Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence

If you're interested in learning what's happening in your brain while you're trying to focus on a task, or if you'd like to learn how to strengthen your ability to focus, then this book is for you.

We think its biggest benefit is the awareness it brings to the insidious lack of focus many of us have today, and how that lack of focus is affecting our connections to other people. And because the book’s heavily based on the latest research in the fields of neuroscience and psychology, it's easy to grasp the seriousness of the situation.

As an example, the author says he was once on a ferryboat, where he watched a little girl, who was obviously afraid, hugging her mother's legs tightly. The mother didn't respond because she was absorbed in her iPad, indifferent to her daughter’s obvious need for attention.

Chances are, from time to time we're all guilty of a lack of attention when it matters – and often, it’s because we’re distracted by technology.

How is our lack of focus and awareness affecting what we accomplish in life? And how is our world of constant distraction, especially from technology, affecting our children's ability to connect with others? What kind of example are we setting them?

These are important questions. And this book is a good wake-up call.

So, keep listening to find out how to rest your mind so that you can regain your focus, why learning to focus on your heartbeat can improve your self-awareness, and why the popular "10,000 hour" rule of practice is only half true.

"Focus"is a surprisingly long read. It's divided into seven sections, with 21 chapters, and comes in at 325 pages.
Part one looks at the anatomy of focus and distraction. Here, the author explains what happens in our brain when we focus, and how distractions disrupt this process.

For example, the author says that when we read, our brain constructs a network of pathways that embodies a set of new ideas and experiences. This can lead to deep comprehension.

But think about what happens when you read something online. There are flashing ads, videos, hyperlinks, and sidebar clutter all competing for your attention. Our eyes are pulled to these distractions all the time, which limits our ability to immerse ourselves in what we're reading.

The author divides our attention into two camps: our bottom-up mind and our top-down mind.

Our bottom-up mind is involuntary and automatic. When we get a flash of insight after puzzling over a problem for several days, this magical solution comes from our bottom-up mind. This mind is intuitive and impulsive, and it helps us carry out routine tasks so we can think about other things.

The bottom-up mind is constantly scanning your surroundings and analyzing what's there before you're aware of it.

Our top-down mind is slower and takes more effort. This mind is the seat of our self-control, and it's here that we can learn new things, analyze situations, and make new plans. Our voluntary attention and willpower comes from our top-down mind.

Most of what the top-down mind chooses to think about is actually dictated by the bottom-up mind. Psychologist Daniel Kahneman describes this perfectly when he says, "the top-down mind is a supporting character who believes herself to be the hero." Kahneman explores these ideas in his best seller, "Thinking Fast and Slow," which you can hear about in a different Book Insight podcast.

So, what does all this have to do with you?

Well, the bottom-up and the top-down minds worked great when we were constantly threatened by predators. But today, this system can sometimes trip us up.

The top-down mind consumes a lot of energy, especially when you're focused on learning something new. The more you become familiar with a task, the more your bottom-up mind takes over, requiring less active attention and energy.

When you've practiced something so much that the task is taken over by your bottom-up mind, you don't have to think about what to do, or what not to do. Your moves are automatic.

The problem is that when you get in the way of this process – when you start thinking, with your top-down mind, about a process that you know like the back of your hand – you can trip yourself up and do it poorly.

The author says that overloaded attention actually decreases your mental control and ability. This is why, when you're stressed, you might forget the names of people you know well, or other information that's crucial.
What's more interesting about our top-down and bottom-up minds is how they’re manipulated by marketers. The research on this is fascinating, and it will make you think about what you're not consciously seeing next time you watch a commercial.

Chapter five looks at balance. By "balance" the author means how we can benefit from keeping our attention in the moment, instead of letting our minds constantly wander and daydream. This is called "open awareness."

People who are able to let their attention rest in this open mode notice more about their surroundings than people who don’t. Open awareness also extends to your internal thoughts. It means you notice your emotions or memories, but you don't get caught up in reacting to, or judging, those emotions and memories.

Another part of balance means knowing when to take a break from focusing. You can only focus for so long before your mind is exhausted.

One way to take a break is to switch to a bottom-up activity, one that is so habitual that you don't have to think about it. Or, go for a walk outside. According to researchers, nature is one of the most restful settings because we can engage in "attention restoration therapy."

This is when we switch from focusing on one thing and suppressing distractions, to letting go and allowing anything to capture our attention.

Not every mindless activity can restore your ability to focus. A walk outside will do the trick. But surfing the Web, playing video games, walking down a crowded city street, or answering email won't restore your ability to focus. These things still require your attention.

