The ability to direct your focus is an art. All creative work is the result of clarity and the expansion of focused intent. Hard focus is the willful concentration of attention on a single point or idea to the exclusion of all else. Soft focus is the purposeful expansion of awareness to include the whole environment, without singling out any one part, and being aware that you are aware.
Creative work is a combination of both kinds of focused attention.
Hard, or singular focus, is necessary in the beginning to concentrate the mind and organize an idea, problem, or desire that you want to create. Most people are familiar with this kind of concentrated attention. In fact, we are all too familiar with this approach. We have assumed this is the only kind of useful focus to apply to any situation. Though it is useful, and necessary at some stage in creating our desires, without a soft focus we miss the subtle clues and opportunities that are part of the solution or final product.