Focus. Part 9

narrowing focus.

Now that you've identified your top priorities, the hard part is done. Not that narrowing focus is always easy -- especially when you have team members or management involved who don't quite get it.

In that case, it'll take some convincing. Show them examples of companies or projects that excelled with a smaller focus, and the problems of too broad a focus.

Be unrelenting.

If you have control over your focus, and the focus of what you work on, you're lucky. Now it just takes some guts, and perhaps some time. You don't need to change everything overnight. That's the power of small changes -- you can slowly narrow your focus. Slowly do less, one thing at a time, and you'll see how it can transform your work.

When you drop one feature at a time, do one less type of service, do one fewer project at a time... it's not so hard. And the improvements that come with the smaller focus will encourage you to continue to simplify, until you've found the smallest focus that works for you.

4: focused reading and research.

"A book is like a garden carried in the pocket."

Chinese proverb.

Focused reading is something that's becoming a rarer and rarer animal these days. We have a hard time reading even a single blog post if it's not a simple list or longer than a couple hundred words -- we'll skim, and then move on to the next post or email.

Our reading habits have changed because of the persistence and ubiquity of online distractions. We read shorter, faster, more frequently, but longer reading is dwindling. Focused reading is harder.

One effect is that we're reading fewer books and longer articles, and more blogs and shorter articles. Another effect is that any research we need to do is filled with distractions -- landmines when it comes to getting work done.

However, it's not impossible to read or do research with focus. Just harder.

how to read longer pieces without distractions.

There are two keys to reading longer pieces or books: 1) clearing away everything else, and 2) shutting off the Internet.

Without those two things, you'll always have distractions. Even if you do manage to do those two things, the siren's call of messages and other updates are still tempting.

For reading longer articles or blog posts, I'll put the article/post in a separate window, without other tabs to distract me. I'll expand that window to cover my entire screen. And then I'll turn off the Internet, so nothing else calls while I read.

Then I just read, until I get to the end (or until I realize this article isn't worth my time). I don't switch to another window or program until I'm done.

There's something peaceful about this process. It's saying: I have nothing else to do but read this one thing. Nothing is going to interrupt me, and I can just focus on enjoying this reading.

Book reading is the same way. If you're reading a physical book, you need to put away your laptop and mobile devices, and shut everything off. Find a quiet place, and just read. If you're reading an ebook, clear away everything else but your ebook reader.

Then you settle into the reading, and enjoy it. Bask in the luxury of reading without distractions.

how to do the research necessary for focused creation.

Research can be more of a challenge, because you need to be connected to find information, usually. You'll want to do Google searches and then follow links within the first batch of articles you find, and so on. The nature of research tends to require link-following.

Here's the method I suggest for more focused research: Close email/IM/social networks and other distractions.

Do your initial search, and open up your initial batch of articles/ pages.

Skim these articles/pages, looking for links to other articles you might need to read. Open those links.

Repeat with the new articles, skimming and opening links as necessary. Do this until you have all the articles open you need to read.

Read one article at a time, using the method in the previous section -- opening that article in its own window and hiding everything else. Read through the article, and take any notes necessary. Bookmark the article if necessary for later reference.

Repeat, taking notes and bookmarking one article at a time. When your research is done, you can do the actual work, using the focus techniques for work in the other chapters of this book.

5: walking, disconnection & focus.

"An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day."

Henry David Thoreau.

The simple act of walking can be a tremendous boost to your focus, productivity, clarity of mind, not to mention your health and waistline.

Recently a fellow blogger wrote to me talking about how many pounds she lost on vacation because she walked all day long -- something many of us have experienced. She ended by saying, "If only I could find the time to walk 6 hours a day."

That got me to ask -- why not? Why can't we work out a routine where we walk all day long?

What follows are a couple of radical but incredibly fulfilling and productive changes from most people's daily routine. I think they're worthy of consideration if you: have any control over your schedule; can work from different locations; want to get more active and trim your waistline; and need to find new ways to focus and get important things done.

I recently tried both these routines and loved them, and am working them into my life in different ways.

1. the walking vacation working routine.

I love going on vacation, not only for the food and sights and history and culture and people, but for the walking. You get in amazing shape by walking around all day, exploring, taking frequent breaks but staying on your feet for at least half the day.

Why should we reserve this fantastic routine to vacations? Just because we need to get work done?

Consider a routine that consists of alternating short walks with work: Walk for 20-30 minutes to a location: coffee shop, library, park, beach, cafe or bistro, peaceful rest spot, etc. Don't use mobile devices as you walk remain disconnected.

