I’m not one for watching much TV.  So when I find a programme that engrosses me, I focus my attention on it rather a lot.  On one occasion, my attention was so focused that I felt like I couldn’t breathe any more.

That must be unhealthy.  But this rather surreal happening taught me a few lessons that I’d like to share with you in this post.  Too much attention can become a bad thing.

You’ve got millions of attention focuses.  Most of your day involves giving your attention to something, even if it’s mundane.

But we take our attention for granted and forget that it’s an important commodity.  If we use it wisely and consciously, we have a lot to gain.

Let’s take account of the points:

• At school, you’re told to pay attention.  In turn, we treat attention like an on/off switch.  We need to detune this automatic response and give it a third dimension.
• In being attentive to unproductive, upsetting and unhelpful issues, you’re breeding negative attention.
• Attention can lead to obsession.  Too much focus on one thing destroys the attention we give everything else.
• Attention isn’t like multitasking.  It can be either focused or blurred.  Put your attention glasses on and stay focused!
• You need to give just as much attention to your rest and recreation time as you do to your work time.  Chances are you do this already, but you probably didn’t recognise it in that capacity.
• Attention needs to be fed.  It feeds off planning and preparation.  With this diet, you’ll find a pin-sharp focus.  What may have taken hours may take you mere minutes.

By regularly treating attention like an on/off switch, it’s no wonder that focus can be so hard to achieve on certain projects.

Far from flicking a switch, it requires nurturing and understanding in order to get the best from it.

So when there’s a lot on your plate, plus a desire to have some fun and then get some rest in along the way, our attention wanders all over the place in a mad haze.

Developing your attention is not difficult, but the flawed beliefs about it make development an unlikelihood.

As the points above state, we need to change our view in order to develop any effectiveness.  Our attention is always focused on something.  But we generally ignore that this is the case.  It’s only when we want to develop our attention that we consider it.

That’s like turning up to an exam and wanting to pass without any proper preparation.

So we need to turn our attention to developing our attention:

Plan ahead

The first of the ‘attention foods’.  Put simply, if you know where you’re heading, you won’t be forced to consider your position every five minutes.  Give yourself an awareness of what’s expected to achieve maximum effect.

Prepare the tools so you’re ready to work from the outset

The other ‘attention food’.

Starting on a new project feels a lot better if you’ve started on it already.  Let me explain…

When you’re making a start on something new, it’s best to collect all the necessary tools and gather the information that’s needed before you take the plunge.  This is, essentially, starting the work, but it’s a step that doesn’t bring you any closer in what you’re doing.  It’s simply a preliminary step.  If you treat it that way, your proper start can be a much brighter occurrence and you’ll feel like you’ve actually made some progress from the first moment.

When distracted, note down what you need and forget about it until later

The danger of a wandering mind isn’t half as dangerous if you’re ready for it.  When your concentration is disturbed by a brilliant idea popping into your head, write it down for later and move on.  With a developed attention, there’s no problem in picking these issues up later and giving them all your focus then.

Give yourself deadlines

Instead of working toward a tutor-inflicted deadline, why not stay in control of your own work and make your own deadlines?  Even if you shift a due date forward by just a couple of days, it gives you more control and even allows you to recover more easily from disaster.  Your attention will also be more focused, because the setup of deadlines will be your own doing.  That shows good planning ahead.

Accept limits

It’s natural for your mind to wander.  It’s going to happen.  You can’t do anything to stop it.  So if you’re looking for perfection, forget it.  That’s why attention is a tool to develop, not master to the highest level.

Set specific goals to get the best from your attention

If you create a bland set of goals, the mind will not have worked out what is truly needed.  In the resulting confusion, you won’t be able to concentrate your attention properly.  You need a solid understanding of what’s required with each goal.  It’s also further reason to set your own deadlines, so you’re certain of where you need to be and when it needs to be sorted out.

Move on before you over-expose yourself

Finally, before obsession creeps in, give your attention to something else.  No matter how much you enjoy a particular pasttime, it’s unwise to allow over-exposure.  This will breed negative attention and undo all the good work you’ve achieved in the meantime.  As the title of this post explains, you need to give the right amount of attention to what you do…not too little, not too much.

