50 lines
2.3 KiB
Markdown
50 lines
2.3 KiB
Markdown
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---
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title: "Focus intentionally"
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author: ["Amolith"]
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lastmod: 2022-04-23T21:12:29-04:00
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categories: ["Meta"]
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draft: true
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toc: true
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---
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I am too easily distracted. Sitting at my desk on an average day, I have movies,
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TV shows, and YouTube videos, about a million different chat applications, my
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email client, Steam, and a web browser with yet more chat apps plus social media
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all within a couple keystrokes' reach. Along with whatever primary task I've set
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out to do, I _also_ have a really chaotic brain and about a million other tasks
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bouncing around in it.
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Putting all of this together results in terrible productivity and incessant
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procrastination If my primary task is something I'm less-than-motivated to
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accomplish.
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In a recent episode of _The Art of Manliness_, Brett McKay interviews Dr. BJ Fogg
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about his new book, _Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything_. One
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of Dr. Fogg's statements in this episode stuck with me; when training yourself
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to adopt new behaviours, there are three things that must factors that determine
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your success: motivation, ability, and a prompt. A prompt is just something that
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reminds you of the behaviour you're trying to adopt. The act of brushing your
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teeth might be the prompt for flossing. The act of flossing might be the prompt
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for making coffee. In my situation, the prompt is just needing to get work done
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so we'll ignore that factor. Ability refers to how simple you find the task and
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motivation is how motivated you are to accomplish it. These last two must
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balance each other out; if your motivation to complete the task is low, your
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ability must be high — the task must be easy, while if your ability is low, your
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motivation must be rather high.
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## Notes {#notes}
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- Close primary browser with a million tabs open and use Epiphany
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- Close all the chat apps
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- Disable notifications/enable Do Not Disturb mode on _both_ your phone _and_
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computer
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- Take off your smart/fitness watch
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- If you listen to music, make it something calming, not eclectic
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## References {#references}
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- [The Art of Manliness: Become a Focused Monotasker](https://www.artofmanliness.com/character/behavior/monotasking-podcast/)
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- [The Art of Manliness: The Tiny Habits That Change Everything](https://www.artofmanliness.com/character/habits/podcast-581-the-tiny-habits-that-change-everything/)
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