Energy Flows Where Attention Goes: How to Create Focus and Get More Done

I love this saying: energy flows where attention goes. Yet, when it came to applying it, I would fall short when I am not being mindful.

It may be the same for you too. You could be wondering How to Create Focus and Get More Done when there are 1,000 things going on in your life at any current moment. The 1000 things I call them distractions if they are bringing you further away from accomplishing your goal or vision.

Well, I used to detest all productivity hacks as the idea of becoming more productive made me feel like I am some kind of machine and that I need to be churning out numbers in this big race against time.

Not until I realized how much not being focused is costing me.

And so, if my attention is on distractions, this would be where I am directing energy in. I am giving my attention to things that do not matter much!!

Living a typical modern day lifestyle, you are likely to be facing distractions from multiple channels. There could be distractions from various sources like watching pet videos on Facebook, addictive Korean or TV dramas, signing up for classes for learning things that you have no immediate need for, going after the next bright and shiny object.

Being on social media is definitely not helping. Yet, if you are in business or marketing, you might have already determined that there is no way that you cannot not be on the platform that your clients and prospects are in. And so, where you are not mindful, minutes….hours…. just slip by.

Not forgetting, there are also other duties related to family and other life areas that you need to attend to.

And so, when the end of the day comes, you wonder: where did all the time go?

 

Energy flows where attention goes

Creating focus as one of the biggest difficulties that many people face these days. The distraction disease is challenging to beat! I have since realized that if I become unfocused, I lose sight of what I REALLY need to get done. Clearly, realignment with our goal is needed and bad focus habits are to be busted!

I shared about this in my post last week. You are the hero or heroine in the story of your life and you are on two adventures: the external one and the inner one.

In the external one, you are on this journey of achievement. You are trying to work, make a living and create a life. It is where all the distractions are coming on. On the inside, you are on this journey of alchemy. There is the inner struggle and stress that you are going through triggered by the situation on the outside.

Internally, you are thinking: There is not enough time everyday. You have a hand in like more than 3 projects at the same time. Even though you have chunked down to a list of tasks to accomplish, you still can’t cope. You are feeling overwhelmed!

The result is scattered energy when your attention is split.

Some people may get into paralysis, unable to take needed action.

 

Distractions are Costly

You may mistakenly believe that it only takes a couple of seconds and minutes to attend to a new task that has come up. Or you may have multiple tabs opened all at once on your laptop. Then, there are also facebook notifications that interrupt you while you are working.

A temporary shift in attention from one task to another—stopping to answer an e-mail or take a phone call, for instance—increases the amount of time necessary to finish the primary task by as much as 25%, a phenomenon known as “switching time.”

What is To Do: Starve Your Distractions and Feed Your Focus! Energy flows where attention goes! 

 

How to Create Focus in “Energy Flows Where Attention Goes”

The following are 5 ways that I apply for creating focus

(1) Get Clear on What Your ONE goal is.

When your attention is focused on what is going on in your environment, it is possible to lose sight of what is most important. The situation may arise from going after bright shiny objects, money making opportunities or trying to imitate or copy what someone else is doing. You lose your center, as a result.

Hence, get into the space inside your heart to connect with the dream that truly matters to you. Thereafter, set a goal for it. This is the ONE goal for which you should create focus for. You command energy for it. Choose aligned taskes that will create the domino effect for reaching this ONE goal.

 

 

(2) Create a Time Table for Your Tasks

Chunk down your to-do list that is aligned with your ONE goal. Determine the appropriate period that is appropriate for the accomplishment of this goal. List down the top tasks to be done for each month, week or day.

Avoid cluttering your mind unnecessarily with ideas on things to do and when to accomplish them by. Put your time table down in writing. Set a schedule.

(3) Set a Timer

Time yourself and stick with it!

According to The Daily Muse, 52 minute work and 17 min break is the ideal productivity schedule. You can test this out and adjust accordingly.

Here are 3 hacks that can help put this tip into place:

 Turn off all notifications on your computer.

 Put your mobile phone away from your working table.

 Shift away from your working table when you are taking your break.

 

(4) Manage and Raise Your Energy Levels

Well, time management is important, but I’d like to suggest that energy management is perhaps even more important.

Since there are only 24 hours in a day, time is a finite resource. You can’t increase amount of time, but you can certainly increase energy.

How to raise energy?

In the outer world, you exercise, go for yoga, eat healthily and so on. You set aside time for keeping energy levels up…….so that you can maintain sharper focus when you are working.

On the inside, you work on removing internal struggle. You do this by meditation, changing your beliefs, aligning with your goal and vision, removing emotional clutter etc. You work on improving your energy, so that you can also manifest success with ease and grace.

(5) Say No to 1,000 Other Things

Let’s learn it from Steve Jobs: “People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.”

Hence, less is more! Get rid of all the crappy stuff and ideas that are not aligned with your ONE Big Vision.

I’ve just reached 52 minutes. It’s time for a break! I’m going to be stepping out for a while.

Signing off….

Love and abundance always,

 

 

P.S. One last thing. Share your best productivity tip for applying the often-used saying “energy flows where attention goes” in the comments below 🙂

Related articles:

1. 7 Ways to Remove Distractions for better energy focus

2. How to find the Nirvana of Life Balance