Part two is another section we liked because, here, the author talks about the importance of self-awareness.

It's easy to think that focus is the ability to apply your attention to the task at hand. But focus also means knowing how to tune in to your inner compass, to understand your thoughts and feelings so you can make sound decisions. This inner focus is essential if you want to live according to your deepest values and purpose. It dictates what you do, and, more importantly, what you don't do.

So, how can you tune in and focus on this inner voice? You have to pay attention to your heart.

Science has shown that the more you're able to listen to your body, the more self-awareness you have.

There's a part of our brains called the insula, which is tucked behind our frontal lobe. The insula maps our body's internal organs with circuitry. So, our gut, heart, liver, and lungs each have a specific spot in the insula. This lets the insula control the functioning of these organs. So, it can tell the heart to beat faster, or the lungs to take a deeper breath.

When you focus on one of these organs, it becomes more sensitive. So when you tune into your heartbeat, the insula activates more neurons in that circuitry.

In this way, how well you can sense your own heartbeat has become a standard way to measure self-awareness.
The insula does more than just let you tune in to your organs. It also tunes you in to your emotions. People who aren't aware of their own feelings have a very sluggish insula, compared to people who are attuned to their inner emotions.

The insula is part of your bottom-up thinking. And the better you are at reading messages from the insula, the better you can understand your intuition and emotions. Scientists call these clues "somatic markers." This is our bottom-up mind telling us something, before our top-down mind has gone over the information and come up with a logical conclusion.

Knowing how to focus on your internal thoughts and clues can lead to greater awareness of what you're feeling and why, and ultimately, better decisions.

Chapter 15 is worth a look. Here, the author discusses the 10,000 hour rule of practice.

It’s a widely held view that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert at something. But it's how well you pay attention during this practice that matters, not the number of hours spent on it. Without the right focus, you can practice for 10,000 hours and not see any significant improvement.

Anders Ericsson, the psychologist whose research is credited with creating the 10,000 hour rule, says the secret to winning is deliberate practice. You have to train, adjust, learn, and train some more. Practice without focus won't really do you much good. You have to be able to spot your errors and improve them if you want to be successful.

What separates amateurs from experts is what happens long-term. After about 50 hours of training, your motions start to become habits, so routine that your bottom-up mind takes over.

Amateurs are content to let this happen. No matter how much more they train, their improvements will be negligible.

Experts keep pushing against the brain's urge to create automatic routines. They put their entire focus on moves that they want to perfect, or what's not working. They never rest on their laurels, they never stop learning, and they set goals that exceed their current level of performance.

We thought this was a useful reminder for all readers. It's tempting, over time, to rest on what you've already learned, whether you're learning to be a better leader, or training for a marathon. But if you don't keep pushing yourself to improve, and if you don't keep setting ambitious goals, then constant training won't do you much good.

Chapter 17 is one of the most practical in the book because, here, the author talks about the benefits of meditation and mindful breathing. You learn how daily meditation can dramatically improve your ability to focus.

There's an interesting case study showing how some New York City elementary schools are using meditation to help children with special needs have a calm, focused day in the classroom. If they can see such dramatic improvements with five to eight year olds, imagine what daily meditation could do for your focus.

So, what's our last word on "Focus"?

Like the author's previous books, the writing style in "Focus"is conversational and engaging. Chapter one pulls you effortlessly into the book, and you'll probably resurface in chapter five wondering where the time went.
Unfortunately, this is where the magic ends. Although much of the content is fascinating and useful, the book is meandering and you're going to need plenty of focus to finish it. It's twice as long as it needs to be, and, because of its length, we could only cover a small fraction of what's in it here.

Several chapters could have been left out entirely to make the book more focused and meaningful. We think less history, and more how-to, would have made the book better.

Those how-tos are another problem. There aren't many real solutions or strategies for improving your focus. You get an inside look at how the brain focuses, and why the ability to focus is so important, but there aren’t many actionable tips for improving your focus.

This was a big let down for us. A book this long should be full of tips and strategies you can use to improve such an important skill. But there were only a few clear-cut tips sprinkled around 325 pages. We felt the most practical information was found in chapter 17, on meditation.

That being said, the book is fascinating. The author did his homework, and it's full of well-sourced research. You'll definitely have a greater understanding of focus by the time you're done with the book. But you're going to have to work on your own to figure out how to apply this information in real life.

"Focus," by Daniel Goleman, is published by HarperCollins.

That's the end of this episode of Book Insights. Thanks for listening.