Focus, a Multipurpose Tool

Stage -2, Non-focus: A complete absence of direction, an aimless mind-wandering

Stage -1, Blurry focus: A general sense of direction with openness to external signals

Stage 0, Neutral focus: A balanced state, distributing mental resources across various areas

Stage +1, Sharp focus: Full concentration with healthy boundaries

Stage +2, Hyperfocus: An extreme state of concentration where awareness of space and time fades

At this point, you might feel an urge to judge and gravitate toward a particular stage – likely toward the right side of the spectrum. That’s understandable – you want to get things done, right?

But before you choose a favorite, let’s explore the qualitative dimension of the focus framework.

The quantitative scale alone is not sufficient to manage focus effectively. We also need to consider the qualitative dimension – the usefulness of focus.

Dependent on what you’re focusing on, any stage of focus (blurry, neutral, or hyper) can be either good or bad.

Think of the lens and the prism:

Focused rays of light can ignite a flame, a clear and intense result.
Diffused rays create a rainbow, a vivid spectrum of possibilities.

And so, we arrive at our framework:

Next, we will dive deeper into each stage, examining when focus (or the lack of it) can be beneficial – and when it can be detrimental.

No-focus is a complete absence of direction, an aimless mind-wandering.

The story is overquoted and somewhat cliché – but it’s a perfect illustration of aimless non-focus, so I’ll use it anyway. It comes from the children’s classic Alice in Wonderland, a rich source of vivid metaphors and playful wisdom:

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where,“ said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

If you are wandering aimlessly, it does not matter where you go.

At this moment, such aimlessness might feel like a luxury – like freedom and exploration. But at other times, it can feel desperate and exhausting, especially when you need to get somewhere, but all paths seem to lead nowhere.

No-focus is a secret weapon for relaxing the mind, freeing it from limitations and pressure.

Like a liquid without a container, your mind can flow freely, guided by intuition or subtle external cues.

No-focus saves energy, as thoughts follow their natural gravitation.

It invites serendipity, allowing you to pick up signals you’d otherwise miss, unlocking uninhibited creative freedom.

No-focus can help you unwind, recharge, and enjoy the present moment. It clears mental clutter, creating space for subconscious processing and discovery

Conversely, non-focus can lead to chaos, confusion, and unproductiveness.

Deadlines are missed, tasks go undone, and performance suffers – potentially harming careers and relationships. A lack of focus can leave you feeling lost, as if every path ends in dense fog, eroding your sense of purpose

In practical situations, non-focus can even be dangerous, like when driving or navigating hazardous physical environments – you should concentrate on every step rather than risk falling off a cliff.

A lack of focus can also harm relationships, as missed emotional cues and neglect create disconnection and a sense of indifference, leaving your partner feeling unloved or unimportant.

Blurry focus is a state where your mind has a general direction but remains open to signals from the periphery.

I was honored to attend a coaching session as an observer, led by a hypnotherapist helping a client quit smoking.

The therapist carefully prepared the setting – arranging the chairs, inviting the client to sit, and positioning himself at a slight angle on their side

Before beginning the conversation, he made a deliberate gesture: he removed his glasses.

This caught my attention, and I later asked him why. His response surprised me: “When I take off my glasses, the client becomes blurry. This helps me concentrate fully on my other senses – listening to what they say and feeling their presence.”

By blurring his vision, the hypnotherapist sharpened his other senses.

A blurry focus allows for peripheral vision – you notice what’s happening at the edges of your attention.

When searching for ideas and solutions, a less focused state helps you catch subtle opportunities you might otherwise overlook: a quiet moment, a faint voice, a fleeting thought

Have you ever experienced the moment when your eyes glaze over, and you find yourself present and absent at the same time? In these moments, you enter a light creative trance, open to new input and seeing beyond the obvious

Blurry focus is particularly useful in the early stages of problem-solving and brainstorming. It fosters an environment of creative ambiguity, inviting surprising ideas outside the usual mold

Sometimes, you see better with your glasses off.

Blurry focus can also be problematic. It’s a state of inconsistent concentration, where distraction or lack of clarity prevent sustained progress. This can lead to subpar performance

When your focus is blurry, you may see general outlines but lack the clarity to define shapes and boundaries. This can leave you feeling disoriented, indifferent, or low-energy and drained.

