Fixing a glitchy focus switch

Can you relate? There are oh-so-many things on my to-do list already. I start working on something, but a nagging voice in my says, “Wait a sec — is this the best use of my time?” Or, “Wait a sec — am I doing this right?” Or, “Wait a sec — never mind, I forgot what I was going to say.”

What I want is to be CRANKING through things and getting into that sweet state of flow. I want that rush of energy that comes when I’m in the zone and getting 👏 stuff 👏 done 👏.

The solution is to fix our faulty focus switch. Here’s how.

Imagine a light switch. It should be either up or down, until it’s naturally time to flip the switch.

Except a four-year-old has just entered the room and thinks it’s HILARIOUS to flip the switch up and down chaotically.

The result is both headache-inducing and bad-for-getting-anything-accomplished.

The Focus Switch

And this is exactly what’s happening when we let our brains flip our internal “focus switch” up and down like a maniacal four-year-old.

And most of us have a bad habit of letting our brains do that.. all… the.. time.

When it comes to getting work done, our brain has two primary modes — thinking and doing.

To accomplish things, we need to switch between them. Except many of us switch constantly and chaotically, instead of disciplined and intelligently.

We are trying to “think” and “do” at the same time — and it’s a recipe for frustration. The key to flipping our focus switch is to separate these two states entirely.

Plan first, then act.

Think in one mode, and execute in the other.

Switching between planning and doing isn’t just inefficient — it’s expensive for our brains. Each time we stop to rethink or reevaluate, we lose momentum, and it takes extra time to get back on track. Everything takes longer and feels harder.

By batching similar tasks together, we reduce these “switching costs” and let our brains stay in the groove.

How to put it into action

Start with the thinking. Whether it’s at the beginning of the day, or just before attacking a project — either way works. Let’s think about what needs to be done, how we want to attack it, what our intentions are, what order we’re going in, why we’re doing it now, what tools and information we need to do it — and any other relevant topics we can think of. Now is when we question and sweat the details. As part of this phase, let’s set goals on how much we want to accomplish or how long we want to go before taking a step back to reflect and think a bit more.

Then we flip the switch to doing. Time to focus entirely on the tasks we’ve already outlined — no detours, no second-guessing. We’ve already done the thinking part. All we do now is trust ourselves and CRANK.

When we stop flipping the switch back and forth, we make so much more progress — and everything is so much more enjoyable as a result.

(For me, I enjoy thinking more when I’m in a focused “thinking mode” and I also enjoy NOT having to think when I’m in doing mode.)

Plan the work with intention — then execute with laser focus.