When you focus your attention, you concentrate on a single task, keeping your mind engaged on the task at hand while setting aside anything that doesn’t pertain to it. Focused attention amplifies actions, enabling deliberate and effective outcomes.
[Title Photo by Suzy Hazelwood]
A Secretary Who Paid Attention
In the early 1950s, Bette Nesmith Graham was a single mother working as a secretary at a bank. Electric typewriters were new and wonderfully fast—right up until you made a mistake. One typo meant retyping the entire page. No mercy. No undo button.
To earn extra money one Christmas, Bette painted a holiday scene on the bank’s window. When she made a mistake, she didn’t erase it. She painted over it.
That small moment of noticing—”Hey, that worked!”—changed everything.
She brought a small bottle of white paint to work and began experimenting. With a watercolor brush and a refined formula, she could cover typographical errors cleanly. Other secretaries took notice. Requests followed. A product was born. “Mistake-Out” eventually became Liquid Paper, and Bette went from secretary to CEO.
One small insight, noticed by someone paying attention, turned into a world-changing idea. [1]
That’s the power of attention. And it’s the quiet force behind Excelerated Focus™.
What Is Attention?
Bette didn’t succeed because she worked harder. She succeeded because she noticed. Bette went from bank secretary to CEO of a major company because she paid attention. But what is attention?
Attention is your ability to notice what’s happening and choose what to focus on. It’s how your brain selects and processes information…and it’s limited, valuable, and easily hijacked.
Researchers generally describe four distinct types of attention:
- Selective Attention – Focusing on one thing while filtering out distractions (like hearing one voice in a noisy room). [For our purposes, selective attention is the same as focused attention.]
- Sustained Attention – Staying with a task over time (reading, listening, practicing).
- Divided Attention – Attempting to manage more than one task at the same time (a polite term for multitasking).
- Executive Attention – Deciding what deserves attention, prioritizing, and blocking out what’s irrelevant so you can move toward a goal.
One helpful way to think about attention is as a flashlight in a dark room. Wherever you aim the beam determines what you see. With selective attention, you shine the light on one specific object. With sustained attention, you hold the beam steady and study the details. And with divided attention, you flick the light from one object to another (and probably miss a lot). And with executive attention, you deliberately choose where to point the flashlight—ignoring everything else because you’ve decided what matters most.
What Is Focus?
Focus (or focused attention) is attention aimed on purpose. It’s the deliberate act of directing our attention to a specific task while filtering out everything else. It’s shining our flashlight on one specific item, and it is a way to concentrate mental energy. [2]
When we use focused attention, we concentrate on a single task, keeping our minds engaged on the task at hand while setting aside anything that doesn’t pertain to it. Focused attention amplifies our actions, enabling deliberate and effective outcomes.
Several factors can affect our focus:
- Internal factors include our current motivation, fatigue, emotions, and general health.
- External factors are environmental distractions such as noise or notifications on our phones and computers.
- Stimuli such as the novelty of what we are focused on, or the complexity, or the importance of the information. [2] [3]
Focus acts as a zoom lens, allowing us to pinpoint the flashlight even more precisely. It involves deliberately ignoring background noise to remain focused on a single task. It is often described as “selective attention in action.”
How Attention and Focus Work Together
“In a world full of distractions, focused attention isn’t just useful; it’s essential.” ~ Robert McFadden
How do attention and focus work together? Think of attention as the what and focus as the where. Attention is the broad “what you notice”, while focus allows you to home in on specific aspects. Attention notices options. Focus chooses one.
Focused attention is “the ability to concentrate on one thing at a time without distractions.” [4] When you use focused attention, you direct all your mental energy toward a single task. When you lack focused attention, for whatever reason – tiredness, boredom, distractions, or something else – you go “backwards and forwards, but [make] no progress on even the smoothest of roads.” [5]
These are some of the benefits you gain when you focus your attention:
- Clarity – You see what matters and what doesn’t.
- Consistency – One focused day builds momentum into the next.
- Competence – Skill and confidence grow where attention goes.
Obstacles To Focusing Your Attention
Let’s be honest. Focus doesn’t disappear by accident. It gets hijacked.
Common culprits include:
- Constant interruptions (emails, texts, notifications, noise)
- Lack of clarity about what matters now
- Multitasking (the productivity myth that won’t die)
- Low energy from poor sleep, stress, or overload
- And, of course… distractions in every flavor imaginable
Which raises an uncomfortable question.
Distraction – An Inside Job?
“The best way to understand distraction is to know what it is not. What is the opposite of distraction? It’s not focus. The opposite of distraction is traction.
If you look at the origin of both words, they come from the same Latin root trahere, which means “to pull.” Traction is time spent in a way that pulls us toward a life we want. Distractions are things that pull us off course. The difference seems obvious, but distraction has a sneaky way of tricking us.” [6]
Here’s the twist: focus isn’t the opposite of distraction. The opposite of distraction is traction.
