Mind matters: Focusing on one task is better than multitasking

So much so that when we have to make a choice, we find it difficult to zero in on one option as a result of which   our attention is divided and our focus dissipated. When focus is lacking and one cannot consistently concentrate on a chosen area, no prizes for guessing what will happen - it is like playing cricket without one’s eyes on the ball.

To understand the power of focus all we have to do is to hark back to times past when as children many people of the older generation were fascinated by an experiment performed with a magnifying glass and a leaf when the sun was strong. By letting the rays of the sun pierce through the magnifying glass onto the leaf below it - one could manage to burn a hole in the green leaf.

 There is the story in the Mahabharata of how Dronacharya one of the greatest teachers of archery used to train his pupils in the craft. In the practice range where he had suspended a wooden bird, he would summon them one by one and see if they had indeed identified the target and kept their eyes trained on it while releasing the arrow from their bow. Anyone who had not done that was in for big trouble. His clear message was that the target was all that the eyes should see.

There was a time not so long ago when multitasking – whether concurrent or by switching tasks was touted as a great skills to possess because it was believed that one could get much more done by doing so .Researchers have now found that multitasking actually reduces  productive , results in precious time being lost and even impairs cognitive ability .

If you read what celebrities whether from the world of cricket or cinema or business have to say you will find that they too set great store by focus.

To gain focus here are a couple of things you can do.

Define your end goal and work backwards identifying the steps you need to take to get there. Don’t let your attention waver. Make course corrections but the ultimate aim should not be lost sight of.

Don’t worry about what someone else is doing or. You are not them and you don’t know their story so this comparison is meaningless and a waste of time.

Focus on the present and the positive. Live in the moment

As Swami Vivekananda said, “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life- think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea and just leave every other idea alone.”

There cannot be a better way of summing up the importance of focus which eventually leads to success.