How to Build Mental Focus for Deep Work

I used to think my struggle with focus was a productivity issue. Turns out, it was a neurological one. I’m not joking when I say this: The same part of your brain that helps you regulate emotions, craft powerful sales stories, and write C-suite proposals… ...is also the part that atrophies when you binge on dopamine: email, social, Slack, “quick wins.” Most reps aren’t lazy. Their brain is just out of shape. Here’s how to fix that: A few years ago, I hired a personal trainer. He put me through absolute hell: bear crawls, single-leg squats, ring pushups. Halfway through, I looked at him and said: “Why does this feel impossible?” His answer? “Because your muscles aren’t developed… yet. You’re not used to this kind of resistance.” And it hit me right then—this is exactly what happens in sales. When reps avoid writing POVs, building business cases, or planning strategic outreach…it’s not just procrastination. It’s brain fatigue. 🧠 The science: Your prefrontal cortex controls future planning, storytelling, emotional regulation—everything required for deep sales work. But most reps are addicted to short-term dopamine: → inbox clearing → CRM busy work → social scrolling → chasing tiny, meaningless tasks These spike the nucleus accumbens—the brain’s pleasure center. Do it enough, and you’ve trained your brain to crave easy wins and avoid deep work. And when the deep work finally arrives? Just like that first day at the gym... …it hurts. But there’s good news: You can re-train your brain. Just like you build physical muscle, you can build mental muscle. It starts with prefrontal reps. Here’s the 21-day protocol I now give to every rep I coach: Step 1: Buy a stack of index cards Step 2: Every morning, write down ONE deep work task: → Craft a POV → Build a deck → Write a cold email to an exec → Record a 1:1 video Step 3: Do it FIRST. No dopamine until the card is done. Step 4: Repeat for 21 days. Add a second task in week 2. A third in week 3. Do this and watch your brain change. Watch how you suddenly want to update your deck. Want to send strategic emails. Want to go deeper into your accounts. It’s not magic. It’s neuroplasticity.

Anyone that I worked with at Total Entertainment Network (later pogo.com /Electronic Arts) remembers Jeff and his kooky hat. It was his tool for protecting his focus/coding time: whenever he needed deep focus time, he'd put on this very silly hat and post a sign on his cube that said something to the effect of "If I'm wearing the hat, don't talk to me." We all thought he was a little eccentric. Looking back? That was brilliant. Here's what he understood that it took me many years to realize: Focus time doesn't just happen. You have to architect it. I shared this story during a recent coaching conversation. My client was struggling with time management because she couldn't get her deeper work done. Sound familiar? Here's what we mapped out together: 🧠 Block focus time like a client meeting and make it sacred. Don't treat it like free time and let other to-do's creep in. 📢 Communicate your system - Let your manager and team know what you're doing. Perhaps have a check in right before you go into your focus time to handle stuff before you go into your Jeff-with-the-hat cave. ⏰ Start small and protect fiercely - Even 60 minutes of uninterrupted time can be transformative for your most complex work. Every ping, every "quick question," every "when you have a sec" fractures your thinking. The code switching can take 15-20 minutes to get back into deep work mode after an interruption. Your focus time isn't selfish - it's strategic. The work that moves the needle forward requires sustained attention, not scattered moments between meetings. What's your version of the weird hat? How do you protect your focus time? #Productivity #TimeManagement #Leadership

Leaders waste more energy on divided focus than any other activity. I learned this the hard way in the SEAL Teams. During a training evolution, I was juggling radio communications, coordinating multiple teams, and making split-second calls. And I wasn’t doing any of it well. My commanding officer pulled me aside: "Mac, you're everywhere and nowhere. Focus or you'll miss the critical moment." He was right. I was spread so thin I couldn't see the patterns emerging right in front of me. This isn't just a military problem. I see it daily with my executive clients: → Scanning emails during strategy discussions → Mentally rehearsing a presentation while their team shares crucial updates → Attention bouncing between five urgent problems, solving none completely The cost isn't just productivity. Your leadership presence evaporates. Your team's trust erodes. In high-performance environments, attention isn't just a resource. It's your competitive advantage. When you focus fully: → You notice micro-expressions that signal team tension → You spot connections between seemingly unrelated data points → You make decisions from clarity rather than reaction Most leaders know this. Few practice it consistently. The difference isn't knowledge, it's discipline. The solution isn't complicated: 1. Practice intentional monotasking. Whatever deserves your attention deserves your FULL attention. 2. Create attention boundaries. Block time for deep work with zero notifications. 3. Build a daily mindfulness practice. Even 5 minutes trains your focus muscle. 4. Batch-process inputs. Schedule specific times for email and updates rather than letting them hijack your entire day. In my 17+ years as a SEAL, the leaders I trusted most weren't just the smartest or toughest. They were the ones who could maintain complete presence amidst chaos. They showed up fully. Their attention wasn't divided. Their focus created a gravity that pulled teams together. What deserves your full attention today? ——— Follow me (Jon Macaskill ) for leadership insights, wellness tools, and real stories about humans being good humans. And feel free to repost if someone in your life needs to hear this. 📩 Subscribe to my newsletter here → https://lnkd.in/g9ZFxDJG You'll get FREE access to my 21-Day Mindfulness & Meditation Course with real, actionable strategies.

I blocked off three hours for deep work. No meetings. Time to focus on that strategy paper. Then… Ping. “Quick question, should we proceed with the meeting on project X?” I answer in thirty seconds. No big deal. But now my brain is running a background process… revisiting the decision while I try to focus on the strategy doc. Should we wait? Maybe I should double-check with a few folks… Before I know it, I’m knee-deep in three different problems. Three hours later, I’ve answered dozens of pings, overthought a decision, and made zero progress on my original task. Turns out, the main problem wasn’t the interruption; it was the mental spiral that followed. Researchers at Microsoft found that 27% of task interruptions from emails or instant messages lead to delays of two hours or more. So I’m clearly not alone here. Here are a few techniques I’ve found useful to stay focused: Brain Dump Distractions: If I think of something mid-task, I write it down on a post it and return to it later. Pre-Decide Goals: Before starting deep work, I define exactly what I want to accomplish. Key here: be realistic. End on a Clear Note: Before stopping a session, I leave a short “next step” note to make it easy to restart later. Batch Uncertainty: If I start second-guessing a decision, I flag it and set a time later in the day to revisit. That way, I don’t burn focus time in the moment. Managing external interruptions is one thing. Managing internal interruptions (self-doubt, second-guessing, anxiety) that’s the real challenge. How do you keep your brain from hijacking itself?