I have a confession to make: I have a very hard time focusing on things in general. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0You may have noticed this, as it’s been several months since my last blog post. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0(Case in point: After writing the previous sentence, I left this post to go check a minor point in my server’s configuration, looked at three config files, then did a Google search on how to modify them. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0While my results loaded, I returned to this post.)<\/p>\n
I’ve found some help for this problem, and I want to share it with you. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0It came in the form of a book, simply titled “focus<\/a>.” \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0The subtitle is: “A Simplicity Manifesto in the Age of Distraction.” \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0Poignant? Yes.<\/p>\n I found the book from the great blog Lifehacker<\/a>, which I then stopped reading on the advice of the book. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0Irony abounds.<\/p>\n Anyway, the book is free. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0Sort of. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0It’s free for the free version (which is a .PDF-contained eBook), which you can download here: FREE GREAT BOOK HERE NOW SUPERLATIVE EXCLAMATION<\/a>! \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0I have to confess, I read the free version first. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0But it was so good that I actually went back and purchased the paid version of the book (which is also a .PDF-contained eBook)\u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0for 35 bucks. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0The free version was worth way more than 35 bucks to me, which means that the full version is worth potentially more still. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0Either way you choose to go, it’s a heckuva deal for the quality of the material.<\/p>\n Though the writing is intentionally clean and easy to read, this is not a book that you want to rush through. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0I have tried to read it as part of a morningly working focus ritual. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0Here’s how it works for me: I sit down at my desk, close all other programs, close the door and issue a stern warning to any who might be tempted to break my concentration, and breathe deeply a few times while I mindfully start reading. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0At this point, I’ve gotten a lot of value out of the exercise before I even start reading the book! \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0When I read, I never read more than one chapter at a time. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0I’m not really meditating, just reading mindfully, learning to focus and only do one thing.<\/p>\n This is one of several aids to productivity that have influenced my thinking about work in the past few years. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0The other is the Getting Things Done<\/a> methodology, pioneered and preached by David Allen. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0Getting Things Done, or GTD in the parlance of us devotees, deserves its own blog post. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0It probably deserves several, but I’ll leave that for another day. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0Suffice it to say that this book, Focus, is influenced by and compatible with GTD.<\/p>\n So how has it gone for me? \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0Really well so far. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0I wouldn’t be writing about it otherwise. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0(I never would have gotten around to it.) \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0I’ve read the entire free version of the book once, and I’m now re-reading the full version of the book. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0I don’t end up reading it every working morning, but I find that when I do invest a few minutes in the morning to focus, my entire day is VASTLY more productive. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0As a matter of fact, if I’ve done any work for\/with you in the past six months, you probably owe my participation partly to this book.<\/p>\n The format of Focus is very helpful, as well. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0It’s not framed as a large, thought-provoking explanation of anything. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0It doesn’t carry that kind of authoritative weight. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0Instead, it’s a bunch of bite-sized chunks of useful tips and helpful practices. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0There are sections with tips for parents, employees, managers, etc. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0Most of the time, I’ve been able to read a chapter and walk away with a very small change to my day. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0There’s been at least one occasion where I stopped reading mid-chapter, closed the book, and went on to implement something from that day’s chapter right away.<\/p>\n Anyway, I highly recommend it. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0I’ll even buy you a copy of the free version if you’d like. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0It’s at least that good. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0Here’s the info:<\/p>\n author: Leo Babauta I have a confession to make: I have a very hard time focusing on things in general. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0You may have noticed this, as it’s been several months since my last blog post. \u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0(Case in point: After writing the previous sentence, I left this post to go check a minor point in my server’s configuration, looked … Continue reading Life skills upgrade: focus<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[14,9],"tags":[87,306,305,304,196],"class_list":["post-746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-report","category-thoughts","tag-book","tag-focus","tag-gtd","tag-productivity","tag-work"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdZlL-c2","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=746"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":747,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/746\/revisions\/747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andrewandlisa.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}focus<\/a> :\u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0a simplicity manifesto in the age of distraction<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nprice: free or $34.95
\nsite:\u00c3\u201a\u00c2\u00a0http:\/\/focusmanifesto.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"