How to achieve focus: a guide for HR professionals

What is focus

Focus is a clear state of body and mind that allows us to produce our best work. People and Culture Strategist Vanessa Porter describes it as ‘flow’ – a rhythm that allows your imagination and productivity to thrive. “You need to consciously control your thoughts and your attention or someone or something will steal them,” Vanessa explained in a recent Next Step webinar on achieving focus. 

On average we have 50,000-70,000 thoughts a day. 90% of these are repeated. Focus is required to hone-in on the small proportion of new thoughts you have each day. Blocking out the noise and narrowing down to what’s most important is key. This allows you to get to the cutting edge of thinking to be able to deal with new problems and change.

Why is focus important for HR professionals?

It is easy to confuse being busy with being productive, but a lack of focus stops HR professionals from achieving strategic goals.

“Clarity of thought, the ability to prioritise and be highly present are highly sought-after skills by employers,” says The Next Step NSW Director, Merridy Thomas. “These skills are best achieved through focus.”

The ‘people’ aspects of human resources require you to always be switched ‘on’. Demand for empathy and support are non-stop. This is not only draining, but also a perfect recipe for losing focus.

How to achieve focus

According to Change Fit’s stress scientist, Chris Wilson, it is important to understand how your body works in order to achieve clarity. “Look at the physiology and how that can impact your ability to focus. We can give you tools and techniques to put you in the best possible state to make sure you are focused and productive throughout your day.”

Change Fit’s top tips for HR Professionals to achieve focus:

Get the timing right. Be tactical about when you try to focus. If you are a morning person, don’t try to focus at the end of the day when you are frazzled and your ‘to do’ list has been hijacked. Understand your body’s rhythms for getting best work out of you.

• Reduce the ‘noise’. Getting rid of the noise and reducing mental load creates space to focus on what is most important. Don’t waste headspace overthinking problems or worrying about things outside your control. Obsessing about the details can slow you down, lead to self-doubt and procrastination.
• Starve distractions. No phones. No alerts. No interruptions. The world will continue in your absence for a short time. Explain to colleagues why you are incommunicado for short periods and why this is important.
• Get biophysical. Put your body in best possible state to be focused. Control spikes in blood sugar by eating regularly and well. Allow time (at least an hour) before bed for your brain to process thoughts. 3-days of poor-quality sleep has the same effect as being drunk and significantly impacts your ability to perform well at work. Concentrate on your breath and practice mindfulness to help reduce stress and improve clarity.
• Run, don’t walk. A few short, connected work sprints can be highly productive. Based on the Pomodoro Technique, ‘sprints’ create an hour of power where you do your best work. Watch this video to learn more about this technique.
• Work with purpose. Be crystal-clear about your end goal. Identify one important thing you need to achieve each day, then hone-in on your target. Be disciplined. This gives you intent and allows you to aim for something important.