Both words come from the Latin trahere, meaning “to pull.”
Traction pulls you toward the life you want.
Distraction pulls you away from it.
The tricky part? Many distractions feel productive in the moment. Checking email. Tidying up. One more scroll. One more video. Or one more “quick thing.” But without clear intentions, your time doesn’t get used; it gets taken.
Being “indistractable” means being aware. It means knowing the difference between traction and distraction, and having a simple structure that helps you notice when you’ve drifted. You don’t need iron willpower. You need clarity, intention, and a forgiving practice.
“Time is your most precious resource. Keep it.”
[Photo by Antoni Shkraba Studio]
How To Improve Your Attention
Attention is supported by fundamentals, not hacks. Start with the fundamentals:
- Eat – Fuel matters. Brains run on more than coffee.
- Move – Regular exercise improves attention and mental stamina.
- Sleep – A tired brain can’t focus, no matter how motivated you are.
Then do this:
- Take breaks – Attention needs rest to stay sharp.
- Meditate – Even a few minutes per day can train awareness and steadiness. Meditation isn’t about emptying your mind. It’s about noticing when it wanders—and gently bringing it back. That skill transfers everywhere.
How To Improve Your Focus
Focused attention is essential not only for productivity but for satisfaction.
When you focus deeply, you’re not just working smarter, you’re living more fully. Presence improves your work, your relationships, and your sense of meaning.
Attention is where life actually happens. Here are a few ideas to help you refine yours.
Clarity – Start by setting a clear intention for each focus session. Define a single priority and eliminate potential distractions, whether digital or physical. This approach cuts through the noise, allowing you to see each step needed to reach your goals with renewed precision. [4]
Consistency – Make focus a daily habit, even in short bursts. Dedicate 10-15 minutes each day to uninterrupted work on a key task. Over time, this regular practice strengthens your focus muscle, transforming focused attention into a natural driver of progress. [4]
Competence – Focus on tasks that challenge you and push your skill level. Focusing on what truly matters builds your expertise, and as your skills grow, so does your confidence in your abilities. [4]
When You Focus Your Attention
Focused attention is essential not only for productivity but for satisfaction.
When you focus intensely, you’re not just working smarter, you’re living more fully. Presence improves your work, your relationships, and your sense of meaning.
Attention is where life actually happens. What you pay attention to becomes your reality.
Get Started (No Overwhelm Required)
Here are some ideas to help you focus your attention on what matters most to you. Pick two or three that seem particularly useful to you and practice them.
- Use a calendar or planner to get deadlines out of your head
- Write down what matters instead of trying to remember it
- Break big projects into small, doable steps
- Focus on one task at a time—finish, then move on
- Reduce multitasking (yes, really)
- Protect your sleep
- Be here now – focus on the present moment
- Set a daily priority using the three questions
- What is important about today?
- What must be done today?
- What is important about the future?
Progress loves simplicity.
Closing Thought
Bette Nesmith Graham didn’t set out to invent anything. She simply noticed something useful and stayed with it.
Excelerated Focus™ works the same way.
Pay attention.
Choose deliberately.
Give your best energy to what matters most.
Everything else is just noise. And you already know how to turn the flashlight on. Shine it on your Excelerated Life™!
How can you improve your focused attention?
Do you need to gain clarity? Become more consistent? Improve you competency?
What is one step you could take today to begin making that improvement?
Share your thoughts 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:
[1] “Bette Nesmith Graham.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Web. December 15, 2025.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bette_Nesmith_Graham
[2] Chia, Sam. “How to improve concentration and focus—our 15 best tips.” BetterUp.com. Better Up, March 18, 2025. Web. December 17, 2025.
https://www.betterup.com/blog/15-ways-to-improve-your-focus-and-concentration-skills
[3] Madeson, Ph.D., Melissa. “How to Focus Easily in a World of Distractions: 6 Techniques.” Positive Psychology. PositivePsychology.com B.V., a division of Intelvio LLC, 31 May 2024. Web. December 18, 2025.
https://positivepsychology.com/how-to-focus/
[4] McFadden, Robert. “Unlock the Art of Focused Attention.” End Self-Sabotage. End Self-Sabotage, November 09, 2024. Web. December 17, 2025.
https://endself-sabotage.com/p/unlock-the-art-of-focused-attention
[5] “Thomas Carlyle.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Web. December 15, 2025.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Carlyle
[6] Eyal, Nir. “Becoming Indistractable.” Simplify Magazine. Becoming Minimalist,. Web. December 15, 2025.
https://simplifymagazine.com/essay/becoming-indistractable/
This blog post includes research information and suggestions provided by ChatGPT, an AI language model developed by OpenAI. The content was generated with AI assistance and is intended to provide information and guidance. Please note that the suggestions are not official statements from OpenAI. To learn more about ChatGPT and its capabilities, you can visit the OpenAI website.