To focus your energy on a single goal is to unleash the depths of your potential.
We know this and seek to focus more often, because we’ve experienced the heightened states of focus that show us what we’re capable of. But the problem is how, because for the most part these states come about by chance leaving us unable to harness deep focus when we really need it.
The secret to turning focus into routine lies in the process of flow, and mastering the behaviors that initiate it.
What’s flow?
Some call it hyper focus, others call it being in the zone – flow is that state of total immersion where we forget what we’re doing, forget time, and just do. It involves losing your sense of time and self while merging your awareness with action. It happens when activities aren’t too difficult, or easy, and when what we’re doing has meaning.
Because of the pioneering research of psychologist Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi, we know how this state can be brought about through certain key identifiable practices.
What are they?
Finding your center
Among the best ways to bring yourself back in and find your center is through mindfulness activities – practices that revolve around clearing your mind of clutter and taking deep consistent breaths.
Meditation and other mindfulness practices like this have been used for thousands of years across many cultures to harness intense focus. But in recent years many of these mysterious practices have been shown by science to be effective means to a number of benefits – including flow.
One of the key characteristics of flow is that you are immersed in the present. Your mind isn’t wandering off to what you’re going to do next weekend, or what projects you have coming up – you are in the now.
Mastering your environment
Being able to get into and sustain a state of flow requires that you prepare yourself and your environment to suit the activity you’re about to engage in.
This is more than just keeping your desk clean – it means anticipating the many ways your work environment can distract and pull you away from what you’re doing. Preparing for this means knowing when you’re most likely to be distracted, when you focus best, and what obstacles you’re likely to face.
But yes, it also means getting your workspace organized – there’s no getting around it.
Nothing is going to squash your state of flow quicker than when you realize you forgot to get something and have to stop what you’re doing to go get it. The items you need at your desk should be where you can easily get at them without having to think.
This is perhaps the most common sense ways to achieve focus, but at the same time one of the most often neglected. So, it’s worth noting that if you want to achieve the immersive focus of flow you should prepare your environment.
Remembering why
The final key element that comprises flow is that it involves something that is meaningful to you. Something that you can’t pass off as trivial and will continuously provide inspiration.
When you’re bogged down in the daily grind how do you find the meaningful element that keeps you inspired? This is among the more difficult elements to harness, but it’s not impossible.
One way is to look at your organization’s mission and the good it is trying to do then considering how your smaller tasks fit into that larger picture.
How do you bring these strategies into your daily routine?
Committing to daily micro-actions
Learning to focus through key practices is all well and good, however I’ve found that it’s not enough to simply focus on the practices – you need to break them down into smaller actions: micro-actions.
The simplicity of micro-actions is the secret – the simpler they are the easier they are to stick to. And while the actions are usually just a 5-minute exercise, the effort towards personal growth early in the day helps frame your entire day towards growth.
By harnessing daily micro-actions you are able accomplish much more than the occasional attempt at a major life change. Everyone loves to bite off more than they can chew, but the smart thing is little manageable bites. Fortunately, all the practices above can be broken down into bite sized actions that can be spread throughout your day – no matter how busy your life may be.
Here are some examples of micro-actions you can take away that can help you achieve flow and gain a greater degree of focus:
- Take 5-minutes to focus on your breathing before beginning a task.
- Seek out the little joys in your work – then emphasize these elements in your work as you continue.
- Switch perspectives and contemplate the skills you’re building while working on tasks rather than deadlines or the many things you have to get done.
- Before beginning a task, consider the intrinsic rewards of a task (the pride of job well done for instance), rather than the extrinsic rewards (a raise or performance bonus).
The takeaway
A commitment to a small daily action is better than sporadic attempts to change your habits all at once. By targeting key flow behaviors through daily micro actions you can achieve the immersed state of focus that unlocks your inner potential.
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