Hyperfocus: How To Be More Productive In A World Of Distraction

Introduction: What is Hyperfocus?

Hyperfocus refers to highly focused attention that lasts over a very long time. When you have hyperfocus, you can concentrate on something so hard that you tend to lose track of everything else going on around you. In it, one task fills your entire attention space. It makes a person completely immersed in work and as a result, makes him/her happier.
Chris Bailey introduced two important concepts; ‘Hyperfocus’ and ‘Scatterfocus’ in his book ‘Hyperfocus – How to be more productive in a world of distraction’. Both Hyperfocus and Scatterfocus are crucial. Hyperfocus allows a person to stay focused on one problem and execute whereas Scatterfocus allows a person for creativity and new insights.

Four types of tasks:

Chris Bailey, in his book ‘Hyperfocus – How to be more productive in a world of distraction’, mentioned that there are mainly four types of tasks:
1. Necessary work – These are very unattractive yet productive tasks. We do them only when we have a deadline for them.
2. Unnecessary work – These are both, unattractive and unproductive tasks. We tend to use these tasks to procrastinate.
3. Distracting work – These are attractive and unproductive tasks. We tend to waste a huge amount of time doing them.
4. Purposeful work – These are attractive and productive tasks. These are the things you are really supposed to do and they come to you quite easier than to others.

How To Enter Hyperfocus?

According to Chris Bailey, one can enter Hyperfocus by the following steps:
1. Firstly, choose an object of attention and pick a time frame for which you can easily remain focused.
2. Secondly, anticipate what all things may distract you and then, eliminate both, internal and external distractions, as many as you can. Set a timer for your starting and ending time.
3. Thirdly, put your Focus on the object chosen for your attention.
4. Fourthly, even if your mind goes here and there, bring your attention back to the object of attention continuously.

Simple tactics to focus better include:

Chris Bailey has given simple tactics to focus better in his book ‘Hyperfocus – How to be more productive in a world of distraction’:
1. Put anything that can compete for your attention, including your phone, out of reach.
2. Choose a place with a peaceful environment where few things can compete with your attention.
3. Make a list of distractions that shifts your focus away from your desired task whenever you try to focus.
4. Ask yourself whether the place where you are about to spend your attention is the right place or not. You become what you pay your attention to.
5. A cup of coffee might help. It provides a boost to your focus.
6. When you are reading, grab a writing pen or highlighter and write whatever you’re reading in the book or on a piece of paper to actively consume the information.
7. Keep careful notice of the times when your focus wavers. If it wavers, take a small break in which you can do a mindless task to recharge your attention.

WHAT IS SCATTERFOCUS?

The most creative mode of our brain is Scatterfocus. You can activate it by deliberately letting your mind wander wherever it goes. It helps you process ideas and reflects on the meaning of your experiences thus helping you become more self-aware.
Three styles of Scatterfocus:
1. Capture mode: In this style, you should let your mind roam freely anywhere and capture whatever comes up.
2. Problem-crunching mode: In this style, you are supposed to hold a problem loosely in your mind and let your thoughts wander around it.
3. Habitual mode: In this, you should engage in a simple task and capture the ideas that arise in your mind. This is the most powerful mode of all the above-mentioned three styles.

Summary:

The above-mentioned tips and tactics, if followed, help a person to become more productive. Most of the time, our attention space holds the things that we’re aware of in this current moment. Mindfulness refers to noticing what your mind is full of. By simply noticing that what is occupying our attentional space makes us more productive. Our Habits require less attention space to perform. That’s why you can pair multiple habits together or one habit with a simple task. But you cannot pair a habit with a complex task because that task requires almost all of the attention space that you may have to offer. Hence, you should do it solo. Productivity is the art of doing the right thing in each and every moment.