[00:00] Welcome back to the Focus B show. This is Katie Sudddhart here aka the focus b. And on this show, I interview high performers and leaders around the world to discover their secrets on peak performance, productivity, mindfulness, and leadership. So if you want to take your performance and your leadership to the next level, then you're in the right place. Listen up and connect with the magic.
[00:41] I'm really excited to announce that in the upcoming weeks, I am launching my new program to help you to optimize your time and your energy to reach the results and impact you want in your business and in your life. If you want to find out more about my new program, check out thefocusbee.com program. We're kicking off the next pillar on Attention. And as the Focus B, attention is a topic I am really passionate about. Just like energy. You get it. I'm passionate about all these topics. Attention. Wow, so powerful. The first topic and episode on this series of attention is Focus and Flow. I already did an episode on Focus for the 100th episode, I believe Focus the Door to Freedom. So if you want to check it out, I covered quite a bit on this topic already, and today I'd like to tie together why focus matters and how we can get more into Flow and why that matters too. First off, why is focus important? Focus. What is it anyway? It's when your thoughts, emotions, behaviors are all directed in 1.1 action. For example, as I'm recording this podcast, I even have my eyes closed right now. I am putting all of my Focus attention on recording this. I am almost totally unaware of surrounding noises or anything else that's happening around me. This is Focus, and you have the ability to be focused all day. Maybe when you take some time out or you're walking, you want to not be focused and be sort of scattered focused. When you think creatively and you have sort of time out, let's call it. And in between those moments, you can be totally focused because what is it? It's really just being present. It's really just being present right here, right now with what you're doing or saying. If you're in a conversation or like me recording a podcast, I'm almost certain that if you're listening to this, you're doing something else at the same time. And that's fine. I sometimes walk and listen to podcasts, or sometimes cook and listen to podcasts. It makes it harder for you to be focused, but it's still possible, especially as cooking uses one part of your brain, for example, as you are chopping or creating something, especially if it's kind of robotic or folding laundry, for instance. And listening to words is another part of your brain. But if you're listening to this and trying to write an email at the same time, that's not going to work too well. It uses the same part of your brain and it makes it harder for you to be present and to do a good job, basically. And it also kind of derails you and adds cortisol and brings out stress. Focus is the ability of being present gray, and when you're fully present, you're more likely to get into Flow. Flow is and again, I did another episode on this with Aluba and that will be coming out soon, or it just came out, depending on where you are and listening to it. And we covered this quite extensively also. And Flow is that perfect ratio of skills and challenges where your skills set meets that level of challenge. As you grow and improve on the skill, you'll probably need greater challenges. And if you've checked out my episode on The Zone of Genius, you know how important it is to be in your zone of genius. When you're in your zone of excellence, for instance, it's when your skill set has become good, better even than your challenge, and you start to feel slightly bored and under challenged. And instead of increasing the level of challenge, you might actually realize that you want to use a totally different skill set. And that's your zone of genius. Highly recommend the book Flow by Mi Ali Chisenk Mihai, who covers this in so much depth, so much more depth than I'll ever be able to do in ten minutes on a podcast. And he explains this beautifully. There's also a correlation somehow between a high level of flow and expertise. The greater you are at something, let's say you're a professional climber and you're totally in the zone, and then you're able to take on even greater challenges where you need an even more in depth level of focus and concentration, then you'll be even more in Flow if that's something that makes sense to you. Because there are moments you can be in Flow and time goes by quickly and you're enjoying it, but maybe you'll have slight moments where you're feeling a bit bored or you're checking the time in spite of being in flow. But when you're super, super flow, flow, flow, whatever you want to call it, then time disappears instantly. It's as if a whole day can disappear in a second. I had this recently when I was hosting the TedEx event in Gothenburg in Sweden, and I literally felt that the entire day disappeared in a second. It's a very strange way to explain this, but I can't find a better way of saying what super flow feels like. So start to notice how much are you in Flow during the day and what prevents you from being more in flow most of the time, this is because you're either under challenged or underskilled, and then you either need to work on improving your skills or meeting a harder challenge. But actually this is theoretically speaking, and I know that when I spoke with Aluba Phoenix about this, he had the key explanation. If you're not in Flow, it's probably because you're getting distracted, because you need a bit of concentration and focus to get into the zone, so to speak. And so if you're constantly being interrupted or interrupting yourself, this will break your flow. The next episode on Attention will be all around managing distractions. So I don't want to go into this right now. However, yes, be mindful of what's enabling you to get into the zone, what type of challenges do you enjoy dealing with, and what is hindering you from getting there, what is blocking you, what is not helping you and supporting you to be in flow? There is a direct correlation between focus and flow. When you're fully focused and not distracted, it's a lot easier to be in Flow. And when you're totally in Flow and you love what you're doing, you're going to be focused. So there is this virtuous cycle of focus and flow. And if you want to encourage yourself to have this cycle, to use this to observize this in your life, then start by being focused first. Get really focused. Sit down, turn off the distractions once more. I'll do a whole episode on managing distractions just after this one, so stay tuned for that. Start to yes, narrow everything down to one point of focus and then you will get into flow. And then it'll be easier to stay focused. And a huge aspect of this comes down to single tasking, just doing one thing at once and from having a clear intention. So before you begin thinking, right now, I'm going to write this paper or do this proposal or have this meeting or whatever it is, and that's it. And you switch off and turn off all the doors and that's the only thing you're doing. I guarantee that when I was hosting the TEDx, I wasn't thinking about grocery shopping or who I needed to message or any of that. Fully, fully focused. And you can do this with all of your tasks and activities. It can be from writing a report to a conversation that you're having. And the more you practice single tasking, the better you'll get at it, and also the better you will get of being in Flow because this is something you can practice. You can have hours where you're in Flow, hours and hours, but also just never be in flow all day because you've never practiced it. And you're constantly switching between different tasks and activities. So I hope this has been useful and insightful for you. I think this is such an important topic and if you're able to tap into this focus and this flow, it's a total game changer in how you perform, in how you do as a leader in your work, in everything. It is absolutely transformational makes such a huge difference. Please let me know in a review what you've been enjoying so far, how these episodes are helping you to shift your relationship with time with energy, with attention and supporting you to get to the next level. I really, really appreciate every single review. I get it. There's a huge leap of joy in my heart and it also helps other people that might need to hear this, might need to find this information, and it helps it to be more accessible to them too. Thank you once more for tuning in and wishing you a great day.
[11:22] Thank you so much for tuning in today to the Focus Bee Show. I would absolutely love to hear your feedback, so let me know in an Apple review or YouTube comment what was most valuable for you, and feel free to share this episode with a friend or a family member. Wishing you a wonderful, magical and focused day ahead.