Key Psychological Concepts: Mindfulness, Acceptance, Cognitive Defusion.
It’s a common story. We sit in front of a screen and go through emails, meetings, excel sheets, more emails and then our day ends. While our eyes might be on the screen for the entire day, our minds may move away several times.
We might find it difficult to keep our minds where our eyes are; particularly, when all our interactions are on the same screen. We might be planning for the weekend, worrying about a friend or replaying an interaction we wish had gone differently.
Any of these thoughts can take us away from the present and make us less efficient in our work.
How can we maintain uninterrupted focus throughout the workday?
The answer is that we can’t!
It would take a herculean effort for us to maintain uninterrupted sustained focus in our work for 1 hour–forget the entire day. The idea, then, is to change our outlook towards both focus and unwanted thoughts.
Here are three simple steps which might help us focus better
- Expect unwanted thoughts
- Accept unwanted thoughts
- Refocus
Expect Unwanted Thoughts
Focus, as experts in mindfulness explain, is a constant tussle between being distracted and coming back to your intended point of focus. What this also tells us is what focus is not—an uninterrupted period of sustained attention.
The first step to becoming more focused is to expect unwanted thoughts. While this is a simple point, it can make a powerful impact. Think of a guest who’s coming over to your house. If you’re expecting the guest to come, you can make arrangements for tea, snacks and take out time from your schedule.
An unexpected guest, however, can create havoc.
