Focus isn’t just knowing what to do; it’s knowing what to ignore. When you stop giving attention to things that don’t serve your purpose, you automatically shift your energy toward what does.
Title Photo by cottonbro studio
Ignore to Excelerate
“Focus is the art of knowing what to ignore.” ~ James Clear
This was my morning recently. I stood at my desk, ready to begin writing my next blog post. But just as I opened the document, my text messaging app popped open with a text I needed to respond to. Which led to a texting conversation. Then I remembered an important e-mail message I had forgotten to send yesterday. I opened my e-mail to send the message but was soon lost in a forest of e-mails. When I finally “woke up”, the morning was half over, and I hadn’t even started my most important task.
Have you ever had a similar experience? I suspect you have. Our lives are filled with distractions — not just physical interruptions but mental and emotional ones as well. Whether it’s worry, multitasking, or simply the pull of unimportant tasks, these distractions pull us away from what truly matters.
But what if you flipped your approach? Instead of trying to do more, achieve more, or be more — what if you focused on ignoring? Ignore the noise, the unimportant, and the draining. By intentionally choosing what you ignore, you unlock greater clarity, productivity, and meaning. That’s the power of Excelerated Focus™ — and it starts by knowing what to ignore.
The Power of Ignoring
“The art of knowing what to ignore is the key to extraordinary focus.”
You and I are surrounded by things that constantly compete for our attention. Notifications ping on our phones. E-mails flood our inboxes. We have access to 24/7 news. Opinions, distractions, and low-value tasks creep in from every angle. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, pulled in a dozen different directions.
But here’s the secret: Focus isn’t just knowing what to do; it’s knowing what to ignore. As you learn to ignore distractions, negativity, and energy drains, something remarkable happens: you free up mental, emotional, and physical energy for what truly matters. When you stop giving attention to things that don’t serve your purpose, you automatically shift your energy toward what does.
That’s where Excelerated Focus™ comes in. Here you intentionally direct your attention to the things that matter most — and let go of everything else. Excelerated Focus™ is not so much concerned with productivity as with alignment — making sure that your time, energy, and attention are spent on the things that truly move you toward a flourishing, meaningful life. By clearing out the mental and emotional clutter, you make room for progress, purpose, and contribution. When you master the art of ignoring, you’ll unlock a whole new level of clarity, productivity, and progress toward your BIG (Bold, Important, Gratifying) goals.
So now that you know what to ignore, what should you focus on instead? Here are some ideas to try.
Ignore the Trivial — Focus on What Matters Most
What to Ignore: The small, unimportant, or time-wasting tasks that fill your day but don’t move the needle on your most important goals.
- Checking e-mail every 20 minutes.
- Multitasking between minor tasks.
- Saying yes to requests that don’t align with your priorities.
Why This Matters: Every time you give your attention to something trivial, you rob yourself of energy and momentum for what really matters. The Pareto Principle (the 80/20 Rule) tells us that roughly 80% of our results come from 20% of our efforts.
So the key is learning to ignore the unimportant and prioritize the high-impact tasks that actually move you toward your BIG goals.
What to Focus On Instead:
- Your Most Important Tasks (MITs): Identify 1-3 high-impact tasks each day that move you closer to your BIG goal. Start your day with those.
- Your BIG Goal: Keep your Bold, Important, Gratifying goal front and center. Let everything else become background noise.
- High-Value Activities: Focus on work that creates meaningful outcomes, not just busywork.
Excelerated Focus™ means learning to ignore the trivial and protect your time for what matters most.
Ignore Emotional Noise — Focus on Your Well-Being
What to Ignore: Negative emotions, internal self-doubt, or external criticism that pulls you off course.
- Self-doubt that whispers: “You’re not good enough.”
- Criticism from others that dampens your enthusiasm.
- Unnecessary worry about things outside your control.
Why This Matters: Your mind is like a clear glass of water. Every time you let in negativity, it’s like adding a drop of ink, eventually clouding your focus and clarity. If you’re constantly caught up in negative emotions, you’ll struggle to move forward with energy and momentum.
What to Focus On Instead:
- Emotional Detachment: Practice noticing negative emotions without engaging them. Treat them like passing clouds. Acknowledge them, but don’t hold onto them.
- Your Energy Management: Protect your mental and emotional energy. Engage in activities that recharge you, like exercise, sleep, meditation, and creative pursuits.
- Positive Inputs: Surround yourself with positive messages, people, and environments that fuel your enthusiasm.
Excelerated Focus™ means learning to ignore emotional noise and protect your energy for progress.
Ignore Attention Traps — Focus on Deep Work
What to Ignore: Low-value distractions that consume your attention without producing meaningful results.
- Social media scrolling.
- Unnecessary meetings.
- Constant e-mail checking.
- Endless online browsing.
Why This Matters: Your attention is a valuable commodity, and everyone is fighting for it. Every time you allow a distraction to pull you away, you lose precious momentum toward your BIG goal.
The solution is to intentionally ignore these attention traps and channel your energy into deep, focused work.
What to Focus On Instead:
- Deep Work Time Blocks: Dedicate blocks of time for deep, uninterrupted work on your most important tasks.
- Minimized Distractions: Turn off notifications, close e-mail tabs, and create a distraction-free workspace.
- Single-Tasking: Focus on one task at a time. Research shows this dramatically increases productivity and quality of work.
Excelerated Focus™ means ignoring attention traps and protecting your mental space for deep work.
The Common Thread: Focus Is Learning to Say No
There’s a powerful pattern here:
- To focus on what matters most, you must ignore the trivial.
- To focus on well-being, you must ignore emotional noise.
- To focus on deep work, you must ignore attention traps.
In other words, Excelerated Focus™ isn’t just choosing what to do — it’s also choosing what to ignore. And when you get good at ignoring the right things, your productivity, clarity, and momentum will skyrocket.
Your Next Step: Choose One Thing to Ignore
Here’s a quick challenge for you:
What’s one thing you can intentionally ignore this week to improve your focus?
- Is it a time-wasting habit like scrolling social media?
- Is it a negative internal voice that says you’re not good enough?
- Is it a distraction that constantly pulls you away from your BIG goal?
Write it down. Commit to ignoring it for one week. Then watch how much more progress you make toward living your Excelerated Life™.
What Will You Ignore Today?
As we have seen, using Excelerated Focus™ allows you to protect your attention and energy so you can channel them toward your highest priorities. Today, I encourage you to reflect:
- What is one thing you can intentionally ignore today?
- What’s one meaningful task or goal you could pour more attention into if you did?
Take a moment now and make a decision to ignore the noise. Ignore the distractions. Ignore anything that doesn’t contribute to your flourishing, well-being, and Service. Then — with renewed focus — pour your energy into what matters most.
Now it’s your turn. What will you focus on today? That’s how you embrace your Excelerated Life™!
What’s one major distraction in your life that you know you need to ignore?
What step could you take today to remove it?
Share your experience by leaving a comment below.
Excelerated Focus™ — aligning your actions with your true desires — is one practice for creating your Excelerated Life™, a life of flourishing and well-being, and a life of meaning, purpose, and service.
Read more about the Excelerated Life™.
Resources:
Clear, James. Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results. New York: Avery, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2018.
This blog post includes research information and suggestions provided by ChatGPT, an AI language model developed by OpenAI. To learn more about ChatGPT and its capabilities, you can visit the OpenAI website.