Our modern lives are very demanding and “busy” has become one of the most abused words in the English language.
Our constant connection to phones, emails, texts, and social sites like Twitter and Facebook, with phone apps pinging at every opportunity is extremely distracting. We as a society, are overloaded with information and daily tasks. Being pulled in multiple directions, we try and accomplish all things simultaneously rather than focusing on the most essential thing at hand.
The result is, “I am too busy” or “I don’t have the time” are now favored modern excuses for too many people.
If you find that you resonate with this truth, then multi-tasking is likely the issue. Trying to accomplish too many things at once splits focus and weakens the energy that drives it.
We may think we can multi-task, but the reality is, no one does it well and those that try lose up to 40 percent of their productivity in the process. Multi-tasking has even been shown to lower IQ.
Bottom line is, multitasking is not your friend or mine.
The truth is, when we are regularly bombarded with several streams of information at once, we have difficulty recalling, paying close attention, and changing from one task to another compared to when we focus on one task at a time.
Research proves humans are biologically incapable of processing attention-rich inputs simultaneously.
We are not good multi-taskers.
Single tasking keeps us focused on one task at a time, allowing us to be more fully immersed in the task at hand. We can give it the quality attention, creativeness and razor-sharp focus it deserves.
The ability to stay focused will be the superpower of the 21st century. While many frantically and futilely try to keep up their texts, tweets, and other incessant and energy stealing interruptions, those who fine tune their focus for decent blocks of time, will master subjects and create things that rule the world,
We need to reclaim our focus and move away from the 95 percent of stuff that does not make us successful or make us money to the 5 percent of tasks that increase our productivity. This shifts our focus from “busy” to “productive.”
Although it can be hard at first to let go of all the busyness that has occupied our precious time, the change we experience is worth the effort. Our sanity, our happiness, our stress levels and our productivity will all benefit.
When we try and do too many things at once, we usually end up “kind of doing it.” But, we either did it, or we did not. Kind of doing it, does not count.
The Power of Exercise
This is where the power of exercise comes in.
One of the best ways to sharpen focus and attention span is through exercise.
Exercise makes us physically healthier and gives our self-esteem a boost because we look and feel better about ourselves. But, exercise is also a key player in our mental ability to improve focus. And, laser sharp focus is imperative to the success of any business or endeavor.
Exercise is empowered to:
Increase blood pressure, blood flow and growth factors to our body and brain (giving a boost to our energy and oxygen and making our brain perform better). It improves mental cognition and our ability to focus.
Creates new brain cells – building up the empire that is our brain. Prompts growth of new nerve cells and blood vessels.
Works our “attention” muscle and improves the brain circuits that underlie our ability to think and learn. Helps to lengthen attention span.
Enhances mood, memory and energy levels as well as our impulse control – all these things influence how focused we are.
Exercise releases positive feel-good endorphins in the body that both relax and calm the mind.
The best thing about exercise is killing two birds with one stone. Our physical muscles gain strength through consistent, challenging exercise but our “focus” muscle improves and gains strength as well.
Just ask anyone who is committed to a regular exercise program how they feel when finished. Their blood is pumping, their minds are crystal clear, and they feel energized and ready to tackle the day.
The high level of mental focus and concentration gained when actively participating in a fitness program can be applied to other areas of our lives and careers.
Once we begin focusing our precious time on what’s truly important in life our productivity naturally increases, boosting business to superstar levels.
It’s steady, consistent efforts that shift and change our “busy,” time-stealing/wasting habits to “productive,” focused, healthy habits. Our days change from wasting time on multi-tasking and “kind of doing it” to razor sharp focus and action steps. It’s called productivity and it’s the surest, most direct road to success.
You can lead a higher quality of life beginning now…
If you truly want to take command of your life and the way you spend your energy –
“Healthy Self Healing” can help you do just that…
For more tools and resources from Carolyn Hansen to assist you in attaining your health and fitness goals please visit:
