The psychology behind why focus is important
By: Seb Abecasis
Tags: Psychology, Focus, Getting Things Done, Productivity, Creativity

I only truly appreciated the power of focus after learning about some of the underlying psychology.

Focus doesn’t merely help you get things done by keeping you undistracted — it is crucial for harnessing your creativity, making breakthroughs and achieving your long-term goals.

Somewhat unexpectedly, these thoughts were triggered from reading personal organisation bible ‘Getting Things Done’ by David Allen.

The Reticular Activating System

In a section of the book on outcome visioning, David Allen says the following on the importance of focus:

“When you focus on something, that focus instantly creates ideas and thought patterns you wouldn’t have had otherwise. Even your physiology will respond to an image in your head as if it were reality.”

This is because of the part of our brain called the reticular activating system (RAS).

“The reticular formation is the gateway to your conscious awareness; it’s the switch that turns on your perception of ideas & data, the thing that keeps you asleep even when music’s playing but wakes you if a special little baby cries in another room. Just like a computer, your brain has a search function. It seems programmed by what we focus on and what we identify with. We notice only what matches our internal belief systems and identified contexts.”

In other words: when we focus on a goal, the whole world begins to make sense to us in relation to that goal. We filter the world for tools to help us achieve our goal and obstacles which may hinder us. The more focused we are, the more refined the filter will be.

Moroever, we don’t need to be actively working on a problem to make progress or have our lightbulb moment; once the RAS has oriented our subconscious, it will do the work for us.

Once you internalise this, the true power of focus comes to light.

It is why serendipitous breakthroughs are no coincidence. When a scientist working on a complex problem is in the shower or sitting under an apple tree, though he may not be consciously working through the problem, the whole world develops meaning to him in relation to this. So when an apple falls and hits his head, this isn’t an isolated, irrelevant incident — this is new data which can help him solve it.

This level of focus is also central to the creative process. People talk about the importance of thinking outside of the box, reading widely and looking for inspiration in unlikely places. This is true but it only becomes powerful when coupled with focus.

If you have no clear focus or goal, reading a Jane Austin novel won’t necessarily help you with your marketing campaign. But if you have a finely attuned reticular activating system and allow yourself to wander, this is where magic happens.

Lastly, the RAS helps explain why it is often the most obsessive, not the most talented, who reach the top.

If you have a clear vision for your future, and achieving this future is your overwhelming priority, you are at a significant advantage. Guided by the lense of the RAS, everything in the world will reveal itself to you as a help or a hindrance. You will be more creative, more resourceful and less wasteful in the pursuit of your goal than others around you.

N.B. Activating our RAS is something we can get better at, and in my research around this I came across the following article which provides some tips https://www.nlpca.com/creating-an-optimal-future-for-yourself.html. Would be great to hear your experiences if you try some of these techniques.