Focus

In the complexity of high performance, it can feel like the more tasks you juggle, the more productive you are. Humans are not built to work like parallel-processing computers. Instead, we excel when we focus deeply on what’s in front of us. We are ‘in-series’ (one at a time) rather than ‘in-parallel,’ allowing us to transform and deliver our best.

Although multitasking is often seen as a skill to master, research has shown that it reduces impact and productivity. Studies from the American Psychological Association show that switching between tasks can reduce productivity by up to 40%, as each focus shift requires a brain reset. Additionally, a number of studies from Stanford found that multitaskers struggle to filter out distractions and perform worse when sustained attention is required.

Deeper thinking and deeper work come from focusing on one thing at a time. I recall a mentoring session with a national coach who shared that his kids often tell him, "Dad, when you come home, you’re still at work." We may think we’re capable of handling multiple tasks simultaneously, but we often end up giving a ‘vacant stare’ to what truly needs our attention. It takes effort and training to focus. By focusing on a single task, we eliminate distractions, reduce mental strain, and give ourselves the freedom to perform at our best. Focus is freedom!

For many, time management is a system to try to improve our multitasking. The best play a different game—they are in the focus-management game!

In the outstanding book Deep Work by Cal Newport, he emphasises that focus drives real results. Deep, distraction-free focus is how we learn the hard things, drive our improvement, and produce excellence. Time management was designed to help busy people stay just as busy but be more productive. Yet, busyness holds transformation back. When we look at what makes us busy, we may find that the real problem is not how we manage it better, but how we can do less of it. Busyness can feel productive, but it is often just motion, and as Newport writes, "it does not move the needle."

When we shift from time management to focus management, we pay more attention to what is in front of us and what distractions are near us. We train an important muscle for sustained high performance: attention-mastery. We learn how to get our best work done because we are working deeper and wiser. Attention mastery helps the best protect their ability to do the most meaningful work and support others in doing the same. We recognise what is meaningful and deliver it. The best have honed this learned skill of attention-mastery.

As one leader recently shared with me, "When you focus on the essential, you unlock the exponential."

In our world, many are unintentionally training themselves for average focus by constantly switching between tasks and allowing distractions to dominate their attention. Research shows that multitasking weakens cognitive control and conditions the brain to seek short bursts of engagement, making it harder to maintain deep, meaningful focus. We used to say, "Kids nowadays," but it's really "all of us nowadays." I was at a family restaurant the other week, and there was a family of eight—kids, parents, and grandparents—all on their phones! This behaviour has been conditioned. Sustained performers know how to break out of this conditioning and chart a different path. They intentionally build routines and habits that protect their focus, allowing them to stay engaged and deliver their best consistently. To reach the highest levels of performance, we must shift from distraction-driven behaviour to deliberate, sustained focus.

Faster, higher, and stronger come from slower, deeper, and wiser.

The science is clear, and the experience of championship-level systems is clear: multitasking hinders, focus liberates, and attention mastery accelerates!

Look around you—are you seeing ‘more and faster’ or ‘less and better’? See where you can elevate your attention mastery this week.

Go well,?

Richard

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