Focus

It is very important to cultivate concentration, and develop the ability to focus selectively is necessary for producing great work.

How I focus

Focus is something which I am still developing. However, if I could develop focus without external prompting, then certainly you can with my inspiration.

Methods of Cultivating Focus

Doing something - anything, except sitting around passively. Even when I am sick or tired, I am taking action (by resting to get well or exercising or sleeping to recharge). Boredom or idleness is not something I know.
Communicate - if you hate someone, tell them so. If you love someone, tell them so. If you don't care, say so. Be honest, and impeccable, with your word. This will take practice, as the common trend is to lie for the sake of comformity. However, you will soon find that they are a range of expressions which have positive reflections and which are all true for a given situation. Only with practice can choosing which one is best for you become easier.
Persevere - never give up. Take a break, try something different (right now I am typing because I keep falling asleep while trying to read). Get to know yourself better by exposing yourself to new things. Keep moving. Breathe! Do not stiffle yourself; being expressive is hard enough due to external pressures. No need to help your enemies!
Accept the good you deserve. Oftentimes, what you want will come from unexpected sources and in unexpected ways, so be careful not to reject what is rightfully yours.
Do not be a cat in a box - you know, neighter hot nor cold, here nor there, up nor down, passive and undefined. It is worth noting at this point that, apparently, the main difference between people who are great leaders and those who are pathetic victims is that victims chose not to act. Realise that leaders, wheter benevolent or malicious, are ready to risk something in order to accomplish their goals (with the help of other leaders, or through victims). No leader, no matter how good, can help someone who does not want help. And no amount of cowering will protect you from the wrath of the active.
Be gentle with yourself - imagine you are your own parent. Now be caring and loving and guiding, rather than judgemental and harsh. Nonetheless, be as honest as possible. Consider that the world wants to enslave you, at least mentally and most likely, emotionally and perhaps even physically.
Surround (fortify) yourself with good people - people who help you and give you positve feedback are good people. Those who want to own you, control you, devour you, drain you... are bad people. Assess people and respond accordingly.
Build good relationships - Encourage progress and prosperity. Encourage people even if you think they will fail, in trying they may discover more of themselves. By empowering others, you become a self-evident source of power.
Approve of yourself - "if you are going to be a whore, be a dammed good one!"

Barriers to focusing

Distraction is omnipresent: there is always something else calling for attention. Being alone helps, as the affirmation "I am myself for myself, and not for anyone else".
Tiredness - tiredness is a symptom of doing something which you don't really want to do. Naturally, humans need sleep. We are based on animal technology, and animals sleep a lot. However, humans can become prematurely tired by doing the work of a machine rather than having the fun of a living human. Rest well and often.
Irreverance - my task matters to me, so I approach it with a subtle passion, a quiet reverance, a determination and respect. I insist on this same respect from anyone else in my space, or else they never enter my space at all, and if they happen to be there then they blip out as I redefine my scope and push them away gently but firmly.
Lack of motivation - for this, I often use anger, frustration. Others use hope but I have seen too many other suffer and die to take success for granted, and I would rather kill another than allow myself to suffer or die. It is war and you started it.
Lack of inspiration - what is the point of doing something if you don't think it will succeed? For inspiration, I draw on success stories of others. Interviews of people who have accomplished even the most trivial of tasks, biographies, even myths can all be sources of inspiration. Bad products can also be inspiring, in a way, because I figure my production is at least as good!
Fear of rejection - what is the point of doing my best, only to find it is not good enough? For a while, I wasn't ready to do various things... so I met the saying "not ready" with "becoming ready". I noticed and lauded (to myself) my improvements. Now I really see rejection, and even acceptance, as just another optional reaction... either way, I have plans as to how to respond and either way, I will improve and expand.
Fear of the unknown - consider something like circuit analysis, which I never did before. The simpliest things seem formidable. Yet, practice makes permanent. Thinking builds theoretical understanding. Action dispells fear.
Fear itself - is a useless emotion representing the anticipation of loss. So, what am I planning to lose? Do I really want to keep it? If not, let it go. If so, rework the task so that I now also work to keep what I anticipated losing before.
Lack of planning - "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail". So I now allow myself time to plan future events!
Too much tension - stress can destroy you from the inside, slowly killing you, and making every day less than the sum of its parts. Learn to relax.
Too much thinking - after a point, it becomes unproductive, and even harmful, to keep thinking about something. Let it go.

[1] Off-site link about coping with Burnout : http://www.coping.org/growth/burnout.htm

K31. Sun. 02 Mar. Y2; Sun. 05 May Y2.

Supplemental revisions Sa. 16 Nov. Y2. Thanks to K5, esp. Kalani.

Last revision Th. 29 Apr. Y4.