productivity
The Importance of Having a Focal Point
As the father of three children in their mid- to late-teens, some of whom may or may not struggle with ADHD, the subject of "focus" comes up a lot around our house. To be fair, while I describe it as a subject of conversation, my kids probably feel like it's simply one of the many "lectures" they have to listen to on a relatively regular basis.
This morning while scrolling through Twitter, I stumbled upon the following tweet:
My instant reaction after reading that tweet was to agree wholeheartedly. It is a statement that rings true to me. But, I also realize for many, it might not be helpful without some additional context or practical instruction. For example, if I was to tell my kids they just need more focus, even if they agreed with that statement, what could they do with that information? Would they know how to increase their focus or what next step to take to increase their focus? Could they automatically will themselves to focus more? And, even if they could, would that be helpful?
Quite frankly, I think that just like you don't need more time, perhaps you don't need more focus either. Is increasing your focus on the wrong thing(s) any more helpful? Before worrying about increasing your focus, the more important thing to do is to establish a focal point.
While not discounting the importance of focus, I believe that what we focus on is more important and foundational to being effective and successful than our ability to focus. Having some criteria and a defined process for establishing our central point of attention or interest (a focal point) is a prerequisite to focusing. So, before worrying about focusing more, we should first ensure we have clarified where or on what to focus.
It's similar to how Christians talk about their faith in Jesus. Most believe it's not the amount of their faith that matters as much as it is the object of their faith. Perhaps a similar perspective on focus is appropriate. It's not the amount of focus we have but what we choose to focus on that is most important.
I realize that perhaps Parrish's tweet inferred this idea (of knowing where to focus and ensuring it's the right thing on which to focus), but in a world that communicates in bite-size snippets of information and thought, I'm simply thinking through the additional layers I would want to expose and discuss with my kids on this topic if they had seen the tweet.
All that said, Parrish's tweet hits home for me as it reinforces something I'm constantly telling my kids when they give the excuse, "I didn't have time." My common refrain is, "No. You didn't make time. You had plenty of time. You just chose to focus that time on the wrong things.".
So, yes, more time isn't what we need. We need to focus more. But let's ensure we're focused on the "right" things. Now is as good a time as any to figure out what our "right" things are.