How To Enter A Focused State Anytime, Anywhere

How To Enter A Focused State Anytime, Anywhere

The key principle here is that much of our cognitive focus, our ability to think about something and stay focused on it, is going to be directed by our visual system - AH

If your eyes direct their attention to one location, your brain also directs its attention to that point. So if you focus on a pen, your brain starts to analyze all the pen's details—its color, its shape, etc.

And this hyper-focus on the pen activates your neural mechanisms for focus. So you can take all that neural attention, activated by your eyes, and redirect it to your work. Isn't that fascinating? It's the perfect tool to enter and sustain focus anytime, anywhere. Here's how.

Action for the day

Right before a focused session, spend 30 seconds to 1 minute staring at one object. Look around you, choose an object, and gaze at it for 30-60 seconds. Maybe it's a pen, a water bottle, a cup of coffee, a book, a painting, etc. Feel free to blink.

You'll find yourself more able to start working. But, this exercise doesn't only help you enter a focused state. It also makes you better at focusing in all different domains.

I use it a lot. Especially after a time of scattered focus, like a break, lunch, or walk. It can bring me back to focus without much effort. I just count or use a timer. It becomes easier the more you do it. So, start now!

In your next focus session, direct your gaze to one object for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Here's the clip from the podcast.

The key principle here is that much of our cognitive focus, our ability to think about something and stay focused on it, is going to be directed by our visual system - AH

If your eyes direct their attention to one location, your brain also directs its attention to that point. So if you focus on a pen, your brain starts to analyze all the pen's details—its color, its shape, etc.

And this hyper-focus on the pen activates your neural mechanisms for focus. So you can take all that neural attention, activated by your eyes, and redirect it to your work. Isn't that fascinating? It's the perfect tool to enter and sustain focus anytime, anywhere. Here's how.

Action for the day

Right before a focused session, spend 30 seconds to 1 minute staring at one object. Look around you, choose an object, and gaze at it for 30-60 seconds. Maybe it's a pen, a water bottle, a cup of coffee, a book, a painting, etc. Feel free to blink.

You'll find yourself more able to start working. But, this exercise doesn't only help you enter a focused state. It also makes you better at focusing in all different domains.

I use it a lot. Especially after a time of scattered focus, like a break, lunch, or walk. It can bring me back to focus without much effort. I just count or use a timer. It becomes easier the more you do it. So, start now!

In your next focus session, direct your gaze to one object for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Here's the clip from the podcast.