The Art of Focusing
By: Ankesh Kothari
What Can You See in the Above Picture?
It’s the days of the epic Mahabharata in ancient India. All the kings send their sons to the ashram of Guru Drona for their education. Guru Drona teaches them everything from the Vedas to philosophy to the art of war.
One day, Guru Drona decides to see how attentive his students are. He wants to know how far they’ve come with their skills in archery. So he places a wooden bird on a high branch of a tree. And asks his students one by one to take aim to shoot the left eye of the bird. Guru Drona then asks each one what they see before they shoot.
One by one, the students come and claim that they can see everything clearly. The forest. The trees. The branches. The bird. They then shoot their arrows. Some come close to the mark. Others miss by wide margins. One or two even hit the bird. But no one is extremely accurate.
At last comes Arjuna. He takes aim and then Guru Drona asks him: what do you see? But like everyone else’s answer, Arjuna doesn’t say that he can see everything clearly. In fact he says: I only see the left eye of the bird.
When he shoots his arrow, it goes straight through the center of the left eye of the wooden bird. Bulls Birds eye!
Arjuna goes on to become the most accomplished archer of his time. And all because he learnt how to “focus” on his target.
Two Tricks to Focusing Better
There are two tricks to focusing:
1. Get rid of all your distractions.2. Add focus reminders.
Why Do People Put Blinders on Horses?
Blinders are put up in front of the horses’ eyes so that they can focus on what lies ahead of them. So that they don’t get scared or distracted by things happening in their periphery vision.
You need to put up blinders so that you can focus better too.
The most productive people I know regularly put up blinders when they sit down to work:
- They won’t check their email while working.
- They will shut off their cell phones.
- Many of them even hire secretaries and gatekeepers to help them keep unwanted things out so that they can focus on the important things.
Hernanda Cortez went one step ahead. After landing in Mexico with 600 people, he burned down all of his 11 ships. So that there is only one way for his army to move: ahead.
Because he left no other choice for his men but to march ahead and conquer, his men went on to defeat the mighty Aztec empire!
The first part of focusing is getting rid of distractions. The second part is to use focus reminders… tools that prevent distractions… and tools that help you get your focus back once you are distracted.
Let us look at 2 such tools, shall we?
Focus Reminder Tool # 1: Use Post-it Notes
Some time back, I realized that my eyes would strain because of long hours in front of the computer. While digging for a solution to the problem, I found out that the chief reason for my eye strain was I didn’t blink a lot while I stared at the computer screen all day long! (Experts say you should blink 10-12 times per minute!)
So I created a post-it and wrote 2 words on it.
And stuck that post-it note right on my computer. Every time my eyes wandered off a bit, I would see the note and blink.
You can place post-it notes around your work space too so that it keeps on reminding you of the important stuff.
Focus Reminder Tool # 2: Wrist Bands
Lifestyle Design pioneer Tim Ferriss wanted to inculcate a new habit: to stop frivolous complaining. He realized that if he could control his words, he could control and think better thoughts too. To keep himself focused on developing this habit, he went on a 21 day no complaining experiment.
What he did is he wore a purple wrist band. This wrist band constantly reminded him to not to complain. Every time he complained, he had to switch the arm band from one hand to another. The goal is to go for 21 days without switching the arm band!
“I made it 11 days on the first attempt, then I slipped. Back to zero. Then it was two or three days at a time for about a month. Once I cleared 21 days at around month 3, I no longer needed the bracelet.” – Tim Ferriss
Buy a bright coloured wrist band. And wear it. Let the arm band remind you of the one truly important task that you need to do. Until it becomes a habit.
Chanakya’s Epiphany (What to do when your goal or task is way to big for you?)
2300 years ago in India, young Chandragupta – with the help of the great strategist Chanakya, builds an army by borrowing soldiers from the Himalayan kingdoms. In return, he promises to share between them half of whatever territory he manages to conquer from the greedy Nanda Empire. (The Himalayan kingdoms agree to lend soldiers because they have no risk except giving up a few soldiers, but the returns could be a part of a dynasty!)
Chandragupta then ventures into a war with the Nanda Empire but fails to seize control. He is in a dead lock with the Nanda Empire. Both the sides proved themselves equal in a few skirmishes.
