Everyday, we will bring to you a related set of 3 actionable tips, ideas & advice (mostly from Twitter)! These are meant to expand your thinking, knowledge & empower you to be the best version of yourself. The links (people, tools & processes) are also meant to add value :)
Note - We do not include all tweets in a thread sometimes to avoid hitting email limits & readability. You can always access the whole thread by clicking on the 1st tweet. We append (….) in such cases.
Today's theme is: Focus
In the last couple days, we looked at frameworks for decision making and how to keep track of them using a Decision Journal.
As you might have realized, decisions alone can't lead to results. In fact, the more decisions we have on our plate, the worse our capacity to get things done is.
This is where Focus comes in. And it comes in 2 flavors 😉 👉🏻
Focus as a Noun : Or in other words, artfully eliminating items in today's To-dos so that you are left with only the highest leverage tasks. (PS : for those who might not be aware, To-dos are your Task list (s))
Focus is a competitive advantage. But in a noisy world, it is increasingly difficult to find. 5 tactics for finding focus in your career, startup, or life:Eliminate Low-Value Decisions Mark Zuckerberg is famous for having only one outfit in his closet. While an extreme example, there is a lesson here: Eliminate decisions that require energy but do not create commensurate value. Redeploy that energy into high-value decisions.Sprint Then Rest The human mind is not designed to be on at all times. It needs rest. Work in short blocks (1-2 hours). You can schedule the blocks - I call it "deep work" on my calendar - or leave yourself more flexibility. Use biology to your advantage: sprint then rest.Noise Cancellation The world is noisy. We are constantly being hit by stimuli competing for our attention. Learn to tune out and zone in. Noise-canceling headphones can be an unimaginably helpful tool. Find your "in the zone" soundtrack and play it on repeat.(….)
Focus as a Verb : It is the act of sitting our butts on the chair and getting shit done.
But there's a "legendary" form of focus - when time flies and we are completed absorbed in action : Scientists call it "Flow". The way we look at it - Anxiety is decisions without actions, Flow is action without decisions.
Here's a couple more beautiful perspectives :
Given this "Flow" sounds like the holy grail of Productivity and Well-being, how much can we rely on it? Well, students of flow say it's possible to get into it almost instantaneously. Try & see for yourself!
We can induce flow state in ourselves or other by: • setting the right learning goals that address the learners gap • providing immediate feedback • setting a challenge that is not so easy that it's boring, and not so difficult that it's frustratingIdentify thing that are breaking your flow. Address them and you'll be eventually able to leverage them to get deeper into flow.Also have a way to quickly save thoughts (in your brain or notes) so you can preserve the flow of a conversation(….)
All 3 linked accounts are great follows in this space. We hope you try out these ideas and it makes your life a bit easier.
Bit by bit. Everyday.
Cheers and see you soon! 💫