"If you chase two rabbits, both will escape"
"The keys in focusing are priorities and concentration"
- John Maxwell, 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader
At this dispensation and time, many find difficulty to keep their attention from wandering from one activity to another because of the presence of several distractions present in this fast-paced society. Medicine and psychology have also identified behavioral problems among children that if not handled properly may result to failure based in the society's standard of “success”. To cite an example, the ADD or Attention Deficit Disorder among children has been one problem of parents who have children who seems to be overactive. It could be a hormonal imbalance or because children nowadays encounters many distractions like computer games, televisions, etc.
But this does not stop with children. Even the adults, specifically the “Y” generation, has manifested tendencies of losing focus and attention. Before, our parents used to stay in one secured job and can be expected that they will stay with the same company until retirement. But now, many of the yuppies skip from one job to another, trying to find the “right fit” as they would coin it. Staying long and finding the perfect job is not always easy or a bed of roses. Every relationship, commitment, and profession requires “planting before reaping”. It needs time and that means staying for a longer period to totally have that feeling of comfort and ease. To achieve it, the next step requires “focus”.
According to Maxwell in his book “The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader”, focus requires two keys - priorities and concentration. To quote Maxwell, he said “A leader who knows his priorities but lacks concentration knows what to do but never gets it done. If he has concentration but no priorities, he has excellence without progress. But when he harnesses both, he has the potential to achieve great things.”
Thus, one should know first his priorities - the important thing that should be accomplished and be done. We should know our priorities. Should there be other needs that may arise, we should not lose track of our commitment and duties. We should learn how to stretch our capabilities and be able to accommodate the additional requirement. By doing so, we will be able to exercise our flexibility, resourcefulness and mind without losing our focus. Concentrate on our objectives and look at its fruit and not the process. If you will think of the process, you will get tired just thinking of the effort you need to exert and the long time it will take before it will be done. But if you focus on the output or end-result, everything that you will do is related and aligned to the output or end-result. Then when you have finished one step and another, you will be surprised that you have accomplished your goal.
Many of the professionals today have assumed so many responsibilities in the society. Many are multi-tasked. It is not really an issue but usually, the person assuming so many varied responsibilities tend to lose specialization. They have divided attention and spread themselves thin. When asked where they are good at and what they have accomplished, they cannot pin-point what they really finished and maybe would answer that they contributed little to each activity.
So what can be done to improve your focus? Here are three (3) points you can do:
Focus 70% on Strengths
Accept responsibilities where you are good at. You will accomplish more if you do things that is easy for you to do. Develop and practice your gift to reach your potential.Focus 25% on New Things
Change is inevitable. If you want to do better, be able to manage change and keep on improving. To keep on growing, you should keep on learning. Focus 5% on Areas of Weakness
In service, you cannot avoid doing things that you are not good at. But this can be managed by learning how to delegate. Make sure that when you delegate, you also know how to do it. You can find help from those who are good at doing tasks where you are not really an expert. Share responsibilities. That way, you get to learn from them and they are given opportunity to practice their skills.
