Focus - Leo Babauta [34]
Then connect for a day (or two). Take all the notes and work you did during your disconnect, and type them up and email them and post them online and so forth. Answer emails and get other routine tasks done, and then prepare for your next day of disconnect.
Repeat. You can vary the number of days you're disconnected or connected, finding the balance that works for you.
While some may feel this will limit the work they can do, I think it'll actually do the opposite: you'll get more done, or at least more important tasks done, because you won't be distracted.
You'll also find it a calming change from the always-connected. It's a peaceful routine.
conclusions
The purpose of these two routines isn't to tell you how to work, because we must each find the style and routine that works for our particular job. It's to show you that change is possible, and that if you think outside the usual, you can find some exciting possibilities.
You don't need to do these things exactly the way I've outlined above, but you can find a blend that works best for you. Perhaps a hybrid routine that uses both concepts, or a once-a-week walking or disconnect period.
Integrating walking into your work routine can do wonders for your fitness and for your focus. That's something you can't find if you're sitting all day.
Integrating disconnection into your work routine will allow you to get even more done, and to find peace of mind.
I urge you to consider both, and see how they can make your life better.
6: creativity and practicing deep focus
"In order to be open to creativity, one must have the capacity for contructive use of solitude. One must overcome the fear of being alone."
– Rollo May
Creativity is a fragile, elusive thing. If you don't practice, it become rusty, blunted, something you fear from intimidation. If you let yourself get too distracted, other demands on your attention will make creating difficult. If you put too much pressure on yourself, creativity becomes shy, hides in the awnings as you sit there, stuck.
And creating, as I envision it, is a broad activity that encompasses many things -- writing and drawing and designing and painting and making music and taking photographs, sure, but much more. Creating can be almost anything: coming up with a fun lesson for students, finding ways to keep your kids from getting bored, coming up with new ideas for your small business, thinking of a crafted message that will help you reach new customers, hand-stitching the perfect suit, perfecting a pitch to a new client, preparing a presentation for a small audience, and much more.
creativity killers
So how do we nourish this creativity that most of us need on a daily level? It's important to remember what kills creativity, first:
Distractions. The many things that pull on our attention that we've discussed in this book. Each distraction pulls us away from creating, and as we switch between creating and consuming information, and creating and communicating with others, we fragment our focus, we fragment creation itself.
Intimidation. When a task seems to large, daunting, we will shy away from it. It's difficult to sit down and create when we dread a task. If we think we're not good at it, we become intimidated as well and often won't even start.
Pressure. While you'll often hear creative professionals say they create best under deadline pressure, the truth is most people have difficulty creating under pressure. Try creating when someone is watching over your shoulder -- your mind has a hard time focusing, because you're thinking of the person watching you. The same is true of other types