Focus is binary.
When a sharpshooter goes from 100% focus to 50% focus, his score does not decline by 50% but it goes to zero. He misses every target. 50% focus is as good as no focus.
And yet, when it comes to our work, we believe that we can make do with half-focus.
Every time we switch between a task, open Slack, or do a quick Whatsapp check, we force our brain to switch off the current neural circuit and switch on a new one.
This process is quite inefficient as the previous circuits don’t switch off fully, creating a state where our brain is vaguely aware of multiple tasks.
Many of us go through life in this constant state of partial attention. At any point, our mind is partly here, partly there.
In that state, we can’t do the deep, focused work, which can move the needle on our career. We can’t find creative ideas or connect the dots. We can’t experience flow. And we take 3-4x more time to do even ordinary work.
Living a good life is like a sharpshooting game. Do it full-on, with 100% focus, one task at a time.
Don’t be the distracted sharpshooter. Either aim fully and hit the target. Or don’t do it. There is no 50:50.
– Rajan