At this time, Chanakya – a Brahmin and Chandragupta’s guru, is roaming through wilderness. He comes upon a hut and watches a mother and child. The child keeps burning his hand while eating khichidi (an Indian rice dish). So the mother scolds the child to eat from the edges and not the center, as the center will always be hotter.
This is the precise moment when Chanakya has an epiphany. He sends a message to Chandragupta to withdraw his forces and not to fight any more wars with the Nanda Emperor directly. Instead, he should go on and challenge the harmless and ignored independent small kingdoms that weren’t directly a part of the Nanda Empire, but laid at its periphery.
Chandragupta heeds to Chanakya’s advice. And starts conquering the kingdoms at the edges of the old Empire. With every new conquest, Chandragupta’s might grows.
After a year of such small conquests at the edges, Chandragupta once again challenges the Nanda king. But this time, he is a little more powerful and has a few more soldiers. And this time he wins.
Chandragupta goes on to create the Maurya Empire that for the first time unites India and brings on its “Golden” age.
Action Summary:
- Your success depends on your ability to focus on the truly urgent tasks.
- Create an environment for yourself where there are no distractions.
- Use focus reminder tools like post-it notes and arm-bands to constantly remind you that you need to focus on the truly important tasks.
- If the task is gigantic and overwhelming, take a deep breathe and start at the periphery. Move to the center from the periphery. Divide the big task into smaller sub-tasks. And then focus on each smaller sub-task one at a time.
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Un-Abbreviated Definition of Focus
Master marketer David Frey shares this definition of Focus:
- Follow
- One
- Course
- Until
- Successful
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Another great post, Ankesh.
Focus has always been a problem for me. I’m always coming up with ideas before implementing the older ones I have. The end result is nothing gets accomplished and I spread myself too thin.
Keep up the great work!
Thanks Neal for the comment.
Shhh… don’t tell this to anyone – but focus has been a problem for me too. To be frank with you, I’m not always successful at being laser focused. And sometimes, my mind does wander to other projects and tasks.
But one tactic that has helped me is keep an “archive” notebook (or a folder if you use your computer for everything). Write down all the ideas that you get in that notebook. And then forget about these ideas. You can’t go back to them until and unless your current task is 90% over or you’ve successfully delegated your current task to someone else.
Well done article. Refreshing to learn through parables instead of direct instruction.
Thanks Mike for the comment.
Parables and stories are very powerful. Because they seep deep in your minds. You may forget the instructions but you’ll always remember a good story and its moral!
Thats why I do my best to use more stories. Thanks for noticing that and letting me know you appreciate it
Very insightful. I appreciate the bracelet idea…I might use a black rubber band myself. It is a gentle reminder to focus on thought control and clarity as well as reshaping the mind into a positive tool for mindfulness.
Thanks Chris for the comment.
Do let us know how your black rubber band experiment works. I for one would love to hear about it.
Ahhhh…how refreshing to be reminded of the Mahabharata and Arjuna. Watching the 6 hour video was an annual New Year’s celebration event shared with dear friends for several years.
Is that the fragrance of mangoes and jasmine in the air?
Thank you.
Thanks Nancy.
The only stories that remain of the very very old days are the ones with good strong morals. And so I love them!
Excellent stories. I felt myself pulled in and persuaded to increase my focus.
Thank you.
Kenrick Cleveland
Thank You Kenrick for your kind words!
Thanks Anke,
Another terrific post. I know you say you have trouble with distractions, but given the quality of your work, I wonder what you’ll be able to do when you’ve mastered focus.
In his book, Advertising Secrets of the Written Word, Joe Sugarman advises clearing your desk at the end of the day. I have a hard time forcing myself to do that, but after reading this, I’ll renew my efforts to make myself focus.
Rod
Hi Rod,
Thank You for reminding us about Joe Sugarman’s tricks to productivity. I love Joe’s books. His autobiography “Success Forces” is one of the best autobios I’ve read.
He talks about clearing your desk in Success Forces too. Thats one trick I follow too. But instead of having a daily schedule of clearing up, I have a weekly schedule.