There is a risk of wasting creative efforts by getting stuck in repetitive patterns or drifting into aimless action. With blurry focus, solving complex problems becomes even harder, often stalling progress or preventing meaningful breakthroughs

In practical terms, blurry focus can be harmful. For example, worry – a form of unfocused fear – can consume your thoughts without leading to action, trapping you in a cycle of rumination and negativity. Similarly, multitasking often results in blurry focus, wasting creative energy on constant switching rather than meaningful progress.

Neutral focus is a balanced state of mental engagement, with your attention evenly distributed across various causes or tasks.

When I was assigned to lead a team designing the application architecture for a large financial institution’s digital transformation, I was invited to the architecture team’s weekly meeting on the second day of this engagement. This group consisted of highly skilled, passionate, and ambitious individuals who had been debating for months without resolving the complex issues they faced

My role was to guide this powerhouse of expertise toward actionable decisions for the project’s roadmap.

In that first meeting, the drama unfolded.

There was a lot of expertise in the room – and all of it demanded to be heard at once

The discussion ricocheted from “the problem with account numbers” (a deeply rooted issue in the data model) to “the end-of-lifecycle situation in Asia” (adding global complexities) to “the strategic decision required before purchasing new software” (opening yet another Pandora’s box)

Oddly enough, my lack of familiarity with the details being discussed turned out to be an advantage. While the experts argued, I focused on the big picture, shifting between perspectives as different speakers took the floor

Instead of asserting authority or imposing my ideas, I quietly sketched the discussion on a whiteboard. The data model, geographies, strategic scenarios – all the dimensions of the problem took shape as I listened and organized my thoughts

Then something magical happened

With every word I wrote and every line I drew, the room grew calmer. The heated debate shifted as people redirected their focus from opposing others on minor detail to observing the big picture unfolding on the board.

My neutral focus helped diffuse the tension, build trust in the process and encourage genuine collaboration.

In professional settings, a neutral focus is invaluable for facilitating group discussions or mediating conflict

You’re not taking sides, but are open to all inputs and arguments, able to act as a neutral source of trust for all parties involved.

In conversations or relationships, a neutral focus helps establish a state of comfortable attention. In personal contexts, it allows for a relaxed state of companionship and rapport

Neutral focus is a balanced, moderate degree of focus. It can be the sweet spot for consistent and sustainable performance, as you are concentrating, but not with overwhelming intensity. You can move forward steadily, with ease and flow, shifting between periods of stronger and lesser focus

Neutral focus is a good state to be in for most routine tasks, such as answering emails or cleaning the house. You are attentive enough to do the job well, but not so focused that you become fatigued

When you’re in the early stages of learning a new skill, such as playing an instrument, neutral focus is ideal. You’re paying attention but still relaxed enough to enjoy the learning process.

Neutral focus does not particularly drive you to move quickly. You might lose momentum and drive. In competitive settings or ambitious environments, such as exams or sports, neutral focus can lead to lackluster performance

It might also be paired with a lack of passion. A project might feel lukewarm and unappealing, causing you to get distracted and lose interest. Abandoned projects are sunk costs that cannot be recovered

Neutral focus can drift into toxic indifference. “Not taking sides” becomes harmful when you must stand up for your rights – or those of others. Setting clear boundaries is impossible in a neutral state. Neutral focus and passion don’t mix well.

Sharp focus is a state of full concentration with healthy boundaries.

You know the situation: you have 10 weeks to complete a project, and after 8 weeks, you realize that although you’ve worked somewhat consistently every day, nothing is really finished. The deadline is fast approaching, and there’s no way you can miss it

Well, this is when sharp focus will save your butt. It’s amazing what you can accomplish under sharp focus

At work, we use the expression “going into the tunnel” to signal that the person will fully focus on the work that needs to be done. They won’t respond to messages or attend random meetings during this time. This helps with progress and expectation management.

Sharp focus means tuning out distractions and getting things done.

Sharp focus is the stage where you concentrate intensely on a single task or goal, eliminating distractions and disturbances, yet remaining open to useful signals from the outside to stay connected and flexible.

Sharp focus is the opposite of (and antidote to) multitasking, removing switching costs as much as possible, and thus investing energy into deliberate progress. When in sharp focus, you achieve sustainable productivity and steady advancement on your chosen path.

