This past week has been the first time in several weeks that I’ve regained focus in my work days. I had difficulty in sustaining attention, my mind was flitting from one thing to another, and struggling to get work done. I couldn’t even remember what my work schedule was without consulting my calendar.
I stayed committed to 15 minutes of mindful meditation in the morning, but even that was a struggle. I simply was caught up in distractions and couldn’t focus on my breath. The temptation to be hard on myself and even stop being mindful was taunting me.
Thanksgiving came and I made a conscious choice to shut down my work, be with my family, go for walks, play guitar and have fun. I made a conscious effort to be in the present, breath and pause, and just be. In some ways, I removed myself from the distractions that plagued me earlier – laptop, phone, to-do lists, and work schedules.
One of the fundamentals of mindful leadership excellence is FOCUS – one’s ability to sustain attention in the midst of distractions. When we succumb to distractions, we lose productivity – our ability to listen, to make sound decisions, to connect with people, to lead.
Tony Schwartz, Chief Executive of The Energy Project, a consulting firm, wrote an op-ed piece recently about his addiction to distractions. Schwartz shares his “horrified” experience of being addicted to the internet and work activities. He realized he simply couldn’t marshal the necessary focus to not only do his work, but even to read a book.
Schwartz relishes searching for tidbits of information in his work. What he discovered about himself is
endless access to new information easily overloads our working memory. When we reach cognitive overload, our ability to transfer learning to long-term memory significantly deteriorates. It’s as if our brain has become a full cup of water and anything more poured into it starts to spill out.”
He decided he needed to liberate himself from the Internet in an attempt to regain control of his attention.
In my next blog, I’ll share with you what Schwartz did to begin the process of regaining control of his attention so he could be more focused.
