Focusing vs. Deciding
We often carry a false belief that focusing is difficult because we’re faced with so many distractions. While this can be true, the challenge isn’t our ability to focus, but rather our ability to decide that there is one thing that we’re committing to focusing on. For example, have you ever had a presentation that you knew you had to deliver 3 weeks in advance? Maybe you knew that the preparation for this presentation would take you 4 hours. In the weeks leading up to the presentation you found it difficult to focus on the prep, but magically, when it was only two days before the presentation, your ability to focus came much more easily. This increased capacity for focus has nothing to do with focus, but rather your decision that focus was essential. There was nothing preventing you from deciding to focus two weeks earlier, but you chose to create a reality where it wasn’t important to focus, yet you had the same capacity to focus all along.
Exercise
Take fifteen minutes to write in your journal all the things you have to do in the next 30 days. Prioritize that list by marking a #1 by the task that’s most important, #2 by the task that second most important and so on until you’ve numbered the entire list. Once you’ve prioritized your tasks, write the date they must be completed by next to the task. See if you can make time to complete the top 2 or 3 tasks this week even if they don’t need to be completed for another couple weeks. Approach these tasks with a sense of urgency as if they needed to be completed the next day. You may be surprised at your ability to focus at will. With practice, you’ll realize that you have access to deep focus at any point you decide that focus is important. Once you’re aware of this power to focus on demand, you’ll start realizing that the power of deciding to focus is often more important than your ability to focus in the first place.
