Focus - Is is a necessary for being productive?
When you talk about managing your time, the power of focusing is one thing that comes into picture. Talk to those lucky & BUSY people about how they are able to manage all their works and still find time for themselves and the one answer that is sure to come out is that They FOCUS.
Is Focusing Easy?
But the question which arises is “Is Focusing so Easy”? Of course, not else the web wouldn’t have been flooded with so many articles explaining just a single idea- ”How to sustain your focus to increase your productivity”? While there are endless number of suggestions (and sure some of them are really good indeed) but not all may work for you. You have to pick up your own selection according to your suitability. Likewise, I jotted down all the suggestions/ideas and tried applying those tricks at one place or the other. To give you a gist, these were the Ideas that I collected:
1) Make a habit of wake up early in the morning – the sooner you start, the sooner you finish.
2) Be consistent and structured in your daily routine.
3) Try to do one thing at a time.
4) Do not try to finish all the tasks at once- the lesser, the better.
5) Try to convert your passive activity into an active one.
The list can go endless but I would rather emphasize only on these few points. To begin with Point 1, 3 and 4 are the most important to consider (yes all throughout this article I will refer them as points as that you remember what are those!).
The Real Fact
You cannot simply focus by reading & remembering the above points or reading end number of articles on “How to Focus’? The secret of success in focusing lies in its implementation. Until and unless you implement, there is no use stressing your eyes. From my experience, it took me around 6 months to get on tracks with my habits. Before six months. I was all juggled up with my work at office as well as home. Ever since I started working, each day of my life seemed hectic as ever. I was deteriorating in my productivity and activeness like anything. I was all confused and frustrated with my time management when I stumbled on this article which explained about sustaining focus and being productive. I was very much relaxed after reading the verses. I kept on exploring more of the tricks and strategies till I exhausted all. For quiet few days I was progressing better because I knew the secret formula to success! Alas it did not sustain for enough time. My flaw………..I was reading enough but I was implementing none. That was the point when I took actions on what I knew. Without taking action, you can never reach a goal.
So the moral of the story is that you need not simply read this article and feel good, rather you should inculcate these habits into your daily life. (If reading stills makes you feel good, that means I am good at expressing, so read on).
The Beginning: Waking Up
Yeah, I know the very first point of waking up is too much exhaustive in itself. Why wake up before when you get all your work done in time? Well I have the reason – you do not crib in the evening that such & such task could not be accomplished and that you are loaded with a hell lot of work and you have no time to relax and so on……………….And how you do so? By starting early, doing all your tasks on time (may be early) and then still finding time for yourself gives you a reason to focus on how to manage time.
Procrastinating is the poison that takes away your focus. So it’s very important you manage your time efficiently to avoid the drainage of your energy. A lot of energy is required to focus. So point 1 is very important to implement in order to have a good start. You wake up a bit early than your scheduled time may be an hour or 2 before and start working with the same jest but later in the evening you will find yourself saving more time. Not a bad deal indeed.
Remember the famous saying ‘Live in the present because it is itself a gift to you’. So, letting your day off because of the work load should not be your excuse. Time is Money, so you should be very precautious while spending your time. If there is any way that may help you in your time management, then just go for it.
But waking up early is not that easy as many of you may agree with it. For your information, a lot has been written on ‘How to wake up early?’ over the Web and there are many tricks that may help you, but we would not worry about those right now. It will mostly depend on your motivation and inner will. Nobody can make you do something until you are willing to do it.
My only suggestion would be to try and try until you succeed. You may start by waking up just half an hour before and later on extend your duration. Do not force yourself into something which will make it impossible. Develop this habit slow and steadily because once you have developed it, it is going to help you in the long run.
Consistency is the key to Success……….
Point 2 is anyway connected to point 1 itself. Until and unless you are consistent in your efforts, you cannot develop a habit. So the best way to achieve this is have a daily routine and goal. The moment you wake up, make sure that you think about organizing your day i.e. how are you going to spend your day (see time is money). You can recollect all the tasks that you have to accomplish for the day in your memory. But it is better to keep a note as there is chance of skipping of some tasks here and there in case of memorizing. Similarly you can set up a weekly routine and stick to it.
One Things at a Time Only……………
Point 3 is something which has been consistently emphasized. Lots of books have been written explaining this simple thing. Do not attempt to do so many things at one time. Break your tasks into segments and organize them. You may have a lot of goals for the whole the year. Here is what you can do:
It is advisable to jot down your goals in the order of importance. Allot a specific time to each of these goals. For example, if finishing a book and completing a project is on the roll, then you may choose any one of them before (according to the urgency of work) and then go for the second task after the completion of the first.
Similarly, for a specific task you may set up weekly or daily goal. Whatever be the thing, you should take up only one task and proceed to another only after its completion. Following this idea does not restrict you from undertaking anything extra, you may still write a blog or watch a movie but the focus should always be on the task that you have undertaken.
Is Taking up Multiple Task that bad………………?
Making connection with point 3, taking multiple tasks all at once is not a viable thing to do. You lose a lot than you gain. The main disadvantages are that you waste a substantial amount of time wondering which task to do first. Henceforth, when you are doing task 1, you keep wondering about task 2 or 3. You are never able to concentrate on a particular task since you have so many of them queuing up in the row. You are exhausted much easily and your productivity is on decline. This is where focusing plays its parts. If you focus on one thing, you will not think about something else. If you do not focus, you keep wondering here and there.
Active or Passive?
Last but not the least of all, point 5 emphasizes on the type of work that we undertake where we may or may not lose our focus. It also depends on how interesting or boring you make a particular task. So, when do we actually find it hard to focus? Of course, when the task is boring. In a different perspective, it is when we are isolated and the only connection (or rather interface) is the task and oneself. Reading can be one of them. You will find it hard to read for a continuity of 4 hours, understanding each and every aspect of it. These types of tasks are generally passive in nature. But when something is acting as a mediator between your task and you, then the particular task can be made interesting. For example, while reading books if you include noting down some quotes or important points, then it becomes easier to exceed your reading hours. Hence, when your tasks have some activity, it becomes interesting. The same tasks now become active in nature. Also, taking small breaks in between your tasks is a good idea to eradicate boredom.
To end it all......
It has been rightly remarked:
FOCUS = Finish One Chore Until Successful.
Focus can be defined as ‘the center of interest or activity’. Wherever there is interest, productivity will see a rise. Until and unless you are not interested into something, focusing can be a hard thing. So gear up yourself, and begin developing these habits in order to be more effective in whatever you do. Life is too short and there are so many things to be accomplished. One good habit can change your life into a better one. Get Going!!!!!!!!!!!!
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