Five Ways to F.O.C.U.S. - Even When You Don't Feel Like Focusing

Are you having a hard time focusing these days? It's understandable. Many of us are distracted and preoccupied with what's happening in our world right now.

Want good news? Do you know what I've learned in 20+ years of speaking and writing on the topic of concentration? There's no mystery to it. It's not something we're born with or not. It is a SKILL anyone can get better at, at any age and stage - if we put your mind to it.

I show exactly how to do that in my book ConZentrate, which has been taught at NASA, featured on NPR, and endorsed by Stephen Covey (7 Habits of Highly Effective People) who highly recommended it as "Fascinating, thought-provoking, motivating."

Here are five F.O.C.U.S. tips excerpted from that book that can help you make your mind - mind - even in the midst of these stressful, challenging, uncertain times.

F = Five More Rule

"There are two kinds of people: those who have learned how to work through frustration, and those who wish they had." - Warren Reed

Want to S-T-R-E-T-C-H your attention span? Next time you feel like quitting because you don't feel like focusing any more, do FIVE MORE. Listen for five more minutes. Write five more sentences. Do five more sit-ups. Answer five more emails. Read five more paragraphs.

Just as athletes build physical fitness by pushing past the point of physical exhaustion - you can build mental fitness by pushing past the point of mental exhaustion. Runners get their second wind by not giving up when their body is tired. You can get your "second mind" by not giving up when your brain is tired. This is how you develop mental stamina - the ability to concentrate even when you don't feel like it - by developing the habit of continuing past the point of frustration instead of quitting at the first sign of frustration.

O = One Priority At a Time

"If I look confused, it's because I'm thinking." - producer Samuel Goldwyn

Feeling scattered because you're juggling multiple priorities? Use a technique I learned from Pulitzer-Prize winning author Frank McCourt (Angela’s Ashes).

As Emcee of the Maui Writers Conference, I walked the beach every morning to practice my introductions for that day. One morning, I saw Frank writing away on two high-school composition notebooks (you know, the kind with the squiggly black lines?) He’d write in one notebook, startle, jot something in the other notebook, then resume writing in the original notebook. I was intrigued and asked, "Frank, what are you doing?"

He said his grand-daughter had visited their home and woke up early one morning. “She was speaking imaginatively about a dream she'd had. I realized we’re often most creative when we wakeup, so I vowed to write as soon as I woke up to capture what I'd dreamed about.

But I'd think of something else I needed to do and lose my train of thought. So, I started keeping this second notebook nearby. If I’m in a state of flow and another priority occurs to me, I write it down (and here he said something profound) so I’m free to forget it."

From now on, keep a notebook nearby. If another priority occurs to you, jot it down so it's not cluttering your mind, and you can re-focus on your top priority without having to worry about forgetting about it. This frees you up to return to your task, regain your train of thought and get back into the flow of thinks.

C = Conquer Procrastination and Perfectionism

"My parents always told me I wouldn't amount to anything because I procrastinated so much. I told them, 'Just you wait.'" - comedian Judy Tenuta

Find yourself procrastinating? Next time you're about to put off a project, ask yourself these Four "Gitter Done" Questions:

• Do I have to do this?
• Do I want it done so it's not hanging over my head and making me feel guilty?
• How long will it actually take to do this?
• Will this task be any easier … later?

Answering these questions brings you face to face with the fact that procrastinating often takes more time than the task itself and inspires you to tackle it now, not later.

A quick example? A workshop participant told me, "I used this tip on the way home! I was driving by a gas station, noticed my fuel tank was almost empty and thought, 'I should really get some gas.' I thought, 'I'll get it tomorrow.' I remembered your questions and asked myself, 'Do I HAVE to get gas? YES. Will it be easier tomorrow? NO. I'm in front of a gas station right now!' I told myself, 'It only takes 5 minutes to get gas,' and pulled into the station. Those questions work!"

U = Use Pavlovian Rituals to Set Up FLOW

"Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?" - Sam Horn

Remember Pavlov? He rang a bell, fed the dog, rang a bell, fed the dog. Soon, the dog salivated as soon as he heard the bell because he knew it meant he was going to get fed. You can set up a Pavlovian ritual that helps you achieve the peak performance state of FLOW.

A) Please understand, your attention is where your eyes are. If you laser focus your eyes, you laser focus your attention. To do this, picture your mind as a camera and your eyes are your lens. You're either in:

Wide-Angle Focus: This is when you're looking at and thinking of many things at once. For example, you're driving on a crowded highway while keeping an eye on the cars around you, watching for your exit sign, and thinking what you'll say at the staff meeting.

Telephoto Focus: This is when we narrow in and give our complete, undivided, energized attention to one thing. This is what surgeons and champion athletes do.

B) If you are on a tight deadline or need to do something complicated, you can't afford to be all over the mental map. Your need to switch your eyes (and mind) from looking at and thinking about many things to looking at and thinking about one thing.

C) To turn on Telephoto Focus, use your hands as blinkers. Trainers put blinkers on racehorses so they're not distracted by horses running alongside them. You can use your hands as blinkers so you're not distracted by what's around you. Place your priority project in front of you on your desk. Clear away other distracting items - your phone, bills you need to pay - so they are off your desk and out-of-sight, out-of-mind.

Now, place a hand on each side of your face so they're acting like blinkers and you can only see what's in front of you. This gives you tunnel vision and blocks out your surroundings so your top priority is, literally and figuratively, in-sight, in-mind and top-of-mind.

D) Repeat this Pavlovian ritual anytime you want to concentrate on command. If you use your hand blinkers every time you want to switch to Telephoto Focus, that repeated physical action becomes your Pavlovian trigger. You are training your brain to ignore what is around you and to focus solely on what is in front of you.

Try it. Next time your attention is all over the place understand your eyes are all over the place. Use this Pavlovian "blinkers" ritual to narrow your field of vision so your priority task is the only thing on your mind because it's the only thing you're seeing and working on.

S = See someone or something as if for the first or last time

"Tell me to what you give your attention, and I will tell you who you are." - Jose Ortega Y Gasset

Ever feel absent-minded? One night I reading my young sons their bedtime story, but I was a million miles away in my mind. I needed to leave early the next day to give a workshop and was wondering, "Did I pack my hand-outs? What time is my flight? Is there gas in the car?"

All of a sudden, my mind came down and out my eyes and I saw my sons as if for the first time. And just like that, an ordinary moment became extraordinary. I was no longer mentally on that road to the airport, I was exquisitely present, filled with appreciation for them.

Next time you're not really "there," simply look at someone or something as if for the first or last time. It is the quickest way to be here now instead of here, there and everywhere.

What else have I learned in my 20+ years immersed in the the topic of concentration? That our success in any endeavor - work, sports, school, life - is directly proportionate to our ability to focus and maintain attention on what really matters - no matter what.

If you want to to scale your success and satisfaction, use these F.O.C.U.S. steps to concentrate on what will count in the long run. You'll be glad you did.

------------------

Sam Horn is the CEO of the Intrigue Agency and the Tongue Fu! Training Institute,  Her 3 TEDx talks and 9 books have been featured in NY Times, Fast Company and taught to U.S. Navy, Cisco, Intel, Capital One, YPO, Capital One, YPO. Want your employees trained in how to concentrate better? Contact Sam's Business Manager [email protected]