The Most Important Skill to Develop, ever

A 10x multiplier on the value and quality of your time and work.

After graduating from high school, I flew to New Zealand to work and travel. For a few months, I worked on a small farm in exchange for food and accommodation. I was feeding animals, harvesting fruits, vegetables, and relentlessly fighting weeds.

This type of work was mainly physical, as shoveling manure didn’t require much thinking or creativity. I was able to listen to audiobooks and podcasts while working, which made this experience even more enjoyable.

You could argue that this is a prime example of multitasking. I was doing physical work, while simultaneously taking in information and processing it. The important detail, however, is that I wasn’t mentally multitasking.

My body was running on autopilot, while my mind was focused on what I was listening to. There were very few actions that required me to actively think about what I was doing. To me, that doesn’t count as real multitasking, as my focus was entirely dedicated to listening.

It’s a common belief, however, to think of multitasking as something that is not only possible but desirable. Doing two tasks at once means twice the amount of work done in the same amount of time, right?

Not at all. In this story, I don’t want to debunk multitasking, as you probably already know that mental multitasking is not possible. Instead, I want to make a case for the most important skill I know of and show you a simple exercise to improve it dramatically.

The best return-on-investment

Whenever my mind is scattered and I’m not actively bringing my attention back as soon as it wanders off, I burn energy and time like crazy.

It’s intuitive to think that intense focus will cost you a lot of energy. In fact, it’s a lot easier to simply let your mind and environment dictate where your attention flows. However, when we compare the ROI (return on investment) of focused and unfocused work, we get a clearer picture: Focus is very efficient.

Working with low focus will produce mediocre outcomes and take much longer to complete. When you are not focused on the task at hand, you are constantly accelerating. Every time you switch tasks or let your mind wander for too long, you will have to refocus again, which drains your energy and takes up time. Your brain has to “warm-up” for every new task, every time.

Focused work on the other hand will produce high-quality results quickly. When you are intentionally focusing on the task at hand, you will have to invest more energy at the beginning to accelerate and get going. It’s effortful to bring your attention back each time it wanders off. However, you will quickly reach cruising altitude and benefit from an almost effortless flow state.

There is an important detail: Work on bringing your attention back, instead of trying to force it to stay on the subject. This might only sound like a miniature difference, but it’s actually a big deal. Applying force and pressure to your mind is never the optimal solution. Trying really hard to stay focused and block every other thought will not just hinder your creative processes, but also drain your energy and frustrate you. Never force.

Try this: When your mind starts to wander off and thoughts distract you, notice it, and gently bring your attention back to whatever you were doing before. Remember, you are not trying to not get distracted. You are just guiding your attention back when necessary.

This workflow is very similar to meditation, where you also try to notice thoughts that distract you and then let them go to refocus on your breath.

The human brain is really powerful if you work with, and not against it. When you teach it where all the energy and attention should go, it will do just that. On the other hand, allowing yourself to get distracted constantly will do the opposite. Your focus is like a muscle that can become really strong and powerful when you train it, but become weak if you neglect it.

This will be challenging at first, just like meditation is. But by practicing this exercise, you will program your brain to listen to you and improve your ability to focus.

It’s really helpful to practice this skill at every opportunity that presents itself. Bring your attention back whenever you are distracted. Not just when working but also with every other activity, because it’s easy to run on autopilot when the daily routine becomes repetitive. Make this refocus-ritual of 1. noticing a decline in attention and then 2. gently bringing your attention back a habit that you practice daily.

Notes are your friends

There will be thoughts or ideas that won’t let go. They might be important or useful, so write them down. I always keep something around to capture thoughts immediately, so I can go back to whatever I was doing without enough time for my brain to work against me. It’s important to do that quickly, ideally without having to switch programs, open apps, or search for a notebook in your drawer.

When I am writing, I just put my thoughts down at the bottom of the document. After I finish my work I transfer useful notes to my note-taking system and delete the ones that are useless or already dealt with.

If thoughts or ideas distract your attention, capture them immediately and refocus on your task. Capturing thoughts doesn’t just serve the purpose of being able to remember valuable ideas, it also allows your brain to let go and stop thinking about them. This is also a common technique for people who struggle to fall asleep. When you record something important, your brain acknowledges that you are not going to forget it and stops thinking about it.

Apart from the internal interference of your own mind, there are also external stimuli that can potentially distract you and make the efforts to focus more difficult and perhaps frustrating. Luckily, it’s quite easy to create a rather distraction-free environment for your work.

Make it a ritual to remove everything that might distract you, like your phone, a gaming console, or fiction books from the desk you are going to work at. Be mindful when sitting down and commit yourself to deep focus. Put a notepad next to you, so you can quickly capture distracting thoughts and move on.

Set a timer and immediately get to work. Don’t give your brain time to lure you into procrastination.

Story summary

1. You are only able to focus on one task at a time. Multitasking is a myth.
2. Every time you switch tasks or allow yourself to be distracted, you lose a lot of time and energy, as well as break your flow.
3. Focusing is effortful initially but pays off quickly.
4. Don’t force yourself to focus. Instead, gently bring your attention back whenever your mind wanders off.
5. Practice your focus wherever you go and with everything you are doing. Make it a habit.
6. If a thought or idea distracts you, write it down and then move on.

There is not a single skill I know of that is as powerful when developed greatly. You will be able to study in less time, complete work faster and to your highest quality, and find more enjoyment in everyday activities. Life will be much more intense and vibrant if you actively focus on your experiences.

Thank you for reading, I sincerely appreciate your time.