The Art of Focus — Part One
Have you ever reached the end of a busy day, feeling mentally exhausted, only to wonder what you have actually accomplished?
You’ve answered emails, attended meetings, responded to questions and dealt with unexpected problems. You’ve barely stopped all day. Yet that important task remains unfinished.
I’ve experienced this frequently in my working life.
When a busy day takes over
Just the other day, I began with two supposedly short meetings involving senior management. Both had legitimate purposes, but focused discussions gradually gave way to opinions, spontaneous ideas and conversations beyond the original agendas.
Inevitably, the meetings overran.
I had reserved periods in my calendar for focused work afterwards. However, these were interrupted by unplanned but important requests for assistance from colleagues.
As Head of Ecommerce and a Product Owner, balancing operational responsibilities, stakeholder expectations and changing requirements is an everyday challenge.
As the day progressed, my planned work became increasingly squeezed into the remaining time.
Then came the feeling of becoming overwhelmed.
With several important tasks competing for attention, deciding what to tackle first became difficult. The pressure to accomplish everything seemed to make prioritisation harder.
It was certainly a busy day. But was it a productive one?
The difference between busy and productive
In Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, Cal Newport distinguishes between two types of work.
Deep work requires sustained concentration and intellectual effort, helping us solve problems, learn, create and produce meaningful results.
Shallow work involves less cognitively demanding activities, including routine administration and everyday communications.
Shallow work is not necessarily unimportant. Helping colleagues and responding to genuine problems are valuable responsibilities.
The difficulty arises when these demands leave little time or attention for deeper work.
The danger of feeling overwhelmed
Something else happens when our plans repeatedly unravel.
A sense of failure can begin to develop.
We measure ourselves against what we intended to accomplish rather than recognising what we actually achieved. That feeling can influence how we approach the next task, potentially making us hesitant, frustrated or increasingly overwhelmed.
Left unchecked, it can become a self-reinforcing cycle.
I recognised this danger during my disrupted day.
Rather than continuing to wrestle with everything simultaneously, I tried applying what I call the chaos drill.
I took a deep breath, considered the work in front of me and, most importantly, chose something to tackle first.
Making that decision helped me regain a little initiative. Completing even a small piece of work provided a sense of progress upon which to build.
I also rescheduled other tasks into available periods later in the week.
Not everything would be completed that day, but that did not mean the day had been a failure.
Protecting our attention
Another useful concept is attention residue: when we switch between tasks, part of our attention can remain attached to the previous activity.
Repeated interruptions may therefore cost us more than the minutes they consume.
I am experimenting with reserving periods in my calendar for work requiring concentration.
It remains a continuous battle, but I feel I am making positive progress.
Perhaps the lesson is that protecting attention is not simply about avoiding distractions. It is also about recognising when circumstances have changed, reassessing priorities and choosing where to direct our efforts.
These principles apply beyond the workplace, too. Writing, learning and personal projects all benefit from deliberate attention.
Try it yourself: The Attention Audit
During one day, pause on three occasions and consider:
- What has occupied most of my attention?
- Was this activity important, necessary or largely avoidable?
- What deserves more of my attention next?
If you feel overwhelmed, try a simple variation: pause, consider your options and choose one manageable action.
The purpose is not to judge yourself. It is to become more aware of your attention and recognise that you can make choices about what happens next.
A final thought
Being productive does not mean filling every available moment with activity. Rest, relationships and enjoyment matter, too.
For me, deep work is not simply about accomplishing more. It is about becoming more deliberate with my limited time and energy.
And when things do not go to plan, perhaps progress begins with something as simple as making a decision and taking the next step.
Your experience
Have you ever finished a busy day wondering what you actually achieved? How do you regain focus when competing demands become overwhelming?
I’d welcome your experiences in the comments.
This is the first article in The Art of Focus, a Reworking Joseph series exploring attention, productivity and purposeful living.
Next: Time Blocking — Taking Back Control of Your Day.
