Focus Tip #1

I’m tired of hearing that old cliche “There’s not enough hours in a day!”

News Flash:  There ARE enough hours in the day if you focus! I will be posting 5 tips, distinct actions, that you can implement to improve your focus. And just to be crafty, I am making “FOCUS” an acronym to help you remember.

The “F” in focus stands for

Forget multitasking

Multitasking is not an effective way to focus your energies.  It actually will slow you down.  Many people brag about multitasking (namely moms who have a million things to do).  But multitasking just gives you a false sense of productivity.  ” Those who multitask are actually less efficient than those who focus on one project at a time”, according to a study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.

Here’s my analogy of multitasking.  Stand at a light switch on your wall.  Now turn it on….

Turn it off

Turn it on

Turn it off

Turn it on…

Not only is that annoying but it will eventually make your finger tired too.  In this analogy, your brain is the light switch and your tasks (or areas of focus) are the light and the darkness. Your brain does not really do to things at the same time, it is literally switching back and forth between the tasks. You are losing precious time in the switching back and forth.

Warning – short term memory loss ahead!  How many time have you been frustrated about forgetting your train of thought or losing what you were about to say?  Multitasking can contribute to short term memory loss.

So in order to increase your focus do things one at a time to completion.  Don’t think about the next task until you have finished the first one, at least to some point of completion.