Sharpening Focus in a Distracted Industry
A thought to consider…
Teddy Roosevelt once said, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
Turns out he was also famous for his “Roosevelt dash”- bursts of intense concentration that could last hours.
Contrast that with today’s reverse Flynn effect.
After decades of climbing, IQ scores in developed countries are now trending downward and the construction industry is not immune.
We have more tools than ever, with phones, apps, AI, but our focus is fractured.
As executive coaches Brett Kistler and Joe Hudson put it, “We’re not actually time-starved. We’re emotionally overwhelmed, living in the future while pretending to be in the present.”
The gift of focus has never been more rare or more valuable.
Eng-Spire Labs: Training Focus
Cal Newport offers a simple formula for output:
High-Quality Work = (Time Spent) × (Intensity of Focus).
Here are three small but powerful ways to boost the “intensity” part of that equation:
Take a 5 Minute Reset.
Before jumping into a tough problem, step away. Walk to the coffee pot, look out a window, stretch. Pausing first clears the clutter so you can hit harder when you start.Whiteboard It.
Grab a pen and stand up. Sketching an idea forces clarity in a way typing never will. Many problems get solved standing at a board, not staring at a screen.Set a Roosevelt Dash.
Pick a hard problem. Put away your phone. Set a timer for ten minutes. Go all in. When it gets easier, stretch to twenty. It’s interval training for the brain and like physical training, the gains start to compound!
Structural 101: Better Data, Sharper Focus
Fernie Middle School gave us a puzzle.
The geotechnical report classified the site as Seismic Site Class E, which is about as bad as it gets for soil.
Class E drives ductile detailing requirements, seismic loads and big structural costs. For a high-importance building like a school, those costs climb fast.
Here’s the move: a MASW test (Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves).
For about $10k, it measures shear wave velocities down to 30 meters. If the results bump the site up to Class D, seismic demands drop, which saves the client far more than the upfront cost.
Risk remains: the soil may still prove to be Class E. But the odds favour a win.
This is structural engineering in action; using better data to sharpen focus, reduce costs and bring clarity where assumptions cloud the path forward.
🔗 Learn more about MASW testing
Your Turn: Focus Where It Matters!
This week, ask yourself:
What distraction is sapping my focus?
Where could I add intensity to transform routine work into high-quality output?
What “MASW test” in my world would give me sharper data before making a big decision?
Focus isn’t just about doing more. It’s about doing what matters with clarity.