Maximum Productivity: Focus
Life November 14th, 2008
This article is part of a series called, "Maximum Productivity " in which I’ll explore the topic of focus.
See the rest of the series here:
Intro: Maximum Productivity: Series Introduction
Part 1: Maximum Productivity: Perspective
Part 2: Maximum Productivity: Attitude
Part 3: Maximum Productivity: Focus
Part 4: Maximum Productivity: Persistence
Part 5: Maximum Productivity: Adventure
Part 6: Maximum Productivity: Connections
Productive focus is narrowing your actions and time in on the areas that produce results. Using this to maximize your productivity has a number of benefits and is something that is especially hard to do in today’s society and workplaces and it is actually getting hard and harder as we use more technology.
Technology Distractions
Technology is really only useful if it does something for us to make our lives better or easier. While we are constantly taking advantage of that with technology in our lives, I cannot say that it comes without a cost. That cost is focus. Technology is connecting and enabling anyone to have a wealth of information available at their fingertips, anywhere and at anytime. That anytime is the dangerous part. Most people allow phone calls, email and internet to be an integral part of every day and they let it distract them with a moment’s notice for low value activities. We let popups, audible alerts, vibrating devices, flashing LEDs, and many other digital distractions consume our precious attention regardless of the priority of that digital tidbit. Many people find that they just don’t know how to work without these tools, let alone get maximum productivity without them. This is where technology needs to be eliminated in order for a person to learn and really experience the power of focus. The ability to stay disconnected and attentive on a single set of tasks is critical to maximize your productivity. If you can’t do this for a few hours at a time, you have more work to do to master the power of focus. I challenge you to go a whole day without your cell phone, email, internet or handheld device. Try working at one thing at a time and don’t let anyone or anything distract you from it.
This article I wrote should help give you more ideas about how you can focus while working on a computer. Maximize Your Productivity on Your Computer
Stop Wasting Time
If all those technology distractions are not enough, media can easily consume any additional time you might have. We all love our media, whether its books, TV, newspapers, movies or internet, and while they can provide a valuable time for relaxation and entertainment, they consume far more hours in our lives than useful. And unfortunately, there is a staggering amount of bad media and full of poor or negative messages bombarding us in these various media channels. Television is my least favorite and it is also the most time consuming to the general public. Most people spend hours every day watching television and then griping about their life situations, finances, relational problems and negative attitudes. It amazes me. If I was ever to teach a psychiatrist school, I would give them one technique to use with their patients and it would work to fix most people’s problems in life. That technique would be to eliminate television from your daily routine. Oddly enough, people can stay focused on the television for hours on end, yet will immediately complain about not having time to start a business, or build relationships, or work a little harder in school or a job. Getting rid of television is a great way to focus more time on productive things and to stop wasting it. I personally watch only about 1 hour per week and I’ve developed a love and value of all the time I have outside of television.
Newspapers and the internet can easily be as bad at wasting time. Set a completion time when you take on these activities and track your time carefully. Pay attention to what you are reading or surfing and look to keep asking yourself if it is useful. It’s so easy to get sidetracked by advertisements with these media we often find ourselves spending massive amounts of time reading things that we don’t even know how we got to it in the first place.
Do Productive Work First
For some people, eliminating the distractions and time wasters won’t be easy and even if you work at it, you may not be very successful at it for some time. To change that I recommend to always do your productive work first. Plan to spend just a few minutes a day when you first start work and again when you first get home or finish supper to do some productive tasks. Those few minutes can often turn into hours where you will get a lot of productive work done or they might just be a few minutes, either way, it trains you to do that first and to continually make progress and practice maximizing your productivity.
Build Your Mind
Training your mind to focus and stay productive is what it really takes to maximize this. To focus your mind, you need to do a lot of the similar things as I’ve outlined above about your physical activities. You need to break the patterns in your mind that distract you, that feed limiting beliefs, that clutter your thoughts and prevent your ability to stay attentive and focused. There are many ways to do this, but it requires that you develop new beliefs and patterns that encourage productive behavior. Take a look at this article on Beliefs: They’re Entirely Yours to Control .
