Maintaining Focus
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Recently I heard someone say, “It is death by distraction.” I also read this quote:
If we fill our lives with fragments of information, our brains will adapt and our concentration will weaken. ~Crossway Books Instagram Post (1/5/2020)
Both of these quotes got me thinking about focus and how hard it is to achieve it. What I mean by focus is doing one thing for an extended period of time. For example, reading a book for 30 minutes or working on project for 2 hours or not checking emails for 3 hours. Putting your head down to the task and not looking up until it is done. Putting the blinders on and looking at the end goal and keep moving until you reach it. (Even just now I started to send a “quick” text to someone to tell them I prayed for her father this morning.)
But in our information saturated world today, to maintain focus we have to be intentional. In the past, it was easier. Not too long ago, you could escape distractions easily. If someone wanted to communicate with you there were only a few options. For example, they could call you on the phone – but you could not be near your phone or even unplug it from the wall. Today, we are practically attached to our phones and not only is there a way to call but you can also text, email or message via multiple social media platforms.
Some believe that this is a wonderful advancement for society and I agree but only to a certain extent. The verse that comes to my mind immediately is from Psalm 46…Be still and know that I am God. God is telling us in this verse, “If you want to know Me, you must be still.” Be quiet. Be settled. Be focused. Personally, when I am too distracted, not focused and ever in motion, I am moving away from knowing God better and not acting as Christ like. And before long all those around me notice it as well.
There are three things you can do to minimize distractions and help maintain focus:
1. Turn off all notifications on your phone except phone calls and maybe text messages. The constant dings and flashes even for a moment turn us off of what we are doing and breaks our concentration.
2. Check emails on a schedule and not all day long. My goal is just to check emails for 30 minutes at 9 am, Noon and 5 pm. I have an auto reply that explains that and if someone needs an answer sooner, I ask them to call me.
3. Start training yourself to be still. The way I do this is on a regular basis I will make myself sit still for 5 minutes. No moving of my body in any way. No leg shaking. No finger strumming. I even try to not move my head much. The only movement is to relax each muscle of my body. To consciously go from my toes to my head and release any tension I might feel. At times, that can be a LONG 5 minutes.
Do you struggle in this area as well? What tricks to you do to help yourself stay focused?
