Focus - Leo Babauta [1]
Focus. Smaller things. Less. Simplicity. These are the concepts that we'll talk about, and that will lead to good things in all parts of our lives.
my story
If you don't know me, I'm Leo Babauta, best known for my popular blog on simplicity, Zen Habits (http://zenhabits.net), and my best-selling productivity book, The Power of Less (http://thepowerofless.com).
These concepts of simplicity and focus and less... they've been a revelation to me, in my life. In the past few years, I've completely changed my life by changing one thing at a time, by learning to find focus so that I can create, by simplifying and focusing on less.
I thought I'd share this because it's an illustration of how effective these ideas are -- and they've worked not only for me but for many of my readers.
By focusing on one thing at a time, small changes, little baby steps, I've been able to change a bunch of habits: I quit smoking, started running, began eating healthier, started waking earlier, and became more organized. And I've accomplished a lot more, taking on one project at a time and using the power of focus and the power of play to accomplish things: running a few marathons and triathlons, simplifying my life, eliminating my debt, starting up a successful blog and business, writing a few books, and much more.
This stuff works. And it's tremendously liberating to discover that you can find focus, you can simplify, and you can change your life.
2: the age of distraction
"Our life is frittered away by detail... simplify, simplify."
- Henry David Thoreau
We live in curious times. It's called the Age of Information, but in another light it can be called the Age of Distraction.
While humanity has never been free of distraction -- from swatting those bothersome gnats around the fireplace to dealing with piles of paper mail and ringing telephones -- never have the distractions been so voluminous, so overwhelming, so intense, so persistent as they are now. Ringing phones are one thing, but email notifications, Twitter and Facebook messages, an array of browser tabs open, and mobile devices that are always on and always beeping are quite another. More and more, we are connected, we are up to our necks in the stream of information, we are in the crossfire of the battle for our attention, and we are engaged in a harrying blur of multitasking activity.
When we're working, we have distractions coming from every direction. In front of us is the computer, with email notifications and other notifications of all kinds. Then there's the addicting lure of the browser, which contains not only an endless amount of reading material that can be a black hole into which we never escape, but unlimited opportunities for shopping, for chatting with other people, for gossip and news and lurid photos and so much more. All the while, several new emails have come in, waiting for a quick response. Several programs are open at once, each of them with tasks to complete. Several people would like to chat, dividing our attention even further.
And that's just in front of us. From the sides come a ringing desk phone, a ringing mobile device, music from several different coworkers, a colleague coming to our desk asking a question, incoming papers needing attention, other papers scattered across our desks, someone calling a meeting, another offering up food.
With so much competing for our attention, and so little time to focus on real work, it's a wonder we get anything done at all.
And then we leave work, but the attack on our attention doesn't end. We bring the mobile device, with incoming text and email messages, all needing a reply, with incoming calls that can't be ignored. We have reading material, either in paper form or on the mobile device, to keep our attention occupied. We are bombarded from all sides by advertising, asking for not only attention but our desires. We get home, and there's the television, constantly blaring,