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Think about the lens of an autofocus camera. Regardless of the distance, the focus adjusts itself in milliseconds to bring the object into sharp clarity and perfect focus.
Imagine if you could learn to use your brain to do that. Imagine if it could focus on various things in matters of milliseconds, seamlessly moving from one thought to another.
An Example on a Ship’s Bridge
If you are the bridge of my ship, you will find a symphony of random information flow and an orchestra of quick decisions.
I stand in command. We are a massive mammoth entering the Mississippi delta, about to pick up Pilot at the Southern end of the Mississippi river. With a draft of 40 feet, my ship is in waters not nearly deep enough. I have little room to maneuver and no room for error! Small vessels whiz past my bow; larger ones are coming downriver, often loaded, sluggish, and unpredictable. The port control is of little help in guiding me. There is an efficient bridge team working for me. Everyone is on high alert. I am getting inputs from all ends.
Here is the list of information packets that are reaching my brain at any given time:
- Speed and distance values in real-time, as they keep changing.
- The possibility of ships and smaller vessels crossing my path at close quarters.
- Problems and changes in my ship’s engine parameters.
- Vessels departing anchorages are heading towards me.
- Shallow patches of water create difficulty in maneuvering.
- The Pilot boat is approaching, and I need to slow down soon.
- There is a vessel behind trying to overtake me on my starboard side while I have another one on my port side.
- My agent wants to know my itinerary so that things can be arranged as soon as I enter the port.
- Port control is calling me on the radio to report to them.
Not everything is going right as planned, so I also have additional information to consider:
- Technical difficulties I am facing with my ship.
- Unexpected movements by vessels around me.
- Difficulty steering the plate because of shallow depths (to name a few).
This continuous information flow is collected by my team and fed in real-time into the primary central server — me. Besides, I also have to control team frustration to prevent the system from crumbling.
Here’s the thing: the default setting of a brain so bombarded by information is to get perplexed. I do not have that option. These inputs are being prioritized and filtered in real-time by mere instinctive reflexes in my brain. Decisions are being made in seconds. One wrong decision can lead to a disaster. I am the last line of defense here.
Overwhelming? Well, that’s just another day for us out at sea.
The Importance of Correct Decisions
In several professions worldwide, decisions must be made in seconds or milliseconds. And just like me, some people cannot afford to make mistakes — the price is too high. You have to know how to use your brain!
A lead violinist conducting an orchestra will pay the price with a ruined performance in front of an audience, perhaps a ruined career over one wrong hand gesture. A soldier on the battlefield will pay the fee with his life for any bad decision. The Pilot of a Boeing 737 will spend the lives of everyone on board.
In every phase and every sector of life, high achievers need to develop this habit of making the right decisions immediately.
To use your brain to its full potential takes more than intention. It takes training.
An untrained brain gets mesmerized and overwhelmed when you get hit by several information inputs. Productivity declines. The ability to prioritize declines. If prolonged, this can lead to cognitive impairment, where you cannot make any decision. Your productivity drops to zero.
However, that is not an option for some people. As I said before, our mistakes cost us dearly. We have no room for error.
The Mechanism of Pulling off a Successful Venture
To make an operation succeed, you must have:
- You can use your brain to prioritize information in real-time and act on the highest priority at the moment.
- Once solved, the ability to shift focus immediately and concentrate on the next piece of information.
How You Use Your Brain for Prioritizing
Prioritizing comes with experience in the job. We prioritize based on the balance between 3 things:
- The urgency of the decision (Urgency factor).
- How easy the decision is (Difficulty Factor).
- The consequence of the wrong decision (Consequence factor).
In the boating example above, if I make a wrong call on a vessel coming out of the harbor, it can lead to a severe disaster, hence the high Consequence factor. I may have just a few seconds to make that decision – meaning there’s also a high Urgency factor. However, the decision may be elementary for me, meaning a low Difficulty factor. This decision will have to be given a lot of attention at the moment, and once made, the brain can shift into things of lesser priority. Using your brain for those few seconds can make or break the situation.
On the other hand, in the same example above, the agent asks me for my itinerary. Even if I give him the wrong information, nothing disastrous will happen, hence a low Consequence factor. The data is accessible for me to share, therefore a common Difficulty factor and, frankly, it’s not very urgent either — a medium Urgency factor. This decision shall be postponed later as it is not my priority.
What I have just explained is done by professionals all over the world. There are ways to improve on setting priorities, which we shall get into later.
The Focusing Ability of the Brain
Let’s talk about developing the ability to shift focus in milliseconds.
The problem with an untrained brain is that while you are focused on one thing, the remnants of your previous decision are still looming in your mind. It is distracting you and affecting your present decision. You are getting delayed. Several quick decisions will bring undue haste, and your brain may fail or refuse to decide quickly.
