Underrated Skill
We talk a lot about skills - job skills, sports skills, game skills, and even 21st century skills. But focus as a skill rarely comes up in those lists. Why is that?
Education disruptors, technologists, and gamification enthusiasts are willing to trade the development of focus for pretty much any other skill. We practice intricate techniques of disciplines like writing and math, and tout the virtues of repetition and drill in athletics of all levels. But, even a re-read of that last sentence helps reveal what each of these endeavors has in common, and couldn’t exist without: focus. It’s uniquely elusive and ubiquitous. And we need it to thrive.
Even educators too often consider focus a special needs problem and don’t try to build it as a skill in the general classroom. And most of us don’t even think about it at all. If we do think about it, it’s in frustration or dismissal - the result of a fixed mindset that tells us you either have it or you don’t. But with practice, it becomes the most powerful force we have at our disposal. Focus is underrated for its ability to help us perform and show up in every aspect of our lives.
And yet, if there were one obvious impact of the gamification that devices, social media, and the internet bring to our lives, it is that they contribute to a loss of focus and impede our ability to find more productivity and enjoyment in everyday life.
Part of the reason is that we are all operating with a brain that evolved long ago, and the way we react impulsively to the info-saturated world is a result of the same mechanisms designed to help us escape from dangerous predators. In other words, it’s natural to react to dings on our phone or to people trying to reach us.
But Instagram and similar experiences remove the effort from reward - it’s that effort that restores us. Nothing will happen if you do or do not check your IG notifications. There are no real stakes to the video game you spend hours trying to beat. But these things feel important and we prioritize them. When we delete all of that from our lives, suddenly we have to deal with ourselves.
When we stop chasing these rewards, we are left with what to do with our attention. And that can fill us with anxiety. Naturally, we look for relief or escape, and we find it harder to delay gratification. After all, if it has a silly face emoji on it, it must be good, right? Click. It becomes a habit, a distraction in itself.
The ongoing debate about cell phone use in schools suggests how easily we get sidetracked from the root of the problem by trying to solve issues of the moment, in one context. It’s like a misdirection. But the fact is, focus is everyone’s problem, and it affects our ability to not only perform well, but also to love doing things. All of those skills we value so much in work and athletics? They don’t amount to anything without the ability to focus.
Our attention - “the subtle faculty,” as Daniel Goleman refers to it, is fractured. But it’s also being challenged. Consider this an opportunity. And check out our latest article for 20 ways focus - the most underrated skill - influences nearly everything we value.
The Optima List
The best possible list of opportunities
🧠 Focusable on OnEdMentors
Last night, 9/22, Brian Lamb and Sara Candela of the Focusable team were interviewed live on the OnEdMentors podcast with host Noa Daniel. You can listen to the archived broadcast here, on VoicEd Radio, and follow along with the conversation on Twitter by using/searching the hashtag #OnEdMentors. We’re so grateful to have had the opportunity to dive deeply into the unique impact of focus in classrooms and our lives.
💬 #Optimalist Chat
Thank you to Dan Thomas for leading us in the discussion, Are You Paying Attention…to Your Attention? last Thursday for #Optimalist chat.
Next week, join co-hosts Don Sturm and El Higus, Thurs 9/29, at 8:30 pm for their chat called Students are Focusable, Too as we continue to explore Focus as a Skill this month.
As always, you just have to search the tag #Optimalist on Twitter to follow or participate!
📚 Book Study News
This week we began the 3rd Optimalist Book Study, on Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence by Daniel Goleman. We welcomed educators from the United States, Canada, and New Zealand to begin laying the groundwork: how do you perceive attention in your lives and schools? We’ve love to hear what you’re thinking, too. Just reply in the comments to this post, or participate in the discussion below on Twitter.
📰 The Optimalist Recommends…
Thanks to Richard Byrne for using Focusable to write his latest blog!
We thought we’d take this opportunity to feature Richard’s new piece, Three Ways Focusable is Helping Me Be More Productive, as well as his video below. You can be like Richard and create a free account yourself at getfocusable.com.
🐦 Follow us on Twitter
Let’s connect and explore the world of focus together. Are you ready to join our school of fish? 🐠
Follow → Sara // Arlen // Andy // Brian // Ali // Alli // focusable
Don’t be afraid to say hi, and use the tag → #optimalist