The Power of Mental Focus

We are living in a time that highly demand productivity and originality to be successful. Arguably, there are many factors that affect this outcome. Healthy diet and lifestyle are critical. Yet, many people work hard and live healthily but do not gain the expected success. One more thing that is as essential as diet and lifestyle: quantity and quality of mental focus.
 

According to my observation, when we focus in work or any other activities in life, we will be more productive and successful. I wonder why this phenomenon happens as such and the following is my brief answer.
 

Firstly, it is how much time that we use brainpower for our work that matter the most. If most of the time we use mental energy to do our work, we will deploy it efficiently. If we wander our mind, multitask too much, we waste our energy or our effort is not enough to create competitive advantages to create productive or original work. Since we all know, great work is the accumulative effect of great small tasks.
 

Secondly, the quality of our mental effort that matter. It means that no disturbance to the mind is essential. If we do activities that demand mental effort, we disturb the mind and deviate it from target work. In addition, the distraction will consume energy and biological resource of our brain that need for the target.
 

Sciences and daily observation show us that mental activities, such as thoughts, demand time, energy and biological resources. Any other activities that share these resources will deplete the efficiency of target mental activities, reducing its productivity and originality.
 

If we read about how Newton work, we encounter the words: work intensively and obsessively for long period of time.
 

Likewise, Einstein emphasizes the important of constant curiosity and hard work. He once wrote that work hard, play hard and shut up the mouth are determinant factors to be successful in life.
 

In the same token, Darwin spent roughly 20 years to publish his great work: The origin of species.
 

The important of time to create success has been studied by Anders Ericsson, revealing that people need approximately 10 thousand hours to reach career peak, a rule which is spread widely by Gladwell.

In learning, students need to focus and spend many hours, weeks, months even years to reach whatever goals as these are crucial.
 

Unfortunately, until now we have not figure out ways to quantify mental focus. However, there are three levels of focus, in my opinion: