๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐?
I donโt know about you, but my year has started off very differently to how it ended. December was frenetic and frenzied. January definitely has more ease. While this is a good thing, it has thrown my rhythm and I havenโt been feeling as focused as Iโd like to be.
Because one of our signature programmes is helping business professionals to have better concentration and focus, I know what I need to do. Iโm going to do a series of emails (over the coming weeks) with guidelines to help us focus and concentrate. The first is toโฆ Overcome Distractions.
Before giving you some Key Steps, I must just say that being easily distracted isnโt all bad. In fact, in the right circumstances, it can help you survive. Being hyper aware kept our ancestors from becoming a predatorโs dinner. But they didnโt have Facebook, calls, emails, text messages, WhatsApp or the 5,000 ads we see every day all vying for our attention. We need to be really mindful of what gets our attention.
What Key Steps can we take to โbe the difference that makes the differenceโ?
- Assess whether it is lack of focus or change in focus. At the end of last year, I was bumper to bumper with back-to-back facilitation and coaching. Coming into the New Year, Iโve been attending to all my annual health check-ups, our new website design, getting Mila into her own room, looking for schools for her next year, updating training material and so on. Because I am not totally absorbed by client facing work, I am not unfocused or distracted. But my inner gremlin has been trying to tell me otherwise and Iโve had to keep interrupting and replacing the dialogue. If I donโt, I feel lousy and then I do end up distracted and trying to do too many things at once, which brings me toโฆ
- Stop multitasking. Multitasking destroys concentration and is a myth. You donโt actually do several things at once; your brain quickly toggles back and forth between tasks. You can do unconscious tasks such as walk and talk at the same time, but once it gets more complicated, you sacrifice the efficiency of one task for another. Because Iโve got more โspaceโ right now, I have found myself wanting to do too many things with it. Iโve had to really slow my mind down and prioritise that to do list.
Hereโs another motivating fact: Lack of mindfulness in the present has been found to promote brain aging by shortening protective end caps on your chromosomes called telomeres. This knowledge is enough to make me more mindful, I want my brain as young as possible. It does not help to look and feel young, if I canโt think young! - Get rid of clutter. Brain MRIs show conclusively that clutter affects your ability to concentrate and process information. Having an organised environment can make you more focused and productive. Youโll remember information better. It can even improve your mood. Iโm not suggesting a spick and span workspaceโฆ Iโm a bit of a messy worker ๐. But I do know that when my mind and certain aspects of environment are โout of the ordinaryโ disorganised, I am unfocused and unproductive.
- Create your perfect sound environment. Some people need complete silence while others concentrate better in the buzz of their favourite coffee shop. Classical music, especially Mozart and Baroque music, is often cited as the top brain-boosting music. Many music streaming services have classical and environmental music, along with white, pink or brown noise that you can listen to for free. If you concentrate best in total silence, consider getting a pair of noise cancelling headphones.
What Key Steps will you take to overcome distractions and stay focused?
You can also reach out to Collette (collette@keysteps.co.za) or me to find out how we can support you and your team to perform optimally, behave in emotionally intelligent ways and develop leadership skills suited for our dynamic and fast-paced future. Take a look here to see what we do.
We all need support, tools and systems that enable us toโฆ
โbe the difference that makes the difference.โ
Namaste
Sharon
