Focus: A Productivity Experiment

“When walking, walk. When eating, eat.” ~~Zen Proverb~~

Have you ever read “The Celestine Prophecy” by James Redfield? There is one part that still stands out in my mind, and I haven’t actually read the book in years! Several of the characters are having a conversation, and each turns and completely focuses all of his or her attention and energy on the person speaking. The person speaking, therefore, feels empowered and engaged, and beyond that, experiences clarity of thought and his or her own sense of enchantment. I know people who do this regularly; people who listen to you so intently and seem so truly interested that you feel like the only person in the room.

Have you ever noticed how good you feel when you’re speaking with someone face-to-face and they are focusing all of their attention on you? Have you ever felt the surge of energy when they are not only looking at you while you’re speaking, but they’re intently listening and actively participating (non-verbally) in all you have to say? It’s an incredible feeling, isn’t it? Have you done the same for them in return; basically giving over your energy for the moment?

What if you can turn that focused energy and empowerment into action? What if you *truly* focused on what you were doing at this moment? What if you poured your energy over the tasks at hand? How much more could you get done? How much more fulfilling could it be? The importance of being “present” is something many discuss when it comes to conversation… I’m wondering how much it can impact my productivity. Here’s my experiment: Today I will focus on one thing at a time. Today I will pour all the energy I would direct to a live person standing in front of me to every task I start. I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow…

Motivation: Synchronicity

“Life just seems so full of connections. Most of the time we don't even pay attention to the depth of life; we only see flat surfaces.” ~~Author Unknown~~

Coincidence -

NOUN

1. chance happening: something that happens by chance in a surprising or remarkable way
2. happening without planning: the fact of happening by chance
3. having identical features: the fact or condition of happening at the same time or place or being identical

Or, as someone pointed out to me recently, co - prefix.

1. Together; joint; jointly; mutually

AND, Incident

NOUN

1. event: something that happens, especially a single event
2. violent occurrence: a public occurrence, especially a violent one
2. "an incident outside a nightclub"
3. event with potentially serious consequences:

ADJECTIVE

1. related to something: accompanying something or occurring as a consequence of it ( formal )
2. touching or striking: coming into contact with a surface

In other words – coincidence – an event with consequences that happens together with another event with consequences…

Synchronicity

NOUN

1. coincidence of events that seem related: the coincidence of events that seem related, but are not obviously caused one by the other.

OK. I may be over-thinking this, but since I’m committed to being over-committed, why not over-think?

There have so many incidents of coincidence, so many oddly related, yet totally unrelated events showing up for me over the last two weeks or so… I’m really beginning to pay attention to them more closely. It started with something coming up in various completely separate conversations with people who didn’t even know one another. I’ve even written about a few of them here. It’s grown to things that have been so bizarre that they’re intriguing… And, oddly motivating…

I am fascinated by the lessons I don’t even yet know I need to learn… I am driven to find out what’s out there for me. And, I’m committed to paying more attention.


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Encarta® World English Dictionary [North American Edition] © & (P) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.