Faith Venture

I think about focus often. That’s right–I focus on focus.

Especially in this era of constant distraction. Where a few social scientists try to prove that multi-tasking is a good way of life.

I don’t remember how I ran across this book I’m now reading–“Distraction” by Damon Young. At only 11 pages into it, I can’t recommend it, yet. But he makes an interesting point in the first few pages. Value. What is it that you value? Distraction is that which draws your attention away from the things you  value toward things of lesser value.

You only have so many hours in a day. And only so many hours in a life. What is it you value that you want to do? Determine that first.

When I’m working, there is a task that I’ve determined that must be completed. Either it earns some income, pushes me toward a goal, or aligns with an overall goal (promoting the soccer program in Ohio or getting the missions ministry in our church supercharged, for example).

I choose one of those and focus for a period of time. Perhaps I work on an essay. Then I take a short break and then focus on a document I’ve contracted to write. Most of us work in 90 minute bursts followed by 10 minutes or so of a break–maybe to fix a cup of tea and take a short walk to clear the mind.

We choose that which we value. Make sure what you choose is your highest value.

This entry was posted on May 31, 2013 at 6:56 am and is filed under Disciplines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.