The two types of ‘focus’ holding companies and individuals back.

The more business Founders I work with and the more I observe the constant frenetic modes of modern communication the more I realise that we have a major problem with focus and doing fewer things.?

Our inability to focus on the task in front of us (not be distracted or mental focus), and our inability to choose to do one or fewer tasks when we set objectives (deciding to do less or action focus) are two fundamental reasons why many individuals and businesses struggle to achieve their full potential.?

DECIDING TO FOCUS ON LESS

Our inability to focus on fewer things each week, month and quarter is the most common challenge I uncover when working with business Founders. The desire to do it all is palpable, but the realisation that unrealistic planning goals are hampering their progress is often a light bulb moment.?

I spent many hours in company planning meetings, using the well known priority system of P0, P1, P2, and P3 (0 being the most urgent, P3 do last, if at all) where the meeting concluded with 2 x P0, 4 x P1, and a plethora of P2s. This was not a successful exercise in focus. It was an over-optimistic view of what we could achieve and often left many people (the people who had to deliver the work) feeling stressed (and rightly so).?

“Multitasking is a myth. In reality, it’s rapidly switching from one task to another, and then back again. And every time you make that switch, you pay a ‘tax’ on both your time and your energy. For that reason, it’s almost always more efficient to monotask.”

DR. SAHAR YOUSEF, COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENTIST, UC BERKELEY

Having too many objectives means we are expecting ourselves and others to multi-task and this is not the most efficient way to work. Over time the objectives just start to pile up as some don’t get completed, they roll into next month or next quarter and this also creates a negative feeling that you haven't’ achieved what you set out to do, but in reality you were never going to. Wouldn’t it feel better for everyone if you completed your objectives and then added in new ones if you had time. This is a nice thought but in reality this requires a lot of discipline. Have you got that discipline? That is what is needed.?

My advice is always to ask “What are you taking off the list?” Without a shadow of a doubt the best way to approach your objectives is always to remove 25% of what you think you can do. Then, you can increase your focus on fewer things.

CONSTANT DISTRACTION?

Our desire to over plan, to add too much to the list, and our inability to focus is exacerbated by our environment. Our minds and bodies are busy. Technology means we are constantly connected to another world via our smartphones. Technology that is supposed to make us more efficient is doing the opposite and this impacts our mental clarity and focus.

On average, people check their phones 58 times per day. And almost 52% of phone checks (30 per day) occur during work hours. Picking your phone up can become a habit as data shows that half of all screen time sessions begin within 3 minutes of the last.

Research tells us that each time we are distracted, it might take around 23 minutes to regain focus on what we were previously working on . And what is happening is that people then work faster to compensate and end up experiencing more stress as a result.

In addition, our modern lifestyles, with all of its comforts, hours on end sitting at a desk and not moving, and over consumption of ultra processed foods is causing havoc with our mental clarity.?

I don’t think we recognise the connection or negative impact that being sedentary or eating ultra processed food does to our ability to focus. The Times reported that a recent study data from the National Survey of Health and Development that tracked over 3,000 UK adults for 75 years clearly showed the dramatic impact diet has on our cognitive ability..

The participants completed regular cognitive tests that measured their brain function and memory…Of the group with the worst performance on memory tests, 59 per cent had low-quality diets, whereas 7 per cent had high-quality diets. Of the group with the best memories, 36 per cent had a high-quality diet, whereas only 8 per cent had a low-quality diet.

Exercise and diet are two of the most important drivers of health and cognitive function so they have to be taken seriously when it comes to our toolkit to increase our focus. We know that being active boosts endorphins, it helps us focus, it improves our mood and helps us sleep. But, many of us need to find ways to incorporate much more movement into our daily lives if we want to improve our focus.

So where do we go from here?

It is clear there are many different factors that impact our focus so whether you are a business leader looking to improve company performance, or an individual looking to improve your own performance, you need to adapt and find ways to improve focus. Here are some reminders that might help:

• Set fewer objectives
• Review your objectives then remove 25%
• Do one thing at a time - recognise that multitasking negatively impacts your focus and ability to complete tasks
• Recognise that although technology is wonderful, we are constantly being distracted by it and we need to try and find ways to reduce those distractions
• Boost your cognitive function by exercising and eating quality nutrition?
• Doing less often means we will accomplish more and do a better job
• To help with mental clarity try to find time to disconnect during the working day - go for a walk, a run, read a book, do 5 minutes of Breathwork

If you do less in the short term you will likely do more in the long run.

Good luck.