Before the world became so electronically connected I remember being bored occasionally. Usually it occurred when I was stuck someplace with nothing to do like a doctor’s office waiting room. Today, we are never bored. We engage with our phone or tablet, and we become busy.
Our lives have become filled with information and data. We are driven by the ability to access anything, and chat with anyone, at any time. But there is a difference between information and knowledge, isn’t there?
Information becomes knowledge through the process of study, the gaining of understanding, use and practice, and maybe even memorization. In today’s deluge of data, most of what we process never becomes fully understood. In an instant our focus shifts to the next piece of information, data, text, video, or email.
I have discovered that a very small shift in my process yields great returns. I strive to live in an environment where I can specialize on certain things, and relegate all other streams of information as cursory. Imagine becoming an expert on your selected topics, and yet still being aware of the flow of information on everything else that passes through your day.
The change is not in limiting what you see, hear, or read. It is in predetermining what needs more of your time. It is seeing the big picture, but magnifying a piece that is more important to you.
I warned you that this is a very small shift. It just requires taking a moment and thinking about what is important to you today. Then live looking through that lens, and prevent distractions from taking more of your time than necessary.
Would your life be better if you were more of an expert at certain skills? Can you shift your daily thinking to add focus to that area?