It takes a bit of practice to condition a mind to focus on one issue and immediately shift focus to a new one with equal attention. This way, you use your brain to pay careful attention to every decision, making them impeccable and error-free.
That is my concept of the autofocus brain.
What if your brain could work like the lens of an autofocus camera, focusing itself and readjusting focus as needed in a matter of milliseconds? What if we never get perplexed, no point how many tiny bits of information come through to us? What if this was as easy for you as a walk in the park?
When you get a series of random information inputs, it seems that the mind concentrates on several things simultaneously. This, however, is not true. We can’t pay attention to many things at the exact moment. We dissect the information into smaller parts, concentrate on each piece at a time and, once resolved, move on to the next. This is how you use your brain.
5 Proven Methods to Develop Your Brain’s Ability to Focus Instantly
What I am going to explain here is not theory. I have practiced this myself and trained my juniors to use this ability to their benefit. I know it works.
These five different methods can be used individually or together for a day. Each of them, except number 5, takes about five minutes of your time. Even if you follow any one of them just once a day, you will be able to use your brain in ways you never thought were possible.
1. The breathing technique (5 minutes)
This is something practiced by hypnotists and yoga practitioners around the world. It works like a charm.
For five minutes a day, sit in a relaxing, comfortable position, close your eyes, and let go of your muscles. Now, focus on your breathing and nothing else. Feel the up and down movement of your chest or stomach. Feel the air entering your nostrils leading up to your lungs and the freshness in your body. Pay attention to this and nothing else.
If you have not done this before, your mind will wander off. This is not a problem. When you realize that you have branched out into different thoughts, bring your focus back to your breathing.
2. Browsers option (5 minutes)
Do you spend a lot of time in front of computers? This option is ideal for you.
Open up 5 of your favorite sites in different windows. You can have them open on other browsers, like three on Google Chrome and two on Firefox, to make it more challenging.
Now, open one of them and read the content with rapt attention. Concentrate on it! Do this for exactly a minute and then shift to the next window. As soon as you are on the next one, read that one with your full attention.
It will not seem easy initially, and you will tend to think about what you were reading before. When you realize this, bring your attention back.
Time yourself for one minute using your watch or mobile phone. If you can, set it for a single beep every minute. When you find this easy to do, shorten the span to half a minute and use your 5 minutes to browse through ten sites. Try changing focus fast, yet concentrate on each item individually.
3. The Facebook technique (5 minutes)
This option is excellent for you if you are a social media fanatic. Facebook is an outstanding collection of random facts which can be used effectively.
Open your Facebook page. Now read the first post for a minute. Do this with rapt attention to it.
At the end of the minute, shift to the next one and pay equal attention, whether you have finished reading it or not. As before, this won’t be easy initially, and you must keep bringing your attention back to the post in front of you.
Even if you have not finished reading one post, you must shift focus to the next one. This can also be done using Twitter, Yahoo, or Google+. It slowly becomes easier to change direction briskly and to use your brain in this fashion.
4. The fixed-point method (5 minutes)
This one is for anyone who can spare five minutes of their time during the day to be alone and undisturbed.
I want you to sit on the ground in a quiet place with your legs crossed. Draw a small dot on the wall in front of you.
Now, with your hands and body relaxed, look at this dot. Concentrate on it. Think about this dot and its shape and size. You will slowly see everything else fading away, even the wall will seem blurry, and the only thing in your focus will be this dot. If your attention wanders, as before, bring it back.
When you think you can concentrate on this dot effectively for five minutes without distraction, put your ability to the test. Choose more noisy and distracting environments and do the same exercise. For example, while traveling, choose a fixed point in front of you and concentrate on it. Do not let the cars’ noise distract you — needless to say, do not do this if you are driving.
5. The attention method
What are you thinking about right now? Are you just reading this post, or are you thinking about something else? Just start paying attention precisely to everything that you do from now on. Most of the things you don’t take much of your attention. They are primarily reflexes and habits. I am asking you to start paying attention to them.
For example, the next time you peel an orange, peel it carefully and cleanly. Think about what you are doing. Once you’re done, please pay attention to the taste and how it feels in your mouth. Consciously use your brain to concentrate on the immediate task.
While talking to someone, pay attention to the conversation. Do not let your mind wander off to other thoughts. If it does, bring it back.
These methods, if followed diligently, will give you results within a relatively short time. They can work wonders for kids too. If your child is at an age where they can follow instructions, get them to do one of these during the day. Trust me, these five minutes can be far more beneficial than study hours.
With a bit of practice, the mind works on autopilot, only focusing on the essential things. This will make you a winner in all you do, big or small, and increase your productivity.
