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Productivity · 50 items · 3 min read

Easier Focus

For doing deep, meaningful work in a world built to interrupt you. Format: easier > harder. Focus is less about willpower and more about designing a day where distraction is inconvenient.

Sections
  1. Formulas
  2. Setting up the day (1–12)
  3. Guarding attention (13–25)
  4. Doing the work (26–37)
  5. Sustaining it (38–50)

Formulas#

  • Output = hours of deep work × intensity of focus. Two focused hours can beat an 8-hour day of switching. (Cal Newport, Deep Work)
  • Every switch costs time. After an interruption, part of your attention stays on the previous task. (Sophie Leroy, "attention residue")
  • A maker's day needs long blocks. A manager's day is cut into hours. Don't mix the two without meaning to. (Paul Graham, "Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule")
  • Daily progress = 1 important thing done. Three important things a day is usually a fantasy.

Setting up the day (1–12)#

  1. Choosing tomorrow's one important thing the night before > deciding in the morning.
  2. Doing the important thing first > email first.
  3. Protected 2–4 hour blocks > 30-minute gaps between calls.
  4. Meetings grouped on specific days or afternoons > spread across the week.
  5. A fixed start time > starting whenever.
  6. A shutdown ritual (review, plan tomorrow, close laptop) > work bleeding into the evening. (Newport)
  7. Working at your natural peak hours > forcing focus during a slump.
  8. A written list of what you're NOT doing this week > everything feeling urgent.
  9. Energy management (sleep, food, movement) > time management alone.
  10. A weekly plan with 3 outcomes > a daily list of 30 tasks.
  11. Same place, same time for deep work > a new setting every day. The context becomes the trigger.
  12. Breaks every 60–90 minutes > grinding until you're fried.

Guarding attention (13–25)#

  1. Phone in another room > phone face-down on the desk. Even a visible phone reduces attention. (Ward et al., 2017)
  2. Notifications off by default > on by default.
  3. Email and chat at 2–3 set times > always open.
  4. Website blockers during deep work > willpower.
  5. Full-screen, single-window work > 40 tabs.
  6. Noise-cancelling headphones > open-office chatter.
  7. A "parking lot" note for random thoughts > acting on each one.
  8. A clear definition of done for each block > "work on the project."
  9. A timer (50/10 or 25/5) > open-ended sessions.
  10. Stopping mid-sentence so tomorrow's start is easy > stopping at a clean break. (Hemingway)
  11. Status set to "focusing, back at 12" > being available all day.
  12. A clean desk > visual clutter.
  13. Checking metrics and dashboards once a day > constant refreshing.

Doing the work (26–37)#

  1. Breaking big tasks into a first step you can do in 15 minutes > staring at a vague mountain.
  2. Starting before you feel ready > waiting for motivation.
  3. Drafting fast, editing later > editing while drafting.
  4. Finishing one thing > starting three.
  5. Deciding in the doc (write it out) > thinking in circles.
  6. Batching shallow tasks (admin, replies, payments) > scattering them.
  7. Templates and checklists for repeated work > redoing it from memory.
  8. Delegating or automating what you've done 3+ times > doing it by hand forever.
  9. Asking "what would make this easy?" > forcing the hard way. (Tim Ferriss)
  10. Good-enough shipping > endless polishing.
  11. Working with a deadline, even a fake one > open-ended timelines. Work expands to fill the time. (Parkinson's law)
  12. Tracking deep hours per week > tracking busyness.

Sustaining it (38–50)#

  1. A weekly review (what worked, what's next) > drifting week to week. (David Allen, Getting Things Done)
  2. One capture system for all tasks > notes scattered in 5 apps.
  3. Saying no to good opportunities to protect great ones > saying yes to everything.
  4. Rest days with no work > "light work" every day.
  5. Walks for thinking > sitting at the desk "thinking."
  6. Long, uninterrupted seasons for big projects > constant context switching across products.
  7. Quarterly themes > random monthly priorities.
  8. Noticing and removing recurring distractions > fighting them daily.
  9. Sleep as the base of focus > caffeine as a replacement for sleep.
  10. Boredom tolerance (no phone in queues) > needing stimulation every second. It trains your attention. (Newport)
  11. Reading long books > only short content. It keeps your attention span long.
  12. A yearly thinking week > never zooming out.
  13. Focusing on what matters for the next 10 years > what's loudest this week.

If you keep only 5: #1 (pick the one thing the night before), #3 (protected blocks), #13 (phone in another room), #15 (email at set times), #26 (a 15-minute first step).