keeps one's eye on the ball
Maintains sharp concentration
To keep one's eye on the ball is to stay focused on the most important task or goal, avoiding distractions that could lead to failure.
The expression comes from sports where tracking a ball is essential to hitting or catching it.
With so many competing priorities, it's hard to keep your eye on the ball.
Someone who fails to do this may be said to have taken their eye off the ball, suggesting a lapse in concentration that leads to a missed opportunity or mistake.
- concentrationSustained single-minded attention
- stay focusedMaintain mental concentration
- in the zoneState of optimal focus
- determinationFirmness of purpose
- mental toughnessPsychological resilience capacity
tracking · hand-eye coordination · vigilance · mindfulness · tunnel vision · acuity · eye contact · reflexes · split-second decisions · persistence · observation · timing · execution · attentiveness · precision · prioritization · alertness · awareness
keeps one's eye on the balltakes one's eye off the ball
Stops watching what matters
loses the plot · drops the ball · misses the point · loses track · fiddles while Rome burns