The Art Of Focus By Dan Koe book Summary

The Art Of Focus By Dan Koe Book Summary

There was a jungle and the lion of the jungle did not run after the prey all the time. He knew what to focus on. Life is also like that. We all run after a thousand things at the same time. But the real victory is of the one who knows. Where to focus and what to leave.

The story is of Arjun. No, not the Arjun of Mahabharata. He is a common boy. Just like you and me. But his biggest problem is this. His mind does not stay anywhere. Sometimes he opens Instagram, sometimes YouTube. Sometimes he buys a course. Then he leaves it incomplete.

One day Arjun meets an old saint who gives him a mysterious book. The Art of Focus. There was only one line written on the first page of the book. Focus is not about doing more. It's about doing less better. This is where Arjun's life starts changing. From here we will tell every main idea of the book one by one through a story. Like the rule of one thing at a time, Arjun had now reached the first chapter of that mysterious book The Art of Focus.

As soon as he turned the page, a line was shining at the top. If you chase two rabbits you will lose both. If you run after two rabbits, both will slip out of your hands. At that very moment Arjun remembered how he used to try to do many things at the same time. As soon as he woke up in the morning, he would open his mobile, then in the middle of studies, he would start WhatsApp, then YouTube and then curse himself that nothing was happening.

But one day the saint told him about a miraculous experiment. Arjun said to the saint, choose only one task for one day tomorrow and focus on it. No notifications, no other tasks. Just one task the whole day. And then see what happens.

Arjun thought, let's try it. The next day he decided that he would focus only on studies. He kept the phone aside. He closed all the apps and set a timer for 90 minutes. In the beginning, his mind kept wandering. But as he controlled himself, a time came when he was so engrossed that he did not even realize the time. He studied for 6 hours that day without getting tired or bored.

When he went to meet the saint in the evening, there was a smile on his face. Today, I understood Guruji, the work was not difficult. I was the one who was tiring myself out trying to do so many things at once. The saint smiled and said, focus is not about discipline. It is about design. Design your day in such a way that you don't have a chance to get distracted. Doing only one thing at a time makes your mind go deeper.

Rule Two: Distraction Detox

The first rule made Arjun feel relaxed for the first time. Now he was trying to focus on just one thing every day. But there was still one problem. The phone rang repeatedly. The ringing of notifications, messages from friends and that one quick scroll on Instagram that was never quick. He was getting tired. Because whenever he focused, some distraction would pull him away.

There was another line in the second chapter of The Art of Focus. You don't rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your environment. That is, whether the goals are big or small, we don't become what we think. We become what our environment is.

The saint gave Arjun an experiment, distraction detox. Seven day challenge. If you really want to focus, Arjun's seven day distraction detox:

• Day one: He turned off all notifications, kept only calls and messages on, everything else off.

• Day two: He logged out of social media apps. If he had to post something, he would do it only from the laptop.

• Day three: Kept only two things in his room, book and water. Phone outside.

• Day four to seven: Fixed only two hours of deep work time every day. No interruptions in that time. No calls, no chats, no tea.

What was the result?

Arjun found that now he was able to do the same work, which used to take up the whole day, in half the time. His mind was calm and he did not feel tired even after work. Rather, he felt energetic.

The saint said smilingly, there is no need to fight distractions Arjun. Just leave them outside the door. Our focus never weakens. It is our environment that weakens us. Removing distractions is the real beginning. Otherwise, we will keep moving two steps forward and three steps back every time. So first remove those things which are distracting you. Change the environment, not the mind.

Support Arjun for distraction detox:

• Day one: He turned off all notifications. Kept only calls and messages on, everything else off.

• Day two: Logged out social media apps. If he has to post something, it should be only from the laptop.

• Day three: Kept only two things in his room, a book and water; phone outside.

• Day four to seven: Fixed just 2 hours of deep work time every day. No interruption during that time, no calls, no chat, no tea.

What was the result? Arjun found that now he was able to do the same work which used to take up the whole day, in half the time. His mind was calm and even after work, he did not feel tired but energetic.

The saint said smilingly, there is no need to fight distraction Arjun. Just leave them outside the door. Our focus never weakens. It is our environment that weakens us. Removing distractions is the real beginning. Otherwise we will keep taking two steps forward and three steps back every time. Detox your environment and your mind will detox on its own.

Rule Three: Break the Goal into Pieces

Now Arjun was more focused than before. He had learned to control distractions. But a new problem arose. He had big dreams. Going to IIT, writing a book, fitness transformation. But whenever he started, he felt that it was too big and he would not be able to do it. Every time he would get motivated and then he would lose hope in a few days.

The heading of the third chapter of The Art of Focus was: Big goals are not achieved in a day. They are achieved in daily chunks. Big goals are not achieved in a day. They are achieved in small pieces every day.

Then the saint told Arjun a small story. If you want to climb a mountain, don't look up. Just step on the next stone. And then the next and then the next. Just one small task every day. The saint told Arjun to break his goal like a puzzle. Into small parts and easy pieces. Complete just one piece every day.

Arjun adopted the one break a day technique. Dream of IIT. Used to get scared seeing the whole syllabus. Now just two chapters or one mock test every day.

Fitness goal. Earlier I used to go to the gym for 2 hours. Then I quit. Now just 20 minutes of workout every day.

But writing a book every day. Used to think of writing 100 pages at once. Now just one page every day without missing. And after 3 months he completed the first draft of the book. His weight reduced and the topics of GK were completed.

Arjun now knew. Big work is never done in one go. It is made from small pieces every day. The saint smiled and said, the way to defeat a mountain is not that you climb it. Rather, take one step every day with a calm mind. Big goals scare us. But when we break them into small actionable tasks, they seem easy.

Consistency beats intensity. Do a little every day but without stopping. Just lay one brick every day. In a few months, your destination will be built.

Arjun is still the same. The only difference between us is that he is like us. Now he knows that his focus is his biggest strength.

So friends, if you are also scattered everywhere like Arjun. Then once implement this book in your life. Because attention goes only where there is intention.

Also read: The Art of Rest by Claudia Hammond Book Summary

Also read: 21 Days of Effective Communication By Ian Tuhovsky 

Also read: You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay Book Summary

Also read: Becoming Supernatural By Dr. Joe Dispenza Summary

Also read: Rebuild Yourself by Justice O. Malcolm Book Summary