The Absolute Power of Focus

My Focus Growing Up
The power of one.

My dad had a plan for me before I was born. He was going to turn me into the next great left-handed pitcher. At a very young age when I began reaching for stuff, my dad would purposefully hold down my right hand and force me to grab with my left hand. The focusing had begun! I joined the ranks of the other 10% of the world at that point.

At a certain point in my childhood, my dad gave me a ball and glove. He was completely devoted to working with me and had shown me everything he knew about pitching a baseball. We practiced day after day, even in the off season.

It turned out that I was the most feared and best pitcher in my town. I look back and I thank my dad for the focus that he had. He didn’t have me running around to every single sport that popped up. I know that some of you may be thinking it was a cruel thing that my dad did, but I can say without a doubt that I was completely happy and didn’t want it any other way as a child.

Magnify Your Focus
How focus can magnify what you are doing.

Lets take a look at what I’m talking about with some simple math.

Energy + Focus = Magnification
Energy - Focus = Dissipation

My dad focused his energy on me and one sport which resulted in a magnification of my talent.

I chose magnification because it goes along with my illustration. You can focus the energy of the sun and magnify the intensity of the energy. I know that some of you might say magnification was the wrong word to use because it means to make something appear bigger than it really is.

Now, in the second equation, we take away focus. This leaves you with dissipation. I like this word a lot. Here are a couple of definitions:

1. a process in which energy is used or lost without accomplishing useful work, as friction causing loss of mechanical energy.
2. mental distraction; amusement; diversion.

The first one defines exactly the point I am trying to make. When you use energy in a way that you shouldn’t, the potential useful work accomplishment goes away.

Dissect the Distractions
So much on my mind. So little getting done.

Think about the times when you have a million things on your mind. Doesn’t it feel like you are wasting time and energy and getting absolutely nothing done? Wouldn’t it be nice to dissect the distractions in your life so you can focus on the main task at hand? Think of a distraction as a task. More than likely, this distraction in your mind is something that needs to be done. It could be as easy as responding to an email or as complex as beginning a project.

Start by making a list of everything on your mind. Think of any distracting thought that takes your focus away.

Distraction Pyramid
Urgency + Time = Distraction Factor.

Now, categorize your distractions by giving them an importance factor. Make a column next to my list of distractions for importance. Give your distraction a an urgency factor from 1 to 5. 1 will constitute something critically important and conversely, a 5 will signify something of least importance. Now, make a new column that represents a time factor. We will categorize these distractions similarly to the urgency factor. Think of a 1 as a 10 minute block of time. If you can remove your distraction in 10 minutes or less, write down a 1 for your time factor.

Now, add up the numbers in a forth column next to the other three. Congratulations! You have now built yourself a distraction pyramid. You are probably wondering what good this does you.

It’s quite simple.

Begin by eliminating the distractions with the lowest sum. This allows you to kill distractions that you perceive as urgent in a quick way.

Chances are, the more urgent the distraction in your mind, the more often you think about it.

Here’s a look at part of my distraction pyramid.

I realize that some tasks/distractions have to be done or can’t be done at a certain time. That’s ok. By making this distraction pyramid, you get the thoughts out of your mind and on paper.

You can now see how quickly you can eliminate simple distractions that can zap your energy and cut into your focus.

Baby Steps vs. Giant Leaps
Stagnating or Advancing?

I’ve recently been thinking a great deal about focus. I’m an innovator. I’m constantly thinking of new ideas. I start many projects and never finish them. I start many books and never finish them.

Distractions are the bane of my existence.

I waste a ton of energy on almost. I almost finish projects. I almost finish books. There isn’t much power in an unfinished project.

Almost does not pay the bills.

Are you taking baby steps with what you want to achieve or are you taking giant leaps? When you can harness the power of focusing on your task, you can get a great deal done and make much more progress.

Focus = Quality
Lack of focus = mediocrity

Wouldn’t you agree that the more attention to detail you give and the more focus you can provide on a project or whatever it is you are doing will yield a higher quality end result? When you completely focus on one thing, you can accomplish so much more. I’m not trying to tell you to let all other areas of your life fall by the wayside. I want you to realize that focusing your attention and efforts one project, one task or one goal at a time will increase the quality of whatever it is you are doing.

It Starts With a Plan
WHAT will you focus your energy on?

Determine what exactly you want to focus your energy on. In my case, I have started many website projects and have not finished any of them. My plan is to focus all of my time and energy on THIS website. I want to establish my personal blog and personal brand. With so many other projects in the works, it’s nearly impossible to establish anything!

Once you determine what you will focus on and you have dissected your distractions to a point that you have a clear head, you need to set attainable goals that will help you measure your success while focusing. I want to increase visits to my website to 1000 per day by June of 2009. This is a clearly defined goal that I see as easily attainable if I am focusing on doing it.

Another part of my plan will include research. I will allot time in my schedule to extensively research anything that will positively affect my plan of focus. In my case, I plan to research search engine optimization, blog optimization and article marketing.

Now, GO FOCUS!

I hope I’ve offered you encouragement and incite on how to get focused in your life.

There truly is absolute power in focus!