almost three-quarters of workers report decreased productivity and efficiency due to distractions and wandering minds.
92 percent of employers now consider lost focus a significant problem in the workplace.
But there’s more.
A small study of the average American college student reveals that the amount of time they focus on any one thing is just 19 seconds.
I repeat: 19 seconds.
Now, if you are an adult and tempted to feel superior, hold off.
A similar study reports that the average adult working in an office stays on one task for only three minutes.
What Gives?
Enter Johann Hari.
Hari is one of the world’s experts on human attention and focus. He has been studying this topic for decades. Here’s his conclusion:
“In my research, I found strong evidence that our collapsing ability to pay attention is not a personal failing on my part or your part or your kid’s part. This is being done to us all. It is being done by very powerful forces. Those forces include big tech, but they also go way beyond them …The truth is that you are living in a system that is pouring acid on your attention every day, and then you are being told to blame yourself while the world’s attention burns.”
Pretty stark conclusion, huh?
Five Immediate Ways to Guard Your Focus
Obviously, staying focused in a fast-paced, information-driven world is a complex topic and one that will require a great deal of effort.
However, that being said, there are five immediate things you can do to guard your focus:
1. Plan your day. Start your day by writing down the three key things you want to accomplish that day.
2. Reduce distractions. Turn off as many dings, rings, and pings as you can. Remember: These alarms have been developed by brilliant app developers who get paid for separating you from your attention. Just turn them off.
3. Optimize your environment. Remove everything in your immediate proximity that has the potential to distract you — your phone, your food, your Facebook. Remove it all.
4. Have a small cup of coffee. Caffeine is a stimulant that blocks adenosine, a neurotransmitter that promotes drowsiness. This leads to increased alertness and focus, improved attention, reaction time, and a better memory. Be smart, though. A small cup is all that’s needed.
5. Zero in for a defined amount of time. Ideally, it’s best to work in 60-90-minute chunks. These small sessions are enough to get things done but not so overwhelming that they deplete your energy for the rest of the day.
As a Leader of LIGHT, your ability to focus is crucial because it not only allows you to be effective, it shapes the direction, motivation, and performance of your team and organization.
In addition, your focus influences how followers perceive priorities, make decisions, and ultimately contribute to achieving common goals. By understanding how you can better guard your focus, you can cultivate a more engaged and productive environment.
Until next time, See LIGHT. Be LIGHT. Spread LIGHT.
Until Next Time...
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About Lead with Light
Lead with Light is an initiative that aims to equip current and emerging leaders with a reimagined approach to servant leadership.
Our ultimate vision is to grow and develop thousands of Leaders of Light to ignite a movement to see light, be light, and spread light in ways only each can.