Why Focus?
There’s been a lot of attention on our (lack of) focus over the past years.
Best-selling books, such as Deep Work by Cal Newport, have made it very clear that focus is a long-lost art.
Too many notifications.
Too many blog posts like this.
Too much everything.
Scientists tend to agree and have concluded that in the modern work-life (you know, the office), we lose our focus every three minutes.
And that we lose over 2 hours of effective working time per day as a result.
And I’ll admit, it’s annoying. For this reason, I’ve been working on my own focus for quite a while now. But not for productivity’s sake.
I find the more I do, the more appears on my plate. It’s a game of whack-a-mole.
What’s the point of trying to clear the plate, then?
No.
For me, the following three reasons are far more suitable reasons for learning to focus better.
- Save bandwidth for reflection and creative work
- Explore the world
- Sanity
Save bandwidth for reflection and creative work
A day full of meetings, task-switching and, in the worst case, stuff that you have to finish after office hours is a miserable day.
It just is. You can take a few of them, every now and then. Even feel pride for doing so.
But in the end, they’ll wear you out.
By learning to focus, you will get more done in a shorter time (OK, I just had to say this, sorry). The perils of multitasking are well known and broad.
But if you get your share of the work done earlier, you can do a lot of meta-work that can be extremely beneficial. You can reflect on your past work and plan for tomorrow.
You can spare some time to be creative.
Studies have shown how reflecting on what you do helps you learn. And there’s no better way to cultivate your focus and overall life enjoyment than for example taking a walk during the day and just thinking about…stuff.
Explore the world
It’s impossible to be bored in 2022.
No, I’m not talking about TikTok.
I’m talking about all the interesting stuff out there to learn.
To explore new fields that might have something to do with yours.
During the time you save by learning to focus, how about you pick a book that relates to your field?
Participate in meaningful conversations online?
Learn a new skill that supplements the ones you have?
Build a side business that supports your skills needed in the 9–5?
Just explore!
Sanity
When you end your day without a long list of tasks that needed doing yesterday, you’ll just be a happier human being.
Also, when’s the last time you felt stressed when you were truly focused?
Never!
So by learning to focus better, you’re simply guarding your sanity.
Isn’t that always the right thing to do?
Find your whys
I can’t tell you why you need to focus.
But whatever it is, find it.
Find out why you need to learn to focus better.
It’s ok if it’s “for the hustle” and cramming more, more and more into your day — I don’t mind. Nobody should, it’s your bloody business!
But find a few good reasons.
Then start developing your abilities to focus.
It’s worth it.
— —
Simo Hosio
