“Alice” struggled to read the words in the book in front of her. Her brow furrowed as deeply as any sage pondering the imponderable, she slowly made her way down the page. Alice is 7, and I watched her in my role as the reading volunteer in my son Nick’s class this past Tuesday.

Ever watch a youngster concentrate? Kids can be flighty at times, chasing a butterfly one moment and doubled over with laughter the next. Yet their ability to focus on one task is quite impressive. Our two boys can spend an hour in their toy room (formerly the dining room, that’s another story!) creating elaborate play scenarios involving wolves, Dracula and SpongeBob SquarePants©. The focus they bring to their play and work is impressive.

The Online Etymology Dictionary© cites the following derivation for the word “focus” L. focus "hearth, fireplace," of unknown origin, used in post-classical times for "fire" itself, taken by Kepler (1604) in a mathematical sense for "point of convergence," perhaps on analogy of the burning point of a lens (the purely optical sense of the word may have existed before 1604, but it is not recorded). Introduced into Eng. 1656 by Hobbes.

What could you accomplish with fully engaged focus on the task at hand? If email, voice mail or a deadline weren’t intruding? Treat your work and your play as Alice treated her reading; steer clear of distraction and you’ll benefit by getting things done more quickly and with higher quality.

Mike around the United States

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Mike Faber
Phone 720-851-5208 Toll Free (outside Colorado) 877-262-2402
On the Web www.mikefaber.com