Stable emotional status needed to have sharp focus

        I regularly have to drag myself out of being in a state of distraction, pull myself back to what the primary task at that particular moment is. I can tell you, it is a struggle that I find too real and I cannot imagine that I am the only one out there struggling with that feeling.

The thing is though our ability to deliver hinges significantly on our ability to filter out the distractions and concentrate on what one needs to get done, in other words the ability to focus.

Some reports say that in the year 2000, the average concentration span meaning focusing on one task without being distracted was 12 seconds. In 2003 that had dropped down to 8 seconds, which is about the same as a gold fish they say. I do not know pray, how and why we would need to know how long the attention span of a gold fish is, much less even knowing a gold fish in our context, however, the point I think that these type of information makes is that we have got so many things happening in our spaces, so fast that it is increasingly becoming very difficult to focus on the task at hand from start to finish, within reason as understandably some tasks take years. Even in the absence of well-researched hard data evidencing this, I would argue that certainly it an area of struggle. I sometimes have to turn off my data whenever I have to do some serious work for 2-3 hours at a time so that I can have no interruptions. The interruptions will come in the form of Twitter, Facebook and the notorious WhatsApp. We seem to have somehow all developed a huge sense of needing to consume so much information at a time that we now even have phobias linked to this subject matter. Recently I was visiting a good friend of mine and in conversation, he alluded to having serious FOMO! So, being puzzled and wondering if that was a new term in the medical world, I asked him what FOMO was and he responded simply stating “Fear of Missing Out”. Of course we laughed loudly about it but it got me thinking that it is actually a serious phenomenon, we are terrified of being the last to know, or not knowing at all.

Now the inverse is what we need to focus on for now and I know, I am running the risk of you my dear reader not getting to the bottom of my article; but, I am optimistic and will soldier on in the hope that you will be interested in tips to help you focus some; so without further ado;

1. Keeping your energy levels up – having masses of energy helps you feel enthusiastic and upbeat about the task at hand. You can ensure that your energy levels are up by ensuring that you are conscious of what you feed your body, for any machine to run smoothly, it requires attention to the parts that are put in right? You must pay attention to fitness too.

2. Take control – one has to aim to be purposeful about being in control of the noise around them. Some switch off their phones, TVs, lock themselves in quiet areas, others will refuse to commit time to events that will not add value to your main goals and objectives.

3. Have some kind of agreed and signed off routines. This means locking down time that is dedicated to working on your goals without interruptions, a certain number of hours in a week. This should be well known to others, but also ensure that you enforce the routine so that it is respected. If you choose to have 2 hours every Saturday morning then ensure it is uninterrupted by putting up signs on your door “do not disturb” etc

4. Have great awareness of your emotions. What or whom pushes what buttons and how you respond. This will help you make decisions about whom you agree to meet on the days you have earmarked as your focus time or indeed activities that you plan to engage in. To have sharp focus, your emotional status needs to be stable.