Book Summary: Focus – A Manifesto of Simplicity in the Age of Distraction – Written by Leo Babauta

I have some of Leo’s other jobs and he has a great mindset. To perform a high-value task and achieve goals, focus is required. To help me in my quest to understand the approach, I read this book.

Why is this important to me?

I do not want to waste your time. If you are spending your time going through this summary, then it has to be worth it for you. Marcus Aurelius said: Most of what we say and do is not essential. If you can eliminate it, you will have more time and more peace of mind. Ask yourself at every moment, “Is this necessary?”

Pablo Picasso – Without great solitude, serious work is not possible. These two quotes have real power once they are implemented.

The approach is divided into 4 main parts. For reasons of time, I will touch on one concept in each section.

1. Step back: email, web browsing, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. All of these mediums spell one thing: distraction. Distraction creates stress and wastes time. In May 2011, Americans spent 53.5 billion minutes on Facebook. On average, people spend 24 hours a week watching TV and surfing the web. That equates to three days of full-time work per week. Needless to say, these statistics clearly show that people are distracted.

2. Clear the stream: The approach requires setting a schedule. So one way to eliminate some of the distractions is to schedule your internet time. Once you put this on the calendar, you can monitor how much time you actually spend on these activities. This also consolidates your use and makes you more productive because you focus only on the Internet. Once the time is up, log off and go about your other tasks.

3. Simplify – An excellent technique to simplify your life is to clear clutter. This means removing the non-essential. Clean your desk and have a clean work environment. This will eliminate distractions. If you have a pile of junk on your desk, go through it and make a decision: Archive, Trash, or Donate. Make a quick decision and move on. You can do this at home too. Living a minimalist lifestyle reduces stress, so you can use the same process for your home as you do for your desk at work.

Focus: Now that you’ve done the first three steps, you can focus on what’s significant. Decide what your top five priorities are each day and focus on those. Single task each priority until they are done. Multitasking on high value tasks does NOT work. Multitasking is a recipe for mediocre work and frustrated colleagues. Have you ever had a conversation with someone while reading email?

Focus is a quick book to read and provides practical practical tactics so you can accomplish high-value tasks. You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish when you eliminate the non-essentials.

I hope you have found this brief summary useful. The key to any new idea is to work it into your daily routine until it becomes a habit. Habits are formed in as little as 21 days. One thing you can take away from this book is tidying up. Start decluttering your work space and home every day. Do this for 21 days and see how much better you can focus on what’s really important.