Focus - my "one word" for 2022

In the last couple of years, the world took a crash course in going digital. Groceries, food, parcel deliveries, as well as OTT platforms, have taken the world by storm. Since folks could no more gossip or vent in cafes, bars & gyms, they took to chatting, celebrating, exercising over Zoom. The pandemic fed our captivation for 24x7 news via social media. With work and school going online, and multiple Wi-Fi connections becoming a necessity rather than a luxury in homes, we are officially captives of distraction.

Personally, I have rolled chappatis, helped my daughter with her school work, shopped for groceries online, tracked & received deliveries, counselled family over phone, in between attending work meetings. Conversely, folks have “managed” to take a bath, eat or sleep, while working, in the last couple of years.

Though the world is gradually returning to offline, this rampant multi-tasking has surely taken its toll. Sleep has been the biggest casualty. Health issues are on the rise due to continuous sitting in front of gadgets. Focus, on any one activity, is a struggle. And hence there is so much emphasis on meditative practices, mindfulness.

My 2022 new year resolution has been to consciously enhance focus in each of my activities. So what is the big deal around Focus?

We have all heard the famous Mahabharata tale of Arjuna’s concentration. When his archery guru Dronacharya, set up a target in form of a bird on a tree, he asked all his pupils what they could see. While all others claimed to see the tree, the leaves, the bird, its feathers etc., Arjuna said he could only see the eye of the bird. On being asked if he could see the bird, leaves, tree etc. Arjun confirmed that he could not see those. When asked to shoot his arrow, it went straight to the bird on the tree and brought it down.

That’s when his guru preached – “When you want to achieve something, you must focus on it. Close out all other distractions and concentrate only on your target.” This is true for teenagers aspiring to be actors, musicians, dancers, sportspeople or writers. The more concentration you pour into your craft the more the chances of being successful at it.

So, why is it so hard to concentrate and so easy to get distracted?

In order to concentrate on one thing you must, by default, ignore many other things. Concentration can only occur when we have said ‘yes’ to one option and ‘no’ to all other options. In other words, elimination is a prerequisite for focus. Most people don’t have trouble with focusing - they have trouble with decision making. Instead of doing the difficult work of choosing one thing over others, we often convince ourselves that multitasking is a better option. This is ineffective.

We have heard puzzles like-

"A man was driving from work to pick up his daughter from school. On the way, he received a call on his cell from his best friend’s wife. She was in tears as her husband had collapsed at home and needed urgent attention. Their home was a bit far from where he was and he would need to get there fast if he chose to help." He turned his car in that direction, called his wife who was at a conference, to pick their daughter, called the school to have her there until his wife arrived. He then sped to his friend’s place and drove him to the nearest hospital. He focused on the driving, the hospital formalities and ensuring his friend was stabilized. He ignored the concern his daughter may have felt, that he may not be able to get back to his work that day and that his friend’s wife was visibly distressed. Thus, when it comes to these kind of dilemmas, our brain is able to choose what to focus on – his friend’s life was his priority.

However, in daily life, such a conscious choice is not easy. In order to decide on which option to focus on – we must go over all the options and shortlist the top 3 as the most urgent. The rest must ALL be ignored – meaning some sacrifices are in order. 

Having prioritized goals is not enough. It is good to have a goal to be a best-selling author - but to reach there, one must love the process of writing. You need to write something every day, and keep getting better at it over the years through measuring & tracking your progress via metrics and feedback. It requires discipline, consistent effort and falling in love with it. When you keep chipping at the wood like a woodpecker, you eventually do fell the tree!

As they say, anything you focus your attention and energy on, grows. Be it your children, relationships, work, health or life goals. Even within relationships, we need to choose which ones are most important and require consistent effort. We are all leaders in whatever role we are in – need not be in a formal leadership role. A leader is the one who is in control – not only of herself but for anything under her purview. Thus, focusing our attention on what needs it most at any given time, and giving it your best, will always fetch the results we strive for.

In IT parlance, I remember my managers emphasizing on running daily scrums. Do not cancel or reschedule scrums & meetings, I was told ad infinitum. You may not realize the importance of this week by week, but over the months, the discipline and knowledge that you build for the product pays off in terms of the delivery and business it garners.

To sum up, Focus teaches you- 

1. Saying No
   
2. Decision making 
3. Consistent effort 
4. Measurement
5. Passion

We have all heard these in relation to leadership. Make Focus your number 1 leadership lesson for 2022!