Aside from working to eliminate specific things from your mind, you can also develop your mind by learning and practicing to be more positive, focused and productive. The best way to practice focus in the mind is to do it without distractions. No people, no music, no technology, nothing! Find a place of solitude (preferable in nature) and stay there focusing on a specific topic. Let your mind wander around that subject but pull your thoughts back to the same topic over and over each time it drifts. Focus on visualizing and detailing everything you can about that topic you are focused on. Imagine it and be creative in your mind. Imagine being productive, staying productive in the present and future and even what maximum productivity looks like. Focus those thoughts and images and repeat them. Practice until you can instantly bring that image into your mind of you being at your maximum potential. Lock those thoughts into your mind and remember how you felt and use those feelings or some action as an anchor point to return your mind to that state in the future. If you master your state of mind , you can learn to switch your mind into that state immediately and focus on it. This is a great skill to develop for building your mind to help you reach your maximum productivity.
What are the methods you use to focus? Do you agree or disagree with these ideas? I’d love to hear your comments and further the discussion on focusing for productivity. Please add your comments below!
Prev: Maximum Productivity: Attitude
Next: Maximum Productivity: Persistence
November 14th, 2008 at 5:37 AM
I finally decided to write a comment on your blog. I just wanted to say good job. I really enjoy reading your posts.
November 14th, 2008 at 8:35 PM
Technology distraction certainly resonate for me. I used to feel so focused prior to all the bells and whistles. Now, it takes effort to not respond to every little thing that pops up in front of my eyes or a wild idea that I get in my head. I start at the bottom of my email and work my way up, forcing myself to not bounce around, but to address each message one at a time. I finally turned off my syncing feature on my phone so that I no longer get email. And I’ve turned off all the notifications, visual or audible, on my computer. It still takes a tremendous amount of effort to maintain my focus. Great suggestions.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:02 PM
We may have reached a point where the general public has gotten used to our current level of computing technology, and is now in the process of gaining control over the technological environment they are in. It may be analogous to the invention of the phone, which may have been quite a distraction in its early days, but is now easily controlled by its users as the newness has worn off, and those that don’t optimize its usage are left behind. New programs or services that arise(which there are always plenty of) tend to distract us more than items that would have distracted us 5 years ago. There is an influx of programs that purport to help control the distractions we have to deal with, even though the time spent getting the organizing programs set up might not end up being recovered.
November 15th, 2008 at 12:10 AM
Hi Bryan. I’m am a bit over the top when it comes to avoiding some technologies and phones are a big one for me. I don’t have a cell phone and almost NEVER answer my phone. I let it go to voice mail and I call people back in batches. Same as email, process it once, once only and ALL at once. You are certainly right, it does take tremendous effort to do this and even more when you work with 40 people who all think you should have a phone and check your email every 5 minutes. I have to train them as much as myself.
Armen, I understand your point about public getting used to some things but I don’t think distracting technology is a good way for productivity no matter how used to it people get. If you turn your phone ringer off completely and set a few times to check voice mail I know you can get more done than always answering it. Same with email, it’s not something to learn to get used to, its something to learn to use in a productive way still. That might be what you meant, it just didn’t seem that way.
Any additional comments?
November 15th, 2008 at 3:21 AM
Mike,
I literally spend a whole saturday (today) thinking and writing about “focus” and it paid off well. Thank you for your post, again.
I have a different view on technology. Although technology can make you lose focus, it can also improve your focus. An easy example is when I thought about a topic to write on my blog. I could be anywhere I want but my mobile phone can connect to the internet and make me stay focused on a subject. Are you counting this situation as “focus” or “distraction”? Anyway, in the past, we have two choices, stay put, or just lose it.
Now, everything is in our hand or on our computer’s screen. I’m not saying that “everything” is a good thing, far from it. However, instead of limiting or terminating technological uses, I believe that we can leverage it.
I do not think that we need to be less technological dependent in order to be more productive. I think we can be more productive with more technology. However, we need high discipline, strong will, and a solid purpose.
It is tempting to click the address bar and browse somewhere irrelevant. But if we can control it, that’s another story.
Mobile phone? I don’t know, I never turn it off 🙂 Will I be more productive if I switch off those distractions? Maybe but I could never not answer my phone!
My topic on my blog is “Focusing On The Essentials”, I don’t think it’s good but I hope it can give you some different views.
