What you choose to focus on is one of the most important investments you make each day.
From a mindset perspective, our ability to focus is impacted by a belief system that sets us up to hit the ground running each day thinking we need to do it all. This high achiever mindset orients us to believe it’s easier to do it ourselves rather than delegate or that we’re the only one who can get it done right. This mindset also creates a need to be essential to everything.
The high achiever mindset leads us to make choices that create overwhelm and constant distraction. In this go go go mental state we get jacked up on adrenalin and power through the day on autopilot without prioritizing what we do. As a result we fail to focus on the most important tasks or goals.
Trying to do too much at once and constantly switching between tasks actually depletes our cognitive resources and makes it difficult to sustain attention and concentration. It’s important to understand the impact trying to do too much has on our brain. Lack of focus is a sign that we need to proactively modify our behaviour. Instead, we typically end up in a negative feedback loop where a sense of guilt or shame around not being able to accomplish as much as we want becomes a distraction and further impacts our ability to focus.
The shift of the high performance mindset starts with recognizing that we are human and therefore we have limitations around our time and cognitive resources. Our ability to focus is dependent on so many variables from sleep to our daily routine.
We have to take into account that our ability to focus will fluctuate from day to day and week to week. This is especially true if we travel for work and our routine and sleep are disrupted or if we’re also navigating the demands of children and running a household.
When we recognize that our ability to focus is an important mental resource that can be nurtured and managed more effectively, we are more likely to adopt habits and strategies that promote mental clarity and minimize distractions. We can also explore setting boundaries and limits on our time and attention. By setting aside specific blocks of time for focused work or avoiding distractions such as email or social media during those times we can avoid getting sidetracked by less important tasks and stay focused on what matters most.
Liane Wansbrough | High Performance Coach
