Maximizing Success with Good Focus

Getting good at something is often harder than it looks. It usually takes more time and effort than you initially think, but one word that stands out from nearly all others to describe what it really takes to get somewhere: focus. Focus is a state of mind that allows you to achieve mental clarity on how to do something. You can clearly see how to get something done and the path of action you need to take is clear, making you much more likely to take that action and succeed. To maximize your ability to achieve success through good focus, this article offers three fundamental rules of thumb:

-            Block out distractions: be able to focus in the first place

-            Slow down to speed up: harness focus to get started doing something the right way

-            Build mind and muscle memory: use focused practice to make the right way natural

Block out distractions

Focusing means doing one thing at a time and doing it well. The key is to do one thing at a time. If you’re trying to do two things, you’re not focused on at least one of them. Getting rid of distractions allows you to pay all of your attention to doing something new the right way, and that quality effort will make it a little easier to do it the next time.

Distractions can come in the form of surroundings or something within you. If you’re in a noisy place and can’t concentrate, do something you can do easily despite the noise and wait to practice the new thing when it’s quiet. On the inside, you need to take care of yourself to prevent distractions; if you constantly think about how hungry or sleepy you are because you didn’t eat or sleep enough recently, that makes it very difficult to learn and practice something new.

Slow down to speed up

Going slower and doing a more careful job, up to a point, can actually help you accomplish more than rushing. Making careless mistakes, not paying close attention (not focusing), or overconfidence can all cause your effort to be poor enough quality that you have to do it over again. And if you have to do something twice, that takes longer than going a little slower but completing your task gracefully.

Be happy making consistent progress by working the right way on one thing at a time. Think of trying to do two things at once this way: it’s better to throw one ball at a time and hit your target than to try throwing two balls at a target at once, only to have both miss.

“Speed is fine, accuracy is final.”

                                                                           ~Jeff Cooper

Build mind and muscle memory

When you’re first learning to do something new, the first few times are slow, but then getting the hang of your processes and tools allows you to speed up. Spend the first few repetitions getting used to how to do something and ensuring you’re getting the right result. It’s very important to stay focused during practice to ensure the practice iterations are high quality and they reinforce learning to do something new the right way.

Once you repeat the same steps a few times, you begin developing muscle memory to get faster and better, and you remember the steps better. It will start to feel a little less awkward, and when you take a break and return to practice, it often feels more natural resuming from the break than when you stopped! Not only will your effort feel more natural in your movements, but it will also feel more intuitive in your mind.

Accept that getting good at something new takes time and don’t overwhelm yourself with unreasonable expectations.

An extra benefit of developing the new ability is that you also slowly discover ways of doing the process better. You’ll feel like you’re already a natural at something you recently learned and suddenly, something unexpected happens that makes you noticeably better!

Conclusion

Getting good at anything meaningful takes focus, patiently applied as you work through what you’re doing the first handful of times. It is essential to be clear on how to do something before you can make effective progress with your effort. Not only will your effort better take you in the right direction, but knowing in advance what steps to take and how to apply that effort effectively will make you feel more emboldened to act in the first place.

Go slow at first and focus on doing things right. Going fast with poor quality just builds bad habits and makes it harder to get good results and eventually master your pursuit. As you practice with good quality, you will build mind and muscle memory that makes you faster both because your body is used to the movements and because the practice makes what you’re doing more intuitive and automatic in your mind.

To maximize success at anything you want to do in life, focus is a key ingredient every time.