Saturday is the day when I clear my desk, my inbox, my to-do list etc.
Hello Ankesh,
This post certainly has pumped me up to get more focused on the my ideas… and also suggests great ways to avoid distractions.
Thanks.
–
sur
Hi Sur,
Thanks for your kind words
Am glad that this post helped you.
I have a story to narrate.
How can I do so…
Regards
Please send me an email with your story idea. If its good, we’ll proceed further from there…
http://www.nontoxin.com/contact/
Hello Ankesh,
In the blog world, your site definitely stands out and helps people think better and let their creative juices flow. Admitedly, it is always a human endeavor to rise above the ordinary in quest for excellence and I rightly believe your site will cross major milestones in blogworld in the years to come.
It was wonderful going through the stories regarding the art of focussing. However, I wish to have a practical solution regarding the art of focussing if there is one. In the organization where I work, there is a lack of my role clarity. Everybody turns to me for help, be it the most simplest task to the most complex task. This prevents me from focussing and I am unable to deny help to everybody as I am unable to say no. I am also unable to take leave for a single day due to huge demands on my work. Plz. advice.
–Sujit Mukherjee
Thanks Sujit for asking on how you can personally focus and become better at what you do. Three tips.
1. The great Peter Drucker recommends that every employee in a company write a “managers letter” once a year. In this letter, all the employees should write:
i. What they believe are their objectives for the year.
ii. What they believe are their superior’s objectives and goals for the year.
This letter sets expectations. You can read these letters and then set the expectations of your employees right – if they are off base. But you can make it a lot better, by asking 3 more questions too:
iii. What do the employees need to do to achieve their goals?
iv. What obstacles do they face?
v. What help do they need?
With these answers, the management / executive team can know exactly how resourceful their team is. And if need be, hire more people.
2. Start writing a “procedure manual” for your job. If no one can replace you, you can’t be promoted. So make sure, you have everything ready that makes it easier for someone else to do your job. Ask for an assistant if need be.
3. Remember the motto: a time for everything and everything in its time. You need to setup boundaries. Set 2 hours every alternate day where you take questions from people. If someone comes to you in the middle of the day, ask them to come visit you during those 2 hours. Or ask them to send you an email – so you can answer them when you have free time – not when they have free time.
This was an eye opening article for me. The only part that I wasn’t in tune with was the FOCUS acronym. If one way doesn’t work, there are others ways of approaching problems/hurdles. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVED the page and especially the story!
Write. Write and you will focus because we cannot hold two thoughts at the same time. When you write you are Forcing your mind to focus on what you are writing.
That is why it is advisable to write out what problems/obstacles you are trying to overcome. Because it forces you to think about it correctly.
And, have you ever noticed how you might be trying to Think of something but cannot. Then you turn to someone and ask, “Hey, what’s…” and before you get the question out the answer has popped into your head.
You couldn’t think of it before because you hadn’t actually Asked for the answer.
Wonderful article, Ankesh — I’ve been enjoying all your stuff on Nontoxin, and this one particularly hit home, since focus has been an elusive goal for me for years. As others have pointed out, your use of stories to teach is a wonderful way of bringing the message to life and helping it stick.
Wanted to point out also (as Tim Ferris does in his article) that the originator of the complaint-free purple bracelets is Will Bowen of the Unity church in Kansas City (http://www.acomplaintfreeworld.org/); I’ve been wearing mine for about a year, now
Many thanks for your incisive writing.
Great post Ankesh. I learned a lot. I´ll begin to practice with focus reminder tools.
Thank you very much.
I use my mobile phone or PDA to set the focus reminders. Its automatic. You can use MS Outlook reminder tool too.
To be practical, for example, If you want to loose weight & you have to exercise everyday at 7pm, just add the reminder on the phone as in:
Goal 1: Loose Weight
Activity: Exercise @7pm
Goal 2: Increase traffic to our blog
Activity: Post at least once a day @ 5pm
Goal 3: Increase business network
Activity: Attend networking session every Friday @ 8pm
This site is the bomb thanks
insightful with no unnecessary info. i love ur site
wow, it’s really very excellent story, i like it very much. Thank you for sharing.