Focus Vs Hardworking

I have seen many people getting this wrong. They confuse hard work with focus. They see someone working 24–7 and think that person is so focused. Working that way becomes the definition of focus for them. If a person who is working 24–7, is super focused. For him, it's not hard work. He is so engaged that he doesn’t realize he is working so hard. This is where people get it wrong. You can not ask someone to work so hard. You can bring focus in the process and you will see people working hard.

You will know when you are focused and vice-versa. It's so simple to understand. When you are focused, you are clear about what you want to do. You might not have all milestones clear but the next one is super clear.

When you are focused on something, you are thinking about it most of the time. Almost all the time, back in your head, in some background thread. Its always running. That’s why out of nowhere you get ideas and solutions. You might have witnessed by yourself or someone might have told you that they were dreaming about the problem and got the solution in the dream itself. That's focus.

It becomes so easy to talk about things you are working on. You want to talk about it. Anything related to it excites you. Time becomes irrelevant when you are working on it. It doesn’t mean you end up wasting more time. In a broader picture, you become so much more productive. The quality of work is also very high.

Now how to bring focus in your work or for your organization is the different topic itself.

Focus and love for what you do go hand to hand. If you don’t love or believe what you are doing, focusing on it becomes very difficult. Its just hard work in that case.

Neither hard work nor focus guarantees success. Focus will make sure you reach your goals faster and better. You will be certain and content when you reach there.