3 steps to attention and focus

Did you know that there are actually three steps to paying attention? If we can work on all three as distinct operations, we can strengthen the particular executive function each requires and get better at it!

The first is selecting what you want to pay attention to. When our minds are overwhelmed with choice, when we're unsure of what the best action to take now is, we can procrastinate and go round and round in circles and not do anything productive at all. Taking a moment to breathe, set our intention and slowly go through a brief check list of what it is we have at hand, can bring some clarity and insight before we've even started the task. I call it "STOP before you start!". Taking that moment to select the next task, and giving yourself a time limit (not a "oh, I'll do this till I've finished", which actually overwhelms the brain!) and not over committing, can help relax the brain and gather our focus to choose the task we want to start doing.

The second step is sticking to what we've chosen to do in that moment. Oh, it can be so tempting to dart around, beginning one thing and then another, feeling we're not ready to do it yet, doubting if we'll get through it, suddenly hating it, you know the feeling! Making a deliberate choice to "just do it!", yes, the Nike slogan, and I specify it even more: "just do this!", can help the brain zoom into the small square of focus and stay with the task. Call it grit, resolve, resilience, it doesn't matter, what we're actually doing is boundary setting for a very short time, maybe using the Pomodoro technique (setting a clock for 25 mins then taking a 5 min brain break, then committing to another 25 mins work and taking another 5 min break etc). This structure helps the brain feel contained and time bound, looking forward to those 5 min breaks, when you can text a friend, have a cuppa, do a few wall presses, and that's really enough time to reset the brain and give it a chance to rest and then we can go back to the next chunk of time refreshed and focused.

The third step is warding off distractions. Once we're on a task and in flow, that's it, we're confident and able to grapple with the challenge and keep going. But if you're like me, any noise outside, a ping from my phone, an itch, a sudden desire to clear some mess on my desk, all pull at my concentration and divert my focus away from the task at hand. Distractions feel as if they're urgent or needing my headspace, but we're better off when we can gently say to ourselves, "that can wait, jot it down in your task list, you'll have more energy later to deal with it", in other words, talk yourself out of leaving the task you've committed to. Often hiding our phone in the drawer, clearing space on our desk, putting a 'do not disturb' sign on the door, making sure we have chargers, water bottle, etc ready before we start, can help reinforce in our brain that we're serious about what we want to do NOW!!

Of course, making sure we're rested, had enough exercise and enough food (the good fuel, not the junk sugar type!!), all prepare our minds and bodies to carry out the tasks and work challenges we've set ourselves. Taking a few moments after the task to acknowledge our achievement is also a fabulous way to reinforce the habit, and makes reining in our focus and attention just that bit more efficient next time, and a bit more the next time, etc!