'Clear the mechanism': finding focus in the chaos of opportunity

Technology is frequently the target of complaints about the human inability to focus on relevant, meaningful, and productive tasks; yet this inability is as old as our existence. Check out Hamlet's Blackberry for a great exploration of human focus and tools of distraction through the ages.

Technology provides us with a chaos of opportunity that can be distracting, but getting rid of technology will not cause us to tap into our focus. Our minds, untrained, have a chaos of their own. Learning how to tap into our focus takes thoughtful practice and reflection. We need to learn to 'clear the mechanism' as Billy Chapel (Kevin Costner) does in For Love of the Game.


In this clip, Chapel / Costner has to shut out the voices of critics, the noise of the crowd, and an annoying bull horn. He did not have a phone buzzing in his back pocket, but if he did, he would have needed to shut that out too.

It would be lovely if there were a simple formula for engagement. In my experience, there is not. Engagement requires self-motivation. There is a saying: 'you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make her drink.' I have been that horse many times! I lead myself to water and submerge my head in it, and still I do not drink!

As a teacher I have also led many students to water, and though I can see clearly that they suffer from dehydration, they turn their heads. To Facebook, to Skype (aka their friends!), to shoe shopping, to making eyes across the room, to sleep, to gaming, to picking at a gap in the veneer on the table, to chair tipping, to gum chewing, to fantasy, to rebellion... to anywhere but the beautiful stream of knowledge I have so carefully laid before them.

In the International Baccalaureate Programme, we help students develop Self-Management, which includes mindfulness, self-motivation, and delayed gratification. The process of developing self-management does not go in one direction. Every adult knows that there are many triggers that lead to deterioration of self-management: stress, too many demands, exhaustion, getting past a big hurdle, fear, and poor eating habits are just a few. We all have ups and downs. We all have times when we are more or less likely to be able to stay on task.

So how can we develop strategies that help us clear our mechanisms and manage ourselves effectively? How do we help our students do the same? A first step for teachers and parents is to be honest with ourselves first. Recognizing our own challenges in the area of self-management can help us facilitate more meaningful conversations to help students engage in meaningful growth.

Here are some questions to help us reflect on our own focus and help others develop theirs:
How do you 'clear your mechanism'?
When was the last time you felt deeply focussed and on-task? What was happening?
How do you know you are engaged in your work?
When you are not engaged, what is happening?
What does engagement feel like?
What kinds of work are easy for you to engage in? Why? How do you know?
What kinds of work are difficult for you to engage in? Why? How can you deal with that?
What conditions can you put in place that make it easier for you to focus?
What are the different kinds of spaces you like to focus in?
If you could design the PERFECT focus space, what would it be? How would it be different for different tasks?

Here are some resources to 'lead you to water' (you will still need to decide to drink):
10 Online Tools for Better Attention and Focus
10 Tips to help you tune out distractions and focus on your studies
30 Day Yoga Challenge (sometimes we can't focus because our circulation needs attention)
Mindfulness: Practicing mindfulness can help to increase focus.

Please share your own resources in the comments, I'd love to hear from you!