The Path To Focus: How To Start A New Habit
If you are the sort of person who wants more focus in their lives, but finds it hard to acheive this, then you probably look at other focused people and wonder how they are able to keep doing what they need to do, in order to achieve their goals.
Perhaps you have read through many books and articles that have given you tips on focus, yet you can never quite achieve the levels of concentration you feel you need to achieve the things you want to achieve.
A big component of people with focus, is that they have routines and habits that help them work in a more targeted manner.
In his excellent book Atomic Habits, the psychologist James Clear talks about how you can use incremental change in order to instil new habits into your life. I have written at length in the past about the power of incremental change, so this book immediately appealed to me. I'm glad I read it, because it gave me lots of ideas and new techniques to try out, which I'm very glad to share with you now.
The Anatomy Of Focus
What do we mean when we say that a particular person has focus?
We say things like;
*"Man that Johnny, he is so focused on becoming a doctor."
Or,
"Wow! Jane is such a great athlete, she is so focused."
In these contexts we are using the term focus interchangeably with the word determined. This is because the two terms have almost come to mean the same things, we can almost swap out the words of the above statements perfectly.
However whilst determination and focus are linked. It is more the fact that determination is a byproduct of focus. Focus is in fact the ability to repeat a task over and over again to the same, or improving standards without getting bored. Whereas determination is the desire to repeat those tasks. Ergo it is possible to be determined, yet unfocused.
The Habit Of Focus
A habit is merely an unconscious and automated response that you have in any given situation, and can be classed as good, bad, or neutral.
A good habit might be that you take the stairs instead of the lift at work. A bad one might be that you smoke a cigar after any restaurant meal. Whereas a neutral one might be that you always turn on your radio after you start your car.
Habits are important because they allow us to do things automatically with little or no brain processing power, which in turn frees up valuable thinking power.
Thus a habit isn't something you necessarily do everyday, it is more about how automated that process is to you. For instance you might not drive every day, in fact you may only drive now and again.
However if you have at one point driven a car for a long period of time, then the chances are that you can drive without consciously thinking about the controls of the car.
You no longer need to pay attention to what gear you're in, or how fast you're going. These actions have become automated through repetition, leaving you to concentrate on where you are going, and to respond to the other traffic on the road.
Becoming A Habit Former
Of course anyone can start a bad habit, they are the easiest ones to start because they have the most immediate short term gains.
So smoking a cigarette, or eating junk food, or watching (too much) porn, are easy because they provide an instant gratification.
Whereas starting a good habit is hard, this is because good habits don't tend to have an instant gratification process attached to them, rather it is all about delayed gratification. Eating healthy food, going to the gym, or learning a new skill are all things that are going to pay off in the future, therefore they are less attractive.
The way to get over this is by using the:
2 minute rule.
The 2 minute rule simply states that any new habit you start, should be done in two minutes or less. This helps negate the battle in your head between the urge for instant gratification and the disdain for delayed rewards.
We know this works because we have used this rule to great effect without even knowing it. Everyday I'm assuming you brush your teeth, which takes approximately two minutes.
When you first get a child to brush its teeth, it takes a little while to take hold, however after a short time teeth brushing becomes a habit that few people think about.
The Two Minute Rule In Action
Let's look at a few things that you may want to start a new habit in, and how you can incorporate the 2 min. rule into that habit.
Exercise
You've realised that you're out of shape, you can't even jog for a bus without panting and sweating for minutes afterwards, so you decide to take up running.
How most people do
On or around January 1st, go out for run until soaked in sweat. Wake up the next day with pains in legs. Perhaps push through this pain barrier for a few days thinking it will get better.
After one week give up.
Using the 2 minute rule
Spend 2 minutes packing gym bag for a few days in a row. Then on one day go to the gym and spend 2 minutes there.
After some time, spend 2 minutes working out. At some point 2 minutes does not feel enough, so you naturally want to stay a bit longer, at that point make your workout 10 minutes (or whatever feels comfortable), add a minute every time you go back to the gym.
Healthy Eating/Lose Weight
How most people do it
Get rid of all bad food in the house and throw yourself into fad diet. Stick to it for a while and then become hungry and angry (hangry) all the time.
Give up.
Using the 2 minute rule
Every lunch time getting an apple/orange (fruit you like) and a bottle of water and consuming them before eating your usual lunch. Doing this everyday until it is routine, then extending how many healthy things you can add.
This can be reinforced by visiting a grocery store you don't usually go into and spending two minutes looking for healthy food.
The goal is to increase the amount of healthy things you eat before lunch, until they become your lunch.
Working On New Project
Maybe you have a book idea you just have to get out there...
How most people do it
Procrastinate endlessly about the perfect way to start. Plan meticulously (or just talk about) each stage of the project, and then ultimately, never actually start it. At best, write a few sides of A4 before abandoning project forever.
Using the 2 minute rule
Open up your computer/get your pen and pad out and write for two minutes. Whether it's the outline for your book, the functions for your app that you're coding, or the questions to the exam you're studying for. Simply write for two minutes and then get on with your normal day.
Do this everyday (or to what frequency is appropriate) until it becomes easy, once it does, start to incrementally add the amount of time you write/study for.
Conclusion
Using the two minute rule can be an effective shortcut to becoming that focused individual you so crave to be. The rule will allow you to start new habits with little to no friction, and is a way to rewire your brain to allow a new habit to enter your life.
Good habits are harder to start because there is no immediate payoff.
Bad habits are easy to start because there is an immediate payoff.
A habit is merely an automatic process that can take place without us hardly noticing.
Focus is the ability to concentrate on one thing for an extended period of time without getting bored.
Using the two minute rule is a way to start new habits and increase your ability to focus for longer.
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WHAT NEW HABITS ARE YOU TRYING TO START FOR 2019? DO YOU HAVE ANY NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS? OR DO YOU JUST WANT A GENERAL IMPROVEMENT IN YOUR LIFE? AS EVER, LET ME KNOW BELOW!
Title image: Christopher Harris on Unsplash