Sharp focus is one of the key ingredients of Flow, a deeply satisfying experience that leads to joyful immersion in an activity and a sense of purpose. Flow opens up opportunities for growth, as it means working at the edge of one’s abilities and extending them toward higher levels. The best work is often done in a state of Flow.

In conversations and relationships, sharp focus means full presence and attention to the other person, which is a precondition for deep personal rapport.

Finally, sharp focus is essential for doing precise, high-quality work wherever attention to detail is required.

There are downsides to sharp focus when overdone and sustained too long without breaks. This can lead to physical and mental exhaustion and, in extreme cases, burnout. In high-stress professions, teams often “pull an all-nighter” as a sign of commitment to high performance and dedication. This, of course, is short-sighted, as it neglects personal health and long-term performance.

Since attention is a finite resource, focusing on one thing automatically means neglecting something else, whether it’s health, personal relationships, or family.

Anyone living with a workaholic partner can testify to this problem. Studies confirm the correlation between divorce and workaholism.

There is also a qualitative aspect to consider. A sharp focus on a single outcome or line of thought can lead to oversimplification or superficiality when the situation demands broader considerations for a well-rounded solution or more exhaustive argumentation. Sharp focus turns negative when it leads to narrow-mindedness or deliberate cognitive myopia.

And this consideration leads us to the most intense form – Hyperfocus.

Hyperfocus is an extreme level of concentration where the mind becomes so absorbed that there is no mental capacity left for awareness of space or time.

I’m looking down into this giant hole, earth, dirt, and sand flying up and into my face. Down there, deeper than the length of his own body, is our Fox Terrier, Billy.

Billy is… digging.

Sniffing, then digging deeper. He is blind and deaf. All my calling does not help. He is hyper focused on something he smelled before – maybe a mouse, who knows? He is hyper focused on his “work” of chasing that mouse, turning our lawn into a construction site, and digging a hole that might just come out the other side – somewhere in the Australian outback.

Billy is digging, no matter what.

Hyperfocus can lead to – literally – “digging through a task at record speed,” allowing for maximized progress. It enables the bundling of resources to the fullest extent, which is especially useful in situations of danger or crisis. The mind becomes blind to anything unrelated to the task at hand. Imagine “survival.”

It is also a state of laser-like concentration, where one’s attention and senses are maximized, enhancing perception and attention to detail. I would want my heart surgeon to hyper-focus on the operation, please!

Hyperfocus can be the steppingstone to higher levels of creation. Creative masterpieces or scientific discoveries have emerged from passionate, intense, all-consuming phases of hyper focused work, where the artist or scientist immersed themselves fully in the project, forgetting time and even themselves in the process.

Of course, hyperfocus is not sustainable. Forgetting to eat and sleep leads not only to exhaustion but ultimately to destruction. If focus causes you to neglect your health, resources won’t be refreshed and rebuilt; instead, they will be drained from both body and mind. Hyperfocus can be useful in the short term but becomes toxic if sustained over long periods.

Raise your hand if you’re a parent who regrets missing your baby’s first steps. Or if you’ve spent your best friend’s wedding – fully dressed in your bridesmaid’s dress – working on your laptop in a hotel room. Hyperfocus on work causes you to miss unique moments in your relationships, ignoring communication cues and the needs of your loved ones.

And then there’s addiction. Hyperfocus can absorb you so completely that the thing you focus on becomes the center of your universe, pulling you further down a rabbit hole and occupying more and more of your mind and physical space. Think of the addicted gamer or the passionate collector. There’s a blurry line between passion and obsession. Those who have had a stalker know what hyperfocus means when you unwillingly become the center of it.

Hyperfocus is bad if it is a marriage between rumination, where all thoughts go in endless circles without escape, and fixation, where all rumination leads to the same and only valid result.

Here we go – our focus framework is complete. We now have a systematic structure to navigate our own relationship with the different stages of focus, along with a deeper understanding of how focus can be useful or harmful at any stage.

If you realize that you are (sometimes, usually, or too often) stuck in a certain stage of focus, and this is NOT helpful, how can you get out of this stage and move to a more productive state?

In the second part of the focus series (click here to read it), in the next article, we will explore ways to shift between the different stages so that you can gain more flexibility in managing your mental resources.