I don’t know about you, but the last few years, distraction has been the biggest obstruction to my productivity. And that really hurts, on various levels. Certainly, it would have disappointed people who were expecting me to deliver. Slippages mean even more pressure for subsequent activities owing to the cascading effect that results.

But what bothered me the most was that I was getting increasingly disappointed in myself. I knew what I was capable of – wasn’t I the person who delivered on impossible targets with time to spare? So, what was happening to me?

And it wasn’t like I was regularly underperforming – my productivity had become unpredictable even to myself.

I needed to rediscover my ability to be predictable, to not get distracted so easily, to remain focussed on the task on hand so that I could make commitments that I could count on – to myself as well as to others. I needed to be able to focus when the activity deserved it. Deliberate Productivity – not accidental but intentional, as the situation demanded.

As I studied my own habits and looked around for ideas that could lead to a solution, I stumbled upon a book by Chris Bailey – titled “Hyperfocus”. Getting a print edition during the lockdown was impossible and I didn’t want an “e” version, because my Kindle is so old, it wouldn’t look out of place in a museum. The only option left was an audiobook, so that’s what I took from Audible. My first non-fiction audiobook.

As I lay down in bed for the night, I started listening to it, very sure I wouldn’t make it past 30 minutes. However, an hour and a half later, I was still wide awake and listening, even jotting down notes in my bedside notepad – a rare event.

A lot of ideas and advice I heard actually made sense. Sure, it wasn’t all new, a big portion I had heard of before. What resonated was the practicality of the advice – it wasn’t abstract theory whose implementation you had to figure out by yourselves. It was something that the author had tested out and was sure it worked successfully.

His approach is all about Attention Management. He talks about Attention with Intention, an attitude and practice that will definitely lead to a productivity upswing that is not accidental but deliberate. And you would know precisely what worked and got you there.

He reminds us that our Attention Space is a highly limited resource and it must be managed optimally in order to be productive.

Let me share with you just a few of concepts, points and actions that I believe will help others who struggle to maintain consistent productivity.

Abandon the Autopilot:
The very first advice you get is to stop doing everything on an autopilot mode. Like most people these days, me included – start by looking at Screen 1 (usually the smartphone), look at notifications, delete some, read some, check out messages, read some, delete some, forward some. Write some small messages. Then on to Screen 2 (Desktop or laptop) for longer messages etc. And once you are done, you have this feeling of having done something, a load was off your back, you had cleared your “in-tray”. Very satisfying. But did it get you closer to that important goal you had in mind? Probably not. If that has not helped you get closer to your goal, then it is not the ideal way of using that scarce resource called attention.

Act with Intention:
The next step is to start being deliberate about what you do – actively choose what you will do – not by habit. That would mean:

  • A maximum of 3 realistic goals per day that must be achieved by the end of the day.
  • No multitasking of deliberate actions. No flipping between 2 important tasks. A deliberate task can be done together with a task that doesn’t use your attention space, what you can do without thinking. Jogging while listening to an audio book is okay, since jogging is not encroaching on your attention. But you cannot simultaneously do your important project work on your laptop and watch news. Or reverse park your car in an unfamiliar narrow parking spot while holding an important telephone conversation on your mobile. Either activity requires your undivided attention.
  • Manage both your external and internal distraction – You can’t completely get rid of it – your environment is going to distract you. Just learn to refocus the moment the distraction loses control over you. Deliberately pull your attention back. Put your phone in another room or keep it in your drawer in silent mode. For internal distraction – note down where and why your mind drifts to. Think later about how you can master that specific distraction better.
  • Cultivate your energy – Eat well. Get your heart rate up regularly with cardio exercise. That improves your focus (I can vouch for that… makes a big difference.). Give your focus some breaks. Don’t work for too long without a break. Try to sleep soundly. It is about recharging your batteries and it is not productive time lost. And he vigorous recommends meditation as one activity that has a huge impact on productivity and focus.

And what about creative work?
An immediate question that pops up is – can one be deliberate in creative activity? Is that not a matter of inspiration? Isn’t inspiration unpredictable? For creative work, the recommended mode is “ScatterFocus”. These are times when you let your mind wander. Not having to focus on a particular subject will get you your most creative ideas. I quote: Just as hyperfocus is your brain’s most productive mode, scatterfocus is its most creative. Entering scatterfocus mode is easy: you simply let your mind be. Just as you hyperfocus by intentionally directing your attention toward one thing, you scatterfocus by deliberately letting your mind wander. While walking in the park. While taking a shower. While doing absolutely nothing. While doing the dishes. While doodling or sketching. Doing anything that you don’t use your attention for – the habits, routine tasks that don’t require any special thinking effort.
In such a case of unfocused focus, according to his research, 48% of thoughts relate to the future and only 12% and 28% relate to the past and present respectively. That’s a great setting for creative thought. And clearly, “not all who wander are lost”.

 

A refreshing new way of classifying activities
An interesting contribution he made to my repository of tools is his method of classifying activities and tasks based on two aspects – their attractiveness and their productiveness.

The figure below will show what he means:

Our effort should be to spend a significant amount of time in the Purposeful block, without ever losing sight of the importance of the Necessary block. Unnecessary occurs when we do things on Autopilot; once we are cured of that habit, it will be better. Most challenging is the Distracting block, in which activities you enjoy but don’t add any value to your work….

Let’s look at the same picture with some typical activities added in:

  • Most Unnecessary activities are escapist – an unconscious attempt to procrastinate. You may perhaps remember times when you have gone about deleting old emails that are no longer required. Those emails don’t bother you and you have enough storage space for those to stay there eternally. But you spend valuable time deleting those. Rearranging your desk is another such activity. Nothing really changes.
  • Unattractive but Productive could be essential reports that you must write – you don’t enjoy them, but they are required. Or some team meetings. Such activities are named “Necessary”, essential but not generating enthusiasm.
  • Attractive but Unproductive could be your daily WhatsApp messages – Presently 70% are relating to Covid19, forwarded with good intention to you or in Autopilot mode. Or Instagram showing pictures of food that you are supposed to Ooh and Aah about. It is not even valuable social interaction. These are not taking you any forwarder in your mission. Such activities are labelled as “Distracting”.
  • Attractive and Productive – labelled Purposeful, these are activities that you enjoy doing and are also taking you closer to your destination. These would include visiting clients, coaching your subordinates, researching your project, making important phone calls.

Once you classify all that you must do into those 4 quadrants, prioritising work will become a whole lot easier and sensible. Important point to be noted is that nobody is suggesting that ALL activities that are attractive but not productive must be dropped – far from it. If that activity is intentional and not accidental, it is an important part of recharging your batteries through relaxation. All your intentional social activities with family and friends would fall into this category.

Folks, this book has made a significant difference to my approach to work life. It is still a work-in-process, I have to keep working at it to ensure that I remain deliberately productive.

I hope that by sharing my experience, I have made you curious enough to at the very least take a closer look at how you manage your attention.