November 15th, 2008 at 6:25 AM
I really like the idea of finding a place of solitude – to really clear our my head. I need to do this more often. In a way, I get this in when I bike, especially in the early morning hours – the bike trail is nearly deserted, and I’m out amongst nature – no phones, no music, no tv, no computer, etc. And it’s then that I really “hear” myself…
So, focus, another great topic in this productivity series Mike. While technology can be a great thing (I think it is) – we can also abuse it (just like other things). The key is to find a medium where we can be productive with the use of these tools – and that can be a fine line of where we go from productive to unproductive.
November 15th, 2008 at 8:51 AM
Thanks Viriya, awesome additional comments, thanks! I absolutely agree with you that you CAN be more productive with the use of technology but it requires great discipline. For most people it is a continual distraction. Having access to more of our lives and information anywhere can make us more productive yes, so that is a good use of technology. Don’t get me wrong, I am not against technology, I’m just very careful when its appropriate to use it and when its not. And Viriya, while its a common response, you’re response that you could never not answer your phone is definitely an example of a distraction. Why not try focusing some time without it?
And Lance, I definitely agree with you about the bike ride. I ride my bike to work most days (I have a short 10 minute ride only though) but that can even help. It’s not in solitude (I get that in the mountains) but it is better than driving. I can get some fresh air (well city air at least) and think for a short while. I often ride with my ipod to listen to music or audio books but I definitely notice the days where I choose to go without it and just ride with no audio and some time to think. It helps a lot.
Also, writing articles, I often find it is easier to get my headings and main topics NOT at the computer. I can scratch them down on paper and really think if they cover the whole topic well. Then I can come back to the computer, do a little research on each one and add more thoughts.
November 15th, 2008 at 7:01 PM
I also don’t have a cellphone. I consider it to be a bit of a digital dog leash. 😉
This post is what a lot of people need to read, including myself.
November 16th, 2008 at 2:58 AM
Technology makes human kind more productive – otherwise we would still be in the stone age.
But especially information technology is something very new to us and we have not at all been prepared to cope with unlimited contents and real time communication overflow. SInce we will not be able to turn back the clock, we need to learn how to deal with it – same as we learned to drive a car through the traffic.
I keep asking busy people on how they are managing their time. I publish the results on my Time Management Master bog, where you can find about 200 concrete time saving ideas on how to gain an extra hour every day. It also includes dedicated sections on how to manage email and phone calls more effectively.
http://memytime.wordpress.com/
Since every person is different, the tips also vary a lot. If you find something that works for you please let me know.
Thanks
Nicolas
November 16th, 2008 at 8:06 AM
Thanks Nathalie, at least I know I’m not alone in my quest to avoid the cell phone. 🙂 I assume you get a huge amount of hassle from others as well because you don’t have a distraction device?
Nicolas, thanks for commenting and putting your site out there, you have a great site with excellent tips! I have some browsing to do I see.
November 16th, 2008 at 10:18 PM
Hi Mike – I’ve landed here via your guest post on The Positivity Blog.
Ultimately though it comes down to whether one rules techology and media or one is ruled by technology and media.
I find it slightly ironical that you place books in the time wasting media category when Book Reviews is your site’s leading archive category. I’m also going to defend television watching. Television watching can be beneficial when it it is focused on shows that contribute useful information, not the “if it bleeds, it’s leads mentatility” ground out in the 24 hour news cycle. Two of my interests are cooking and psychology. My cooking techniques were enhanced by watching episodes of “Licence to grill” and “The love lab” introduced me to the work and research of Dr. John Gottman. I’ll conclude my thoughts on television by saying that the vast majority of programming is of little benefit (MTV is a leading example of totally worthless programming). The key to my TV viewing being productive is the PVR. I watch programs when it suits my schedule and I minimise my exposure to advertising.
I’d like to pose the following questions to you Mike – which are prompted by my many years of studying productivity and implementing what has worked best for me – does every waking moment and activity have to be productive? Is there a place for pure goofing off (in moderation of course)?
Cheers
November 16th, 2008 at 10:34 PM
Mike, I think your earlier comment is right, as distracting items that are controlled are still distracting. One that has full control of their use of a gadget they have purchased still has to think about their non-use of the gadget at any time that it comes into their mind, and that is mental activity that could have been used for a meaningful purpose. Maybe less has changed than one might assume after all.
November 16th, 2008 at 11:08 PM
Ben, you are absolutely right about the fact that there are ways to use technology productivity. My points here are often missed, it’s the distracting technology (I called it bad media) which I do not like. Those distractions are the ones that have little value or that keep you from doing things of more value! Are there great videos to watch, books to read and television shows to watch, of course. There are a lot more bad ones though and most people spend more time on that. The newspaper is often in this category.
