Focus is hard
We check our phone around 150 times a day (~ 10 times every hour awake) and half of our phone time is reserved for Social Media
My observations have been:
- Days with significant slots of shallow focus are less satisfying.
- Consciously solving a single or atomic problem for 1.5 hours is tough but very effective.
- In startups, you choose the problem statement and the work towards the solve. Focusing on a niche market or problem or user is is tough but very effective.
- Meditation helps improve focus and observing your own dopamine loops helps break addictions.
Since yesterday, I have been distracted with adhoc, abrupt problem situations, firefighting, pokes from competitors. Such days happen every now and then, but it is always nice to fight distractions and focus back on the short term (i.e. weekly) and long term goals (i.e. 1 year).
Focus can be engineered
I try to engineer focus during the day by doing the following:
- List my most important task(s) of the day and check in the afternoon if I am making progress
- Choosing my environment - office space, temperature, coffee at the right time of the day
- Music on Spotify during the day if you want to zone out the external noises
- Sales calls batched together to avoid being switch on and off
I am missing on some effective things even after repeated reminders:
- 15 minutes walk after lunch - helps increase focus after lunch time.
- Recap of the day after the work is completed i.e. a restore point for the next day.
- Cutting short time sinks or black holes i.e. anticipating conversations or events which will be an utter waste of time.