The science of focused execution, beta waves and singletasking
When I criticize our culture of hustle and endless drive, I am not in any way diminishing the importance of focus and execution. In fact, I think a commitment to rest and recovery is, in many ways, about setting you up to deliver results when it matters.
When it comes to brain science, keep in mind that your brain cannot multitask. It emits beta waves when you focus on a single task.
Multitasking is impossible. What you are actually doing is rapidly switching from one task to another, which is exhausting. That's why, on days when you're racing around and jumping back and forth between different tasks, you are in a fog when you get home at night. Your brain is simply not wired to do several things at once.
What a seal and 30 sharks taught me about focus
In late December 2019, my family and I travelled to the Galapagos Islands, which is a bucket list trip. It's absolutely amazing. It feels like travelling back in time and seeing the earth in its original state.
As a former swimmer, one thing I do first and most often on vacation is go in the ocean. Now that my daughter Ingrid is old enough to swim with me, she and I suit up and head off. It’s a blast.
When Ingrid and I first got into the ocean, right away a fur seal came up and started to play with us. It was swimming in loops and putting its face up against our masks. It was wild. Ingrid was totally freaking out. She could not believe it was happening. It was an epically cool moment. Definitely an item on her bucket list.
After doing that for a while, we decided to swim out deeper, because why not?
We are swimming along and an eight-foot hammerhead shark swims right underneath us. And then we start to see all kinds of sharks. At one point, I think there were 30 or more of them down below us.
How did Ingrid react? She went into full beta mode, laser focused on the sharks, which she started chasing. Total badass. It didn’t even phase her. She just went for it.
What was happening for me? Also 100% beta. I’m not drifting along taking in the scenery. I’m focused on keeping her safe and assessing the environment. Not that I would have been able to do much, mind you, but that’s what was happening in my brain.
I was completely focused on how far I was from her, how the current was moving us around, how close we were to shore, etc. Focus and execute.
Manage distractions at work to ensure laser focus
Every business setting has ongoing situations where you need to focus and execute. The trick is that in our culture of distraction and consistently unreasonable workloads, we need to learn to be deliberate about managing our attention.
When we think about a presenter getting ready to come on stage, it’s easy to imagine the need to focus and get into full beta mode. Same goes for a person leading a town hall or giving a speech. They need to eliminate distractions and be laser focused on the task at hand.
But when the need to focus isn’t as clearly defined, we run the risk of letting distractions keep us from executing.
The other day, I was in a meeting with five people. It was a very important meeting. The other four people were there to pitch me on hiring them. I was the client.
As the meeting got underway, two of them were on their phones.
Not okay.
I stopped the meeting and asked them to leave. I said, “Why don’t you go and take care of whatever it is that is more important than this conversation and come back when you are ready to focus?”
They were pretty offended. But come on. You want my business and you can’t even pay attention? That’s insulting.
One of the most powerful things you can do in this age of distraction is be highly intentional about your focus. When you are meeting with someone, set your devices aside, look them in the eye and give them your full attention.
Want to learn more?
Check out my new book Rest Refocus Recharge! In the book I cover simple and innovative ways to fight fatigue, feel stronger and live better.
In a 24/7 world, it can be a real challenge to get proper rest and give your mind and body the opportunity to fully recharge. In my new book, I outline how small changes in the way you rest, refocus and recharge can help you improve your mental health, prevent illness and deliver optimal results. In high-performance athletic circles, “deliberate recovery” practices are the secret weapon of the very best. But you don’t have to be an elite athlete to benefit from these strategies. Rest Refocus Recharge offers simple and practical techniques that you can easily incorporate into your existing routine, including:
Rest and sleep
Relax and create
Reflect and learn
Recharge and focus
Regenerate and perform
Let me know what you think about this article and the new book in the comments section below!
