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