Further reading on similar topics:

• Dumb Little Man – 6 Simple Steps to Achieve Laser-Like Focus
• How to be an Original – Goal Setting Mistakes: 1. Too Many Goals
• Lifehack.org – How to Improve Your Concentration
• Ririan Project – Eight Do’s and Don’ts of Effective Goal Setting
• Life Optimizer – Attention Management: 7 Tips to Use Your Attention Wisely

The most important aspect of any personal development is YOU.

But how many times do we look ahead and wish a little bit of magic could take some of the burden away too?

What we sometimes forget (me included) is that the magic is there, but it still eminates from our own drive and passion.

Many seemingly difficult things are quite easy once you put your mind to it. Sure, it’s not always enjoyable, but that’s a mindset in itself. You can enjoy it if you choose to. The power is within.

To get a running start at making your magic, take your average ‘day in the life’ and give it a makeover. Spring clean your day by flipping everything on its head and making a brand new start. Here are some ideas to get you going:

Change your sleeping habits and promise to get up earlier

It’s a tired cliché, but it’s often the case. We don’t much enjoy getting up in the morning. But if you can force yourself to get up nice and early, even if it’s only an extra hour and only a couple of times during the week, it’s still extra time to do whatever you want.

I’m not suggesting you do your studying only. Whatever you choose, it’s more time than you had. And after a few weeks, the routine will feel like you’ve always got up at that time. Think how much more you could be getting out of life from this small change!

Don’t attempt to do everything

Just because you’ve been invited to five different events that week doesn’t mean you absolutely MUST go. Of course not! You have to miss some things in order to enjoy the other things more. I know it’s a hassle, but we all have to make choices.

Saying ‘yes’ to everything just happens to be one of the choices you can make. If things aren’t working out because of that, it’s time to start admitting that you need to say ‘no’ once in a while.

Believe in having ‘enough time’

Running around like a headless chicken is only okay if you thrive on that. Otherwise, it’s time to chill. If you don’t think there’s enough time in the day, you need to reorganise and refocus.

Most of us have a wide range of interests, a lot of leisure activities we want to enjoy, a great deal of study and reading to be getting on with, essays to write, and all sorts of daily tasks like eating, sleeping, washing…the list goes on. In no way does it mean that there’s not enough time. While getting bogged down is an occasional possibility, there’s no reason to feel in a permanent state of chaos. Take a break, sit down and find out what’s most important. Work from there.

Set limits and deadlines…Then be faithful to them

My wife has long been a believer in setting her own deadlines for projects. From when she started university right up until this day, if she’s given 4 weeks to complete something, she’ll set her own deadline of 2 or 3 weeks.

She’s not punishing herself. In fact, it’s rather the opposite. She will sit down and seriously consider how much time is needed on the project. After this, it’s time to set a realistic goal and stick to it. My wife makes no excuses about it and gets on with what’s needed.

In rehauling your days at university, you can set limits and deadlines on micro levels too, such as giving yourself a deadline to finish reading a book, or limiting yourself to 30 minutes of washing up because it needs to be done. Start small and watch things grow.

Have a plan

Far too often, I would speak to friends who didn’t know what the day was going to bring. It was like their life was a mystery and they weren’t in control.

I must admit, I didn’t always have a well thought out plan for every day, but I had at least a basic idea of what I wanted to achieve by the time the day was through.

If you’re serious about making a change and getting every last drop out of your time, you need to plan ahead.

Prepare for the unexpected

Fine, so you now have a plan. But what if you’re surprised by a new development that turns your plan on its head? It can happen.

Carefully take any new developments in and give some considered thought to what would be best in the circumstances.

It’s common to see a situation spiral out of control because nobody is taking responsibility for their actions. In the end, the day is over and people are ready to blame anything except their own actions. If something changes your day, embrace it and work with it. You have the power to make the ultimate decision one way or another. Like I suggested with the tip ‘don’t attempt to do everything’, you have the choice to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and then make the most of your decision.

We don’t know what the day will bring, but we do know how to bring the day under control.