As for your questions Ben, no every waking moment doesn’t have to be productive. However, if you look at productivity like I have with this whole series you will see that it does make sense to strive for that. The things that are important to you and have a purpose include some goofing off. That builds relationships and add value and fun to your life. Worth doing sometimes? Of course! So, you might put that into your category of productivity. I can’t draw the line of value for you so it is obviously up to you. I can say that I will continue to strive to eliminate all things that have NO value to me and completely waste my time.
Armen. You are right. As long as the use of that device pays off more than it is a distraction, then perhaps its worthwhile. A phone on vibrate or unanswered during a conversation is still a distraction. If not to the owner, to the ones around them as even they wonder if you will answer it or not. If you simply turn it off or don’t use it except when you block time for it, its far more productive.
November 16th, 2008 at 11:22 PM
Ben, I’ve got a couple of comments on your point about how I do spend time reading lots of books. You are right. However, I don’t spend much time reading bad or useless books. I don’t review crappy books here, because I don’t read crappy books. I take a few minutes to research what books and authors are likely to have the most value reading. This saves countless hours reading a book only to find out that you didn’t get any value from it. That is wasted time from bad media.
Why some people simply pick up a random book in a book store and read it to find out they didn’t enjoy it is completely beyond me. That is unproductive. Similarly, many people will continue to read a bad book just to finish it even if they are not enjoying it part way through. Why? Just stop reading it!
I think I have only read one or two books ever that I wasn’t recommended or researched first. It was those books I was more disappointing in so I’ve learned not to do that. When I get a new book to read, I already know that it is highly valued by many others with similar interests and thinking as mine so it isn’t a risk if its productive time or not. I know it is!
November 17th, 2008 at 4:02 AM
Hi Mike,
I’ve read your comments, and I understood where you were coming from when I first read this post. I’ll admit that genrealisations such as television is a time waster irk me a bit – that’s what prompted me to comment. Like everything in life, media consumption needs to be in moderation, purposeful and “viewed” with a critical eye.
When I was single I was a voracious reader and a heavy user of the library branches at the university I work at as an audio-visual technician. Funnily enough I still grab books at random and have some read some really worthwhile books that I would never come across any other way. I’ve also picked several books that were of no benefit and returned them fairly quickly. Trust me, I’m all for people reading challenging books outside of their comfort zone. I don’t read as much because I’m a husband and a father. After all these years it still amazes me that some students are really surprised when they see that I read widely outside of my profession.
There’s nothing wrong with striving for excellence. I respect that you’re passionate and enthusiastic about learning and productivity, but I don’t view everything in life through the prism of productivity. When I run around my back yard chasing my sons while making monster noises, I don’t view that as valuable relationship building with my children. To me I see it as goofing off and having fun because I’m a dad and my boys get a good laugh from it. In the past I’ve tried to be ultra-productive in every aspect of my life and for me that was nearly a one-ticket to being burned out before I hit 30. Just over a decade on I’m better at chilling out when needed.
For me the only reason I have a mobile phone is to keep in touch with my wife if I’m out and about or she is out and about.
As far as focus goes, I know when I have to be a mono-tasker and when I can be a parallel tasker. I also know when background music helps me focus.
Cheers
P.S I’ll be checking the other posts in this series over the next couple of days
November 17th, 2008 at 11:58 AM
Thanks Ben, you’ve explained your thoughts well. I can understand your points and I can honestly say I do agree with them even if I push the productivity angle. I also know that to teach something it is helpful to push it farther than normal so it sinks in. No one ever takes what they learn to the fullest or at a literal level so the more black and white you can be, the easier it is to remember and learn. Of course, it ends up getting applied at a level that fits each person.
Anyway, I appreciate the discussion and look forward to your thoughts on the rest of the series as well!
November 17th, 2008 at 8:24 PM
Great post Mike. I think one of the biggest hurdles for people to overcome is recognizing that there is a problem. They need to be convinced that there is actually a benefit to focusing. Most are content, and quite pleased with themselves as they bounce from one thing to another. We are addicted to reactionary behavior. It’s so easy to do, isn’t it? Unfortunately, it’s a tremendous hindrance to productivity. Hopefully your words will help some shake the habit.