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Focus

Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

(...)"I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, (...) and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet." (...)

Life Paths from Wait But Why
Source: waitbutwhy.com

Staying focused means making some tough choices. If you don't make them yourself, life will do it for you. However, you need to really think about your options until you're somewhat sure about your decision. Check out your options enough to feel confident, or you'll always wonder if another path might have been better. It is a subtle balance between Exploit and Explore.

Lack of Focus

Eat the Frog
Source: https://blog.ticktick.com/2020/11/20/eat-that-frog-productivity-method/

Sometimes in our work, we focus too much on multiple small-impact tasks that attract us and make us feel better, but in reality, they drive us forward only marginally and might take a good chunk of time when combined. Some people call this rule No Snacking, while others approach it differently and call Eat the Frog the strategy to start with the most difficult tasks first.

Procrastination

A lack of focus can also manifest as procrastination. Some reasons include:

  1. Waiting for motivation to tackle harder tasks.
    People often wait for motivation to start something, but action usually precedes motivation. It is better to act first, and the motivation will follow.

  2. Not recognizing that some things are very hard.
    Expecting an easy solution from the start adds immense pressure to be perfect and fast, which leads to avoiding tasks to reduce the perceived risk of failure. Plan it first, absorb the challenge of the task, and then eat the frog.

  3. Misaligned rewards.
    Failing to acknowledge that a task is hard can make efforts seem worthless. Obligations can also diminish pleasure and motivation, leading to procrastination as a form of rebellion. Unreasonable demands that conflict with core values can cause procrastination. Sometimes, a lack of interest is the issue, so it's best to complete the task quickly.

References and Additional Resources