Top 5 tips to stay focused and motivated by Wendy Derrick

What is the focus model

The five levels of the ‘Focus Model’ are a variation of David Rock’s ‘Choose Your Focus’ model in his book “Quiet Leadership”. The Focus Model describes five different ways to think or communicate about something. When you are aware of these five levels and realise what the basis of your thoughts or communications is, you can opt to move to a different, more useful level.

“F” in Focus = flexible

The ‘F’ in Focus stands for being flexible. If what you’re doing, either professionally or personally, is not working, then have the flexibility and resolve to make a change. Continuing with what’s clearly not working will only govern the same results again and again.

“o” in Focus = organise

The “o” in focus stands for organise. Are you organising yourself from both a physical and mental point of view? Be sure to consider your physical self as well as your physical environment. Ask yourself; “am I in the best possible shape to work on my goal, and what do you need to do in order to achieve it?”

One key consideration is your physical environment. Is it set up adequately for you to start work immediately on your goal? Remember a cluttered desk is a cluttered mind, so this is about giving yourself space and being organised in order to work on your goal. From a mental well-being point of view, what do you need to do to organise yourself in a manner that you’re able to put in place self-care measures to look after your own mental well-being.

“c” in Focus = clarity

The “c” in focus represents clarity. Do you actually know what it is you want to achieve and why you want to achieve it? In other words, is it good for you and is it good for the people that you care about, because if you're not clear about that you certainly won't find it easy to get to your goal.

“u” in Focus = unconscious-mind

The “u” in focus stands for your unconscious mind. We all know that we have a conscious mind when we're consciously aware of what we're doing, and an unconscious mind that determines how we habitually behave and react when we're triggered.

For example, I’d invite you to think about which foot, right or left, did you put in your shoe first this morning? Some people know, some people don't - the point is it was your unconscious mind at work. An automatic response like putting a car into gear, you just do it, so knowing that you've got a conscious and an unconscious mind is important as our unconscious mind drives 95% of our daily behaviour. It what we do habitually without even thinking about it, so it's important that your goal is aligned to your unconscious mind – knowing what's important to you and what your values are will bring you some clarity.

“s” in Focus = set your intention

The “s” in focus stands for ‘setting your intention’. Every day set your intention to do something towards your goal. It doesn't matter how big or how small that action is so long as you do something every day to achieve your goal. Taking action gathers momentum, which gives you progress, which in turn brings success.

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