Just Do What You're Doing

By: Kathleen Marvin, Working Life Coach

There’s a lot going on these days. In 1960 phones were connected to walls, movies were in theaters, music played on records, and nobody had a personal computer. Imagine life without the internet.  Then there were three billion people in the world; now there are nearly 7 billion. Needless to say there is a lot more noise now.

The technology that was meant to free us for more leisure has trapped many of us in a world where we can work all the time. We are always connected, there are no excuses to be inaccessible, and people, problems and information are incoming day and night. Don’t panic - this article isn’t about turning off your iphone, but it is about concentration. With so much happening all the time, it’s easy to over-caffeinate, stress out, and lose track of what’s important. While you can’t control many of the events and most of the people, you can focus on your own response to all this stimuli.

There are tactics that can help, like prioritizing what you need to do on a daily or even more frequent basis. Ask yourself what really needs to happen next. You can manage the interrupt mode to some degree by turning off audio alerts on email and texts and filtering instant messages. Ask yourself how often you REALLY need to check – is it every hour, every 30 minutes? Do you seriously have to respond every couple of minutes to a new request or problem? (This is for people working in offices and at home, not intensive care units.

More importantly, and certainly more difficult, is to develop the mental discipline of focusing on one thing at a time. A Stanford study shows that multitasking reduces your effectiveness dramatically, contrary to your impression that you can handle it all. When you are talking to someone on the phone, just do that - don’t do email at the same time. Picture the person you’re talking to, and listen to what they’re saying. The conversation will be shorter, the person will feel heard, and you can move on. If you need to do something that requires thought, create a space for it and get it done. It will be higher quality and take less time.

Above all, try to live in the present moment, which can keep you grounded, calm, and focused. Most of the time we’re not really here, but are instead reliving a past event or anticipating a future experience. Do whatever you’re doing, and nothing else. This isn’t easy, and you will constantly lose this concentration, but keep pulling yourself back to the attempt. In time your skill will increase, along with your mental power. You will actually get more done, and do it better. You will also create stronger connections with your colleagues, partners, and clients, and a source of renewable energy for yourself.