Andy Lykens

Innovating and operating through growth

focus

Focus

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Our attention is limited by time, the nature of the mind, and by our choice of focus.

The more we focus on one thing, the less likely we are to notice another. Whether it’s doomscrolling, writing a memo, or churning something over in our head, our focus can be both productive and a distraction.

You don’t have to be absent-minded to miss something. It doesn’t mean you’re not smart if you have to re-read something after you catch your mind wandering. We all have limited time, limited capacity, and we need to focus to get things done.

Just remember: while you focus on one thing, you ignore another. So every now and then make sure to take a step back and make sure that whatever it is you’re ignoring, is by your own choice of focus.

The lazy genius

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There are definitely geniuses. Da Vinci comes to mind. Socrates. Einstein. Mother Theresa. Helen Keller. People whose very existence has such an impact on the world that they’re remembered for centuries.

There are also people who are famous, powerful, rich, or some combination thereof. These people are highly regarded for their impact. Some people may call them genius now, but time is still testing the merit of that descriptor in many cases.

In either case, we are really celebrating persistence.

What it takes to be a genius is showing up, putting in the work, and doing it again tomorrow. Focusing on incremental change. Getting back to it after a stumble. Refocusing on the most important thing after a distraction.

Most of us are geniuses (who’s to say you aren’t?) – we just might have a persistence problem.

Try it

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We hear a lot of stories about success, most of them condensed so they fit into a convenient, episodic, narrative we can easily consume. Most have distinct beginnings and endings. All of them have hindsight bias.

In reality, we can’t possibly understand the totality of these experiences. There are emotions and details that are omitted for one reason or another. Rather than beginnings and endings, all of these people decide to try something and then make choices in the middle of the resulting situations.

There are many times at which the answers are not clear no matter whose story is considered. There are times when what seems obvious in hindsight started as a hunch, perhaps being followed stubbornly against the wisdom of others.

If you erase luck and privilege, and decide not to glaze over details, you’ll uncover a lot of average people simply trying something they’re interested in, navigating uncertain circumstances, and largely being surprised at the result.

If you’re reading this you have at least some luck and some privilege. Maybe it’s time to just try it.

No response necessary

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Our workplaces can seem like a completely reactive world: the inbox becomes a to-do list, the calendar is other people blocking your time, meetings are mostly a way to disseminate information…yeesh.

Stop and consider for a moment how much time you spend actually making an impact. Why should your to-do list be tasks that other people – who don’t know what you know, who aren’t you, and who don’t share your responsibilities – drop in your inbox at random times? What are you getting out of a meeting that couldn’t have been accomplished with a voice memo or a video message?

We’re implicitly taught for most of our working lives that reacting with a fast answer (+1!) is the same as doing the best work possible (but if you’ve ever had a mediocre doctor, you know this isn’t true).

One of the takeaways I had when going to business school while I was working full time was how to let fires burn. It is amazing how much impactful work you can get done by triaging problems. Focus on the thing you must get done or the one that leverages your time the best, and the rest can…wait.

It gives you extra time to focus on something with real impact while concurrently allowing the sender a little space to potentially solve their own problem (or have it disappear entirely). It also may condense the time allotted on a given project, which can help improve focus.

I know, I know. The boss wants you in the room. You need viz on the thread. The responses to the Q&A from the CEO are interesting. You need something to do while you eat lunch. You really like presentations given by so-and-so. You’re excited to propose your idea…

If all you get out of reacting to all of these things is a feeling of busy-ness and overwhelm instead of a sense of accomplishment; if it’s easier to be busy and complain about it than it is to show up and engage; if you’d rather not challenge any assumptions and do what’s comfortable; then by all means…

…hurry up and answer that email.