If You Want to Be More Focused
You Must Stop Multitasking
In the current times that we are living in, we all multitask. Texting while driving, eating lunch while finishing up that report that we are behind on, talking on the phone while washing the dishes. You name it; we are always multitasking.
It seems like such a waste of time and inefficient if we are not doing multiple things simultaneously. I mean, come on, there is just so much to do.
The problem is that while doing this, you are not able to give your full attention to anything that you are trying to accomplish. Research shows that multitasking is not as efficient as you may think and could even harm your health.
Multitasking is the enemy of focus.
I have been able to laser focus for as long as I can remember. Sometimes my laser focusing causes me to miss out on things. Sometimes even important things that I don’t hear because of being laser-focused on the task at hand. This is usually when I am laser-focused on something that I shouldn’t be focused on in the first place, such as scrolling aimlessly through social media.
In his book, Limitless, Jim Kwik teaches what he calls “Limitless Methods.” These are methods that unlock your potential to grow and to learn like never before.
I highly recommend this book as it has been a game-changer for me. Jim Kwik is a brain coach who had several brain injuries throughout his life that caused him to have difficulty learning. Jim even got the nickname “Boy with the broken brain” from one of his teachers.
This caused Jim to have a limited mindset that he had a broken brain and couldn’t be fixed. Thankfully, Jim decided that he did not want to be known as the boy with a broken brain, and he set out on his life mission to prove everyone wrong that viewed him as “The boy with the broken brain.” This included himself.
Jim is now a learning expert and has made it his life mission to teach others how to learn. Jim states over and over in his teaching and writings that in school, we are taught what we should learn, but not taught how to learn.
One of the “Limitless Methods” that Jim discusses in his book is focus.
One of the main things that steal our focus is concentration.
In the book, Jim teaches that to get better at concentrating, you must practice concentration.
I got plenty of practice in concentration when I was 18 years old, working the meat slicer at the local Arby’s that I worked at. Before the company had invested in a POS system with monitors, I remembered every sandwich called out. This was a challenge because I worked at one of the busiest Arby’s in the country. I had 2 to 3 frontline cashiers and a drive-thru cashier calling orders out at the same time. It didn’t help that Arby’s also has an extensive menu and allowed “special” orders. It didn’t take long before I had plenty of practice and learned the art of concentration. Otherwise, I would not have made it there very long.
I ended up working there for over 17 years.
Practicing Concentration
To accomplish anything, you must be able to concentrate, and unfortunately, we’ve never really been taught how to concentrate. There is no class in school on how to focus and concentrate, but we were all hammered growing up that we need to concentrate more!
However, as the Hindu priest, Dandapani said in an interview with Jim Kwick:
“Concentration is something you can learn and practice to get better at.”
Dandapani defines concentration as the ability to keep awareness of one thing for an extended period of time.
The problem is that most of us practice distraction rather than concentration.
As Jim Kwik stated in his book:
“We allow our minds to jump from thought to thought, often using technology to help us practice distraction until we’re experts at it- and we should be because we often get a dozen or more hours of practice a day. Just imagine what it would be like if we practiced concentration for even a fraction of that time.”
The best way to practice concentration is to practice one thing at a time. In our busy world, we are always trying to accomplish more by trying to multitask.
The problem is, as mentioned earlier, it is scientifically proven that multitasking does not work.
Instead of trying to multitask, try and focus on the task at hand. For example, if you are on the phone, do not scroll through social media. Be present in the conversation.
Trying to multitask while having a conversation is something that I struggle with. I can’t count how many times my wife had said, “Remember when I told you that yesterday?” And I’m like, “No.”
I’ve always struggled with multitasking and thought that something was wrong with me because I’m not good at it. I have always liked focusing on one task, completing it, and then moving to the next.
Now I know why! Multitasking is not the most efficient way to get things accomplished and steals us of our focus.
If you want to be laser-focused and accomplish great things, then stop multitasking. Instead, focus on what you are currently trying to accomplish and then move to the next. If you are having a conversation with your wife or kids, then be present and listening rather than scrolling through your social media feed.
If you want to be more focused, then you must not try and multitask. Once you do this, which will take a lot of practice, you will not believe how much you can get done. Also, how much you can actually remember because you could really be present in the situation.
Your work will not only get completed more efficiently, but the quality will also be much better.
