Hi this is Kira Leskew of the Eagle Institute. Being able to focus at will
for as long as required is the key trait that distinguishes high performers in
any field, including business, from ones that just get by.
Stay tuned and I'll show you some key areas where your leadership can benefit
from strong concentration skills in six to seven minutes
so stay tuned.
Individual and interpersonal... how would you rate yourself in each of these areas
in terms of your ability to concentrate? Now if I ask your team to rate you,
how do you think you would score? If I asked your most important customer or
biggest supplier to rate you
what do you think they would give you? Having an overall ability to concentrate is a
wonderful asset to have as a person and especially as a leader
however most people actually have situation specific skills at focusing.
If you don't believe me just go watch your team work and see where they're strong
at concentration, and where they really struggle. Today I'm going to talk about
individual focus work because according to one of the largest workplace studies
ever done by Gessler, they found that most people spend more of their time on
individual focus work at fifty-five percent of total time. But more
importantly, the criticalness of that individual work to overall job success
was rated at eighty-eight percent, meaning that the overwhelming majority
of the results that people generate come from the time that they spend working
alone, focused on a particular task.
So assuming you have the capacity to concentrate, and if you aren't sure make
sure you check out the cards for our other videos on capacity, we have a whole playlist..
One of the most critical skills is being able to stay on task
once you've started. Although many people think they're actually good at this,
the workplace studies just don't agree.
If you start on a task how long do you go before you've lost focus and either
started something else, or your mind has wandered, or you're just going through
the motions doing it but thinking of something else?
Unfortunately the best way to tell us actually have someone watch you work and
to bring you back when you stray. For most people that isn't realistic.
So, using a timer is the next best thing.
Unfortunately you won't catch yourself at least in the beginning when your mind
has strayed, but by giving yourself a regular check in, in form of a timer, is
actually the next best thing.
Start with 10 minutes when the timer goes off.
Ask yourself are you working on what you set out to do?
If so, awesome! Increase the time for the next time. If not, then repeat it with the
same amount of time until you can actually do it on an ongoing basis.
Having the knowledge how to train your focus isn't enough though. You actually have
to do it
it's a physical skill just like physical fitness. Having a gym membership
great shoes and great intentions isn't enough to get in shape.
You actually have to go and do the work out on a regular basis, and the same is
true for improving your focus and concentration.
One other small tip: Putting too much intensity can actually make it a little
bit harder.
The zone that you're looking for is relaxed and alert.
Think back to your best day at work when things were just easy, and you got great results.
This is the state you want to cultivate for longer and longer periods of time.
If you want help with this
make sure you check out our website.
We have tons of resources there about applying
mindfulness and action to improving your business results and your life.