Everyone is looking for a way to stand out from our peers. Want to stand out? Hone your power to focus.
Constant information at our fingertips. According to a study by Microsoft, the average human being now has an attention span of eight seconds – less than that of a gold fish. Information without barriers has the potential to level the playing field in so may ways. The potential to increase innovation and idea generation.
However, overwhelm has taken over. We are paralyzed with excess.
While everyone with the Internet has equal access, not everyone has an equal understanding of how to use that access.
Those use focus as a superpower can plow through daunting amounts of information. They are able to draw conclusions to that information.
- Focus is like a muscle. It can be exercised. Through exercise, can perform better. Start with short bursts of focus within a distracted setting. What distracts you the most – noise, people, music, interruptions, the dinging of alerts on your devices, kids and dogs running through your work space. Put yourself on a timer and only focus on one thing. Slowly increase that amount of time. It doesn’t need to be hours for most people. If we could train ourselves to focus in 15 or 30 min increments our effectiveness would increase immensely.
- Pros/Cons – Seek information that support a position as well as discounts a position. Algorithms feed us information based on our preferences. Access is available to all positions. Use that. It won’t be fed to you. Let’s say you’re trying to stay in touch with your clients better and you’ve done a search online. The results come back with CRM (customer relationship management) options. You’ve automatically been directed to CRM without knowing if that path is right for you. Maybe a card mailing service is right for you. Ask the questions in the search bar. If CRM is the right path, look at the reviews and find an independent news source that will offer a comparison tool.
- Process it and put it down – So often we can get caught up with the information seeking mode that we can’t seem to move on. Increasing your focus superpower also includes the skill to be able to come to some conclusion on something. Which flower delivery service or which app to monitor your kids screen usage. Once you’ve made your choice or decision, act. Congratulate yourself.
Learn to be a learner – deliberately use information.
For more information, contact us at www.rebelsuccessforleaders.com.
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