Work or read for 30-40 minutes: write, take notes, read, respond to emails, design, meet with a colleague or client, make calls, whatever. You can also have coffee, some water, fruits, a small meal, and so on.

Repeat as many times as you can.

This is a bit of a nomadic work schedule, roaming from one place to another, but it has numerous benefits: When you walk, you can think, which is something that's hard to do when you're sitting and distracted all day. When you get to your destination, write down all the notes from your walking contemplation.

When you walk, you can also clear your head, meditate, or just enjoy your surroundings and relieve stress.

You get into tremendous shape by walking so much.

Your work will also be more focused, because you have less time to work. Use the 30-40 minute bursts of work for important tasks that you think about as you walk.

Some stops can be in spots without a wireless connection, which means you'll get more work done without the distraction of the Internet.

2. the disconnect and connect working routine.

A number of people have announced vacations from the Internet, when they go a few days or a week or even a month without any connection -- on purpose. This serves as a way for them to reconnect with life, to find focus and get important things done, and to enjoy the peace of disconnection.

But why make it an occasional "cleanse"? Why not build it into your routine?

Consider a routine such as the following: Disconnect for a day (or two). No Internet connection -- perhaps no computer at all if using your computer is too much of a temptation to connect. Use an actual paper notepad and pen, writing and brainstorming and making pages of notes or sketches. Make phone calls instead of connecting via email or IM. Meet with people in real life, and get outside. Get a ton of important work done. No mobile devices except for actual phone calls.

Then connect for a day (or two). Take all the notes and work you did during your disconnect, and type them up and email them and post them online and so forth. Answer emails and get other routine tasks done, and then prepare for your next day of disconnect.

Repeat. You can vary the number of days you're disconnected or connected, finding the balance that works for you.

While some may feel this will limit the work they can do, I think it'll actually do the opposite: you'll get more done, or at least more important tasks done, because you won't be distracted.

You'll also find it a calming change from the always-connected. It's a peaceful routine.

conclusions.

The purpose of these two routines isn't to tell you how to work, because we must each find the style and routine that works for our particular job. It's to show you that change is possible, and that if you think outside the usual, you can find some exciting possibilities.

You don't need to do these things exactly the way I've outlined above, but you can find a blend that works best for you. Perhaps a hybrid routine that uses both concepts, or a once-a-week walking or disconnect period.

Integrating walking into your work routine can do wonders for your fitness and for your focus. That's something you can't find if you're sitting all day.

Integrating disconnection into your work routine will allow you to get even more done, and to find peace of mind.

I urge you to consider both, and see how they can make your life better.

6: creativity and practicing deep focus.

"In order to be open to creativity, one must have the capacity for contructive use of solitude. One must overcome the fear of being alone."

Rollo May.

Creativity is a fragile, elusive thing. If you don't practice, it become rusty, blunted, something you fear from intimidation. If you let yourself get too distracted, other demands on your attention will make creating difficult. If you put too much pressure on yourself, creativity becomes shy, hides in the awnings as you sit there, stuck.

And creating, as I envision it, is a broad activity that encompasses many things -- writing and drawing and designing and painting and making music and taking photographs, sure, but much more. Creating can be almost anything: coming up with a fun lesson for students, finding ways to keep your kids from getting bored, coming up with new ideas for your small business, thinking of a crafted message that will help you reach new customers, hand-stitching the perfect suit, perfecting a pitch to a new client, preparing a presentation for a small audience, and much more.

creativity killers.

So how do we nourish this creativity that most of us need on a daily level? It's important to remember what kills creativity, first: Distractions. The many things that pull on our attention that we've discussed in this book. Each distraction pulls us away from creating, and as we switch between creating and consuming information, and creating and communicating with others, we fragment our focus, we fragment creation itself.

Intimidation. When a task seems to large, daunting, we will shy away from it. It's difficult to sit down and create when we dread a task. If we think we're not good at it, we become intimidated as well and often won't even start.

Pressure. While you'll often hear creative professionals say they create best under deadline pressure, the truth is most people have difficulty creating under pressure. Try creating when someone is watching over your shoulder -- your mind has a hard time focusing, because you're thinking of the person watching you. The same is true of other types of pressure -- it distracts you, makes it hard to focus. There are a few exceptional people might be good at creating under pressure, but only because they've learned to focus despite these pressures. Mostly the pressure becomes motivation for them. For the rest of us, the less pressure, the better, because it allows us to relax and focus.

Lack of use. When we don't create on a regular basis, it becomes intimidating. When we put off creating, and put it off, we lose some of the key habits (see below) that allow us to create.

Chapter end