INTRODUCTION
How are you today? We would hazard a guess that your answer will be along the lines of ‘I’m so busy’, ‘I feel so frazzled’, or ‘what am I doing even reading this book, I’ve got so much to do!’
However, we also suspect that you know in your heart of hearts that life’s not supposed to feel like this. You’re not supposed to feel like you’re in a hamster wheel that you can’t get off; that life is a ‘whirlwind’ or ‘one never-ending to-do list’. You know there has to be another way – but what is it?
Well here it is: Real Focus. We suspect that the reason you’re reading this book is because you feel your lack of focus is causing you problems in your life. Perhaps you feel overwhelmed by how much you have to do every day in the time available; or you’re unclear about your goals and what you really want. Maybe you’re sick of getting to the end of another ‘manic’ day and thinking: what have I actually achieved?
You probably look at other people and think they’ve got it all worked out (we can pretty much guarantee, they haven’t). At the end of the day though, this isn’t about anyone else, it’s about you; it’s about creating a life that allows you the time and space to do everything that matters, and spend time with those that matter too. We feel that’s what Real Focus is, in a nutshell: doing what matters. It’s kind of simple and yet tricky all at the same time.
The good news is that anybody can achieve it when they know how; and this book is the first step.
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
First of all, it’s important that you use this book in the way that benefits you the most. All we want is for you to take away as much as possible to help you in your personal journey towards better focus. To that end, we’ve split this book into three, clear sections so that you can dip in and out, read from front to back, or in whichever way you wish.
Part One is called How Focused Are You? This section will help you to look at how you feel now (how your lack of focus might be affecting your life), and what life could look and feel like if your focus improved. We have also put together a list of what we, at Psychologies, feel constitutes Real Focus. It’s meant as a helpful list of goals if you like, but you can add to and omit as you see fit, curating your own personal set of goals. Perhaps you’ll want to stick our list up on your fridge, or use it as inspiration for your own.
Part Two is called Why Do You Lack Focus? Covering key issues like time management and work/life balance, this section will help you to identify the issues that might be standing in the way of you reaching your potential and hindering your efforts to become more focused.
Part Three is called How Can You Become More Focused? Taking everything we have learned and explored throughout the book, this section is packed full of tips and strategies for you to ‘practise’ Real Focus and keep practising long after you have finished this book. Like any life skill, ‘Real Focus’ is something you need to keep at; you don’t master it overnight. However, there are plenty of bite-sized tips throughout the book, so that you can start working on your focus straightaway.
You will also find tests that will help you assess yourself and navigate your personal journey towards Real Focus. We hope that these, along with the ‘Ask Yourself’ questions at the end of each chapter, will help you to gain a deeper understanding of your obstacles and goals where focus is concerned and also to relate what you read in this book to your own experience. In addition, we have included case studies from real people (names and identifying circumstances changed). Their journeys will help you see how it’s possible to achieve Real Focus and give you a wider range of tools to do so yourself.
We interviewed a sociologist, a clinical psychologist/mindfulness expert, a time management and productivity expert, an investigative journalist, an entrepreneur/business author and a speaker/author. All of them are leaders in their field and were handpicked by us to offer as varied and rounded a picture as possible of what Real Focus is and how you can achieve it. For all their colourful differences, however, it could be said that they all have one, clear goal: to help people to live a ‘good life’ – that is, a balanced, happy, full life that is rich with the things that matter to them. They are united in the fact that in order to make this possible, one must cultivate Real Focus. We hope that, contained within these pages, is how.
THE EXPERTS INTERVIEWED FOR REAL FOCUS
Dalton Conley, sociologist, Henry Putnam University Professor of Sociology at Princeton University
Dalton has many academic roles including University Dean, University Professor and Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He writes and speaks on subjects such as race, socioeconomic status, poverty and the role of technology in society. He coined the term ‘weisure’ to describe the blurring of work and leisure and is also the author of many books, including Social Class: How Does it Work?, Elsewhere USA and his latest, Parentology.
Mark Forster, author and specialist in time management and organization
Mark is the author of numerous books including Get Everything Done, Do It Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time Management and Still Have Time To Play. His latest book is Secrets of Productive People. Mark has also developed a time-management system called Final Version.
Dr Tamara Russell, clinical psychologist, mindfulness trainer and martial artist
Tamara combines all three disciplines to work with individuals and organizations advising on mindfulness techniques to enhance performance and improve mental and physical wellbeing. She is director of the Mindfulness Centre of Excellence (virtual) and author of Mindfulness in Motion (Watkins Publishing), a book teaching the Body In Mind training which she developed.
Brigid Schulte, author, former award-winning Washington Post reporter and current director of The Better Life Lab at the nonprofit think tank, New America, and mother of two
A few years ago, Brigid found herself besieged by constant, exhausting busyness. Wondering why she felt so overwhelmed, she decided to go on a quest to find out. The result is her New York Times bestseller: Overwhelmed: How to Work, Love, and Play When No one Has The Time (Picador). Schulte was a long-time, award-winning journalist for The Washington Post, and now directs the Better Life Lab at New America, which seeks to drive the evolution of work, reframe gender equality to include both the advance of women and the changing roles of men, and rewire policy to support the needs of diverse 21st century families.
Laura Vanderkam, author and speaker on topics such as time, money and productivity
Laura questions the status quo and helps people to rediscover their true passions and beliefs in pursuit of more meaningful lives. Her books include What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast (Portfolio), 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think (Portfolio), and All the Money in the World: What the Happiest People Know About Wealth (Portfolio). Her latest book is I Know How She Does It: How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time (Portfolio). She is also a frequent contributor to Fast Company’s website and a member of USA Today’s Board of Contributors.
Sháá Wasmund, MBE, speaker, entrepreneur and author
Sháá is one of the UK’s most prominent female entrepreneurs and a champion of small businesses. After being a boxing manager (the only woman ever to do so), she set up Smarta.com, which gives advice and tools to small businesses and start ups. In 2015, she was awarded an MBE for services to business and entrepreneurship. She is also the author of the bestselling books Stop Talking, Start Doing and Do Less, Get More.