Focused Thinking

Continuing our study on How Successful People Think, by John Maxwell.

Focused Thinking is intensive concentration in order to gain clarity on the specifics of a challenge and reach the core of the problem.

How does it work?

Create a focused environment:

1. Verbalize and Visualize—Say it and see it often.

2. Remove and Remain—Pull away and stay away.

Focused Thinking in action:

When we fail to focus…

• Professionals lose 2.1 hours of productivity a day due to unimportant interruptions and distractions.

• $588 billion of revenue is lost annually in productivity.

• Research by the author and speaker Daniel Pink also shows that time of day explains 20 percent of the variance on human performance on cognitive tasks. He writes that often we don’t do the right tasks at the right time. He argues that the question of “when” is more important than questions of “what,” “how,” and “who.”15

• Connie Gersick, an organizational behavior scholar, found that a team given 34 days to complete a project doesn’t get started in earnest until day 17. Give a team 11 days, and they get going on day 6.

When we focus our thinking…

1. We tend to work on the right things.16

2. We create less stress for our brain as it maintains only one thinking pathway instead of several at one time. 3. We achieve presence of mind more often.

Do it now:

Consider this question for how you spend your focused time:

Where do I need to give 100%?

John Maxwell identifies three areas where focus is required:

1. In your strengths

2. With key people

3. The main event

Wise words on Focused Thinking:

“The immature mind hops from one thing to another; the mature mind seeks to follow through.” – Harry A. Overstreet