Focus is the key to productivity.
Most of what we say and do is not essential. If you can eliminate it, you will have more time snd more tranquility. Ask yourself at every moment," Is this necessary?" - Marcus Aurelius
In this article, you will learn why focus is important in both your personal and professional life. You will also learn tips and strategies for keeping your focus so you can be more productive.
Why is focus important?
When you focus on a single task, avoiding distractions, your brain becomes focused on that task alone. This lets you complete that task much quicker than if you were trying to complete two or three tasks at once.
For instance, let's say you have to write a report, do your meal planning for the week, and research information for an upcoming speech. The best thing to do is to set aside all but one task.
So, for this example, you want to give all your attention to writing your report. That means turning off the TV, cell phone, social media notifications, closing your door, and putting all your attention on writing this report.
When you focus on the task at hand without distractions, your work will be of higher quality because you will only be thinking about what you are working on at present. Also, your creativity will kick in, allowing you to come up with ideas for the task you are working on.
Focus also allows your subconscious to do the work. Remember when you first learned how to ride a bike or drive a car. At first, it was difficult. But as you focused on what you were doing, your subconscious took over and helped you learn. The same is true in your everyday tasks. Once you begin focusing solely on one task, your subconscious helps you do it quicker and easier.
Why is multitasking bad?
If you are like many people, you spend your days multitasking i.e doing many things at the same time. You are probably so used to multitasking, you don't realize when you are doing it. You also believe it helps you save time.
Multitasking is bad for so many reasons.
Multitaskers lose productivity. Switching between tasks is counterproductive. You lose time and concentration every time you switch to a different task.
Multitaskers are less likely to finish one quality project. They may finish all their tasks for the day but they will most likely be sub-par than if they had focused on one to completion before starting another one.
Multitasking can affect your relationships. If you constantly check your phone and send text messages while interacting and talking to other people, it can put people off.
Multitasking can cause you stress. If you are writing a report, trying to remember the emails you have to reply to, and cooking dinner at the same time, you may lose focus on the task you are doing.
Instead of multitasking, prioritize your tasks and break them up into chunks.