Dr Rebel: Too much focus on focus... the problem isn't overthinking, it's overdoing ??
simone van neerven
founder reBella | innovation & change catalyst | facilitator | speaker, columnist & author | dr rebel
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Today's question: One of my team members procrastinates, often staring into space. How can I help him to get more focused?
We live in a work world obsessed with being busy—setting goals, making to-do lists, and checking things off. We are focused on short-term, tangible targets that are easy to measure, and we hardly take time to think deeply and let our minds wander. Getting stuff done has become a prerequisite for corporate survival.
Obsessed with getting stuff done
But this doing mode is getting out of hand. From research with over 1,500 global, cross-sector, mid and senior managers, we learn that:
When we focus only on getting things done, we might miss bigger challenges and opportunities, harm our relationships, and lose the joy that makes life and work meaningful.
Going around in circles
We focus on small, clear tasks and avoid more complex topics. However, not solving these larger challenges also means we are not getting to the root of the problem. In fact, our actions are often quick fixes, mostly fixing another quick fix. We find ourselves in a downward spiral of busyness (sidenote - is this the origin of the word 'business' ???).
Permission to slow down
We are pushed to take action instantly, and we don't allow ourselves to slow down and take time to reflect on a challenge at work. And if we do, people find us procrastinators, and procrastination is stigmatised as lazy, inefficient, and unproductive.
Most people believe procrastination is delaying or putting off tasks until the last minute or past their deadline. However, it is much more nuanced than that. Procrastination can be a powerful creativity tool - if applied correctly. Let me explain with a story.
Steve Jobs loved to pause
When Walter Isaacson started his biography of Steve Jobs, he quickly learned that Jobs preferred to have serious conversations on long walks. He would also take short breaks in the middle of a task because Jobs knew that if he walked or let things go for a while, more creative ideas would come up.
Jobs was right, and there is a lot of research that proves this. According to psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik, people are far more likely to remember incomplete activities than complete activities. Whenever there are unfinished tasks, your unconscious is constantly working on completing that activity. And because your unconscious is involved, more novel ideas will surface.
Procrastinate effectively
Adam Grant elaborates on procrastination in his first TED talk: The Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers. He explains three different ways to handle tasks:
The third approach leads to the most creative solutions and concepts. And so, creativity happens not despite procrastination but because of it. As Aaron Sorkin - screenwriter - once said: “You call it procrastination, I call it thinking.”
The problem with productivity tools
The Eisenhower matrix is a well-known tool for prioritising tasks based on urgency and importance. Many people see it as the holy grail. However, I have several problems with this thinking. There is way too much focus on firefighting problems rather than solving the issue at the root. Also, with all the pressure from higher up, we are not good at assessing what is really urgent, and we tend to find everything important. Furthermore, as explained above, you need a distraction to achieve better solutions.
The Eisenhower matrix is also not working because we all know there is a big gap between theory and practice:
Eisenhower matrix 2.0
I believe there is a better, more productive way to deal with all your activities. There are moments during the day when you are better at thinking, while at other times, you just need to do things. Reflect on your activities and categorise them in thinking and doing stuff. That way, you also prevent yourself from falling into the 'always doing' mode and force yourself to take time to think.
Next, assess whether an activity is easier or more complex. Remember, you don't need to finish the complex stuff at once - in fact, it's better to pause in between. And the best way to do that is by working on easier things that don't require as much brain power. By alternating thinking and doing, you create a productive cycle: thinking fuels doing and doing reveals new insights that lead to further thinking.
And thus...
Doing is overrated, and to free ourselves from firefighting, we need to think and reflect more. In the beginning, you will have to force yourself to pause and block your schedule, but the more time you take to reflect, the better your solutions will be, the less time you will spend on fixing problems, and the more time you have to think.
So, do not judge too quickly when your co-worker is staring into space, and remember, most masterpieces are created like that. It took Freddy Mercury seven years to come up with Bohemian Rhapsody, and Leonardo da Vinci finished the Mona Lisa after 16 years.
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Hi Simone, great item, spot on. The process you describe is also blocking transitions in general. You need to convince people about the new possibilities. To do that you have to transfer information. The people that really can make the change are always too busy, to listen.