5 Tips for focusing learned from Arkham Asylum

5 Methods for 

Focusing on the Task at Hand

(Or things I've learned from playing Batman: Arkham Asylum)

It is a war to focus. The mind loves to wander. You are trying to do one thing when another important problem pops up.

This is the golden age of procrastination and distraction. The task at hand is shoved aside in favor of any of the hundred million distractions available to the modern procrastinator.

Focus is a virtue. It’s also a skill to develop and hone.

The Peril of Losing Focus on Your Task

You're trying to focus on a puzzle. Then someone is talking to you. Suddenly, this goon in clown makeup gets the jump on you. All because you weren't focusing.

In the world of Arkham Asylum, Focus is a survival skill. Focus lets you take out a mob of prisoners. Focus is life or death.

Here are some tips I've learned from playing Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Ways to Improve Focus

Eliminate distractions

Bane was already beating you senseless when a half dozen Blackgate prisoners show up. It is a little hard to focus on the juggernaut coming at you when the guy with scalp ridges is trying to punch you in the back of the head. So you takedown bad guy one then you have one less guy trying to kill you. You have eliminated a distraction.

It's not always possible to eliminate distractions. But it’s important to limit them as much as possible. You could go somewhere quiet and private to work. You could download an app that blocks you from going on a nonproductive site. Do what it takes to make focusing the easiest part of your work by giving yourself one thing to focus on.

Break the goal down into tasks

You walk into a room occupied by six gunmen. You can't take them all out. Not all at once. Take one out then you only have five slightly more skittish gunmen to deal with. Then repeat the process, one by one until the room is clear.

Break down the work into tasks. It’s easier to focus on writing a sentence than a novel. Rather than worry about the larger goal, you can focus on the steps that it takes to get to that goal. Each task brings you a step closer and gives you a growing sense of accomplishment.

Step back and calculate

I grew up on Mario with timed levels and bonuses for a quick finish. The bonus gave the player an incentive to just keep running till the end of the level. Mario required  the player to do it fast. Save the princess, stomp the helpless animal, run, run, and run. The do it fast approach can result in an inglorious death in Arkham. It can also result in unnecessary mistakes in life.

Don't sit on your gargoyle forever but don't jump the guy with the gun without a plan to take him down quickly and quietly.

Step back from the situation. Assess. Don't immediately jump into a project without a plan of attack. Observe, decide on a course of action then attack.

Don’t take on too much

You can't control the number of problems that come your way in Arkham. The game is the game. But you can control the way you play it. I spent some time in the challenge levels learning to effectively use the tools at hand. Practice eliminated one problem. It eliminated my lack of skill.

Games have a fixed number of problems to solve. Life on the other hand will gleefully just keep dumping new problems on you until you are neck deep. Sometimes the best you can do is to not create new problems for yourself.

Don't take on too many projects. With too many projects and too many problems, your attention becomes diverted. Don't be afraid to turn down a project.

Attack the tasks based on priorities

Focus on the steps leading to the goal, not the end goal. You can't get into the locked room to save the civilian if you don't first slow down and look for a grate to tear off the wall.

I find that I procrastinate the worst when I try to tackle the biggest problem. When I face a large pile of work, the size of the pile can overwhelm me and push me to push it off. So I prioritize. Tackle the tasks one by one. You could start with the simplest or the most immediate problem. Attacking that problem reduces the size of the pile and with each finished task the pile shrinks and becomes easier to face.

Focus is the key to finishing your work
and saving Gotham