Focus - Leo Babauta [46]
As soon as you notice it, stop. Take a breath. Stay open.
Think of yourself as an explorer going into new territory. Mentally put on your headlamp and bring your attention into the fear. Forget about what you think it may be like, and be curious about what it is actually like. What triggers it? What sensations do you feel in your body? What thoughts appear in your mind? What urges do you have? Study your fear without acting on it so it becomes a known quantity to you.
Self-soothe. Tell yourself soothing thoughts, such as, "I can do this," and "This will pass." Ask yourself how old the fear is. Usually, fear comes from a very young part of you that needs love and reassurance. Self-soothing is the perfect medicine.
Don't pay attention to your thoughts. Fearful thoughts are irrational and unhelpful. They make you think that bad outcomes will occur when the truth is that you don't know what will happen. In fact, the outcomes may be more amazing than you could ever have imagined. Instead, move your attention to your breath, get up and walk around, and follow step 6.
Connect with what you want. For change to happen, your desire to be free of an old habit needs to be stronger than the momentum of the habit. Continually remind yourself of your desire to focus and the reasons why it is important to you.
Consider the consequences of distracting vs. the consequences of focusing. Again, what do you want? You get to choose.
Make a wise, conscious choice. Congratulations! You have reasoned your way through the fear and can make a choice that comes from your true desire. Let yourself bask in your success. Feel the freedom that comes from no longer being a victim to fear.
This process might seem long, but it actually can happen in a minute or two. It gets easier as you practice it. Once you notice the fear and stop, you are well on your way to moving through it.
I want to reiterate that you may never be finished with fear. Don't expect it to go away completely. Each time it appears is another opportunity for you to be kind, open, and loving. When it shows up, receive it like a friendly visitor. Know fear so it doesn't hold you back, then go and enjoy yourself.
Gail Brenner is a psychologist with 17 years of therapy experience who practices in Santa Barbara, California, and blogs at A Flourishing Life (http://aflourishinglife.com).
2: how to create a minimalist workspace to find focus
By Everett Bogue
The image of the cluttered desk is a pack-rat cliche that anyone can visualize. Papers strewn about haphazardly. Simultaneous access to all of your work and also none of it. You're frustrated and unable to get any work done.
If you have stuff all around you, it will always be harder to focus.
This is why it's absolutely essential to cultivate a minimalist workspace if you're going to focus on getting work that is important to you done.
So clear it all away.
Good, now let's get to the heart of the matter.
The reality of the situation is that creating a minimalist workspace for focus starts at the edge of where work and space interact.
In fact, I'd like to argue that you don't even need a desk to be able to focus. I haven't owned a desk for over