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Focus, Focus, Focus

Hi everyone.

How focused would you say you are right now?

I have to be honest and say "Not very". I've been blaming the recent UK heatwave, the menopause, putting my house up for sale, the distractions of working from home, Netflix and anxiety about everything from the war in Ukraine to the rising price of peanut butter.

Of course, when I look back at the items on my list, I do realise that they sound rather like excuses. And what exactly does being focused mean anyway?

My dictionary has several definitions for the word "focus" and the one that is the most relevant here is "a point upon which attention, activity etc is concentrated". OK, so it's really about concentration then? Now that's more like it. I feel as if I know where I am when it comes to concentration. 

Back to my dictionary again. It defines concentration as "intense mental application". So far, so good, but how do you get into that zen like state in the first place? And more importantly, how do you get back into it if it’s been rudely interrupted by an unscheduled Amazon delivery or the dishwasher suddenly deciding to flood the kitchen floor?

Well, I could go on at length with all the usual tips such as having a designated time and space for what you want to concentrate on, switching off email or voicemail during that time, practising mindfulness or other meditative practices, being more assertive, making a list of priorities and focusing on just one item at a time but you probably know most of these already.

Instead I'm going to leave you with just three things that I've decided to try and put into practice every day from now on. Here they are. I'll let you know how I get on.



 

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