We’ve all had those moments when the obvious just simply wasn’t so obvious. Things that should have been clear were blurred by the distractions of the moment. Things like stopping at a green light because it’s been red every other time you were there, stopping at a stop sign and waiting for it to turn green because you were having a conversation, or answering the phone while still finishing another conversation leaving the caller wondering why your mother needed 2 gallons of extra virgin olive oil.
The simple fact is we live in a high paced world. We are used to, if not even raised to, perform multiple tasks at once. But there are times when these tasks should have all of our attention. Driving has become second nature to most of us. Sometimes you may even fail to recall how you got to where you were going simply because you’ve driven that same way every day for years. But if you change the route, hear sirens or see something that normally isn’t there, all of a sudden you pay more attention.
It’s called Focus. We have to be able to focus even when the distractions are there. When you were learning to drive you gave it all your focus. When you were taking your driver’s test you gave it all your focus. When you were climbing out of that second story window before her husband made it up the stairs you gave it all your focus. All I want when you ask me to explain something is that you give me all your focus.
Case in point – I had a conversation about a new feature I added to an application to make some procedures easier. The conversation went something like this:
User: “How do I send an email from here?”
Me: “Click the Send Email button right there.”
User: “Oh, I see, like this. Duh! Wait, my phones ringing.”
Meanwhile a message is created in Outlook.
User: “Hold on, the IT guy is here.”
The user adds some notes and sends the email.
User has now returned to the application.
User: “Why does that button say Send Email?”
Me: “Weren’t you here a second ago?”
FOCUS
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