3 Power Questions for Better Focus
/This view from the plane was amazing but it wasn’t enough to keep me distracted too long.
We were beginning our decent and I realized I typed over 10 pages since we left Tampa.
Opting out of the extra fee for internet access and dusting off my computer’s word processor was a boss move (I’m now thinking about writing in Google Docs less because of this).
It’s rare for me to have hours of uninterrupted time and I was all in.
I was so focused that the occasional pilot announcement drowned out by my headphones blaring lo-fi didn’t break my stride or hold me back. Oh no. I had to keep on flow-ing.
Pockets of time where you are completely uninterrupted are almost unheard of these days.
One study found that office workers almost never have a single hour during their workday where they are uninterrupted.
Yes, you read that correctly. They almost never have single hour of being uninterrupted. (When was the last time you had a devoted hour during your work day?)
To make matters worse, when we’re interrupted, it takes us on average 23 minutes to get back to the level of focus we were at before the interruption.
That’s a lot of lost time. No wonder we constantly feel like there’s not enough time. It takes us way longer to do things now.
That’s why when I knew I’d be traveling by myself on a plane I decided to take the time to explore some ideas on this very topic.
I got in what’s called a flow state, writing about flow. (Now, that’s meta.)
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi spent his career studying how flow states work. A flow state is when you are so completely absorbed in a task that time falls away. Artists and athletes alike know this state. But you don’t have to be a professional painter or pole-vaulter to know this feeling.
According to Csikszentmihalyi, flow involves these three components:
One thing at a time. Flow doesn’t happen when you “multi-task” (which, BTW, is a myth) or try to get more than one thing done. Instead, flow comes when you’re giving all your attention to a single task. Your awareness is hyper-focused on writing, or dancing, or gardening.
Something meaningful to you. You won’t get as easily absorbed into a task that’s obligatory or devoid of significance. Often it’s something related to your passions and deeper desires (so that’s why it’s important to be clear on what you want and desire in your life).
Something that’s slightly challenging. Things that are easy are boring and something too difficult will discourage you. Finding that sweet spot in between is where the magic happens. Think about how good it felt the last time you completed something challenging. What was the last thing that made you say, “WaHoo!”?
I’m curious, how can you bring these ideas into your day?
Ask yourself these Power Questions:
How can you practice, even for a short period of time, doing a single task today? What would you do and for how long?
Why is your work is meaningful to you? How can you remind yourself of that throughout your day?
Are you giving yourself challenging enough tasks or do you need to switch to something less challenging so it’s achievable? What do you need to change yo achieve this?
Most importantly, I want to know: Is there something that you’ve been wanting to focus on, a project you’d like to get off the ground, an activity that you love that you wish you did more?
Leave me a comment and tell me about it. I’ve got all kinds of ideas for how to find your flow, I just need to know a little more about what your challenges are.
Believe me, it’s totally possible to reclaim back your power of focus.
It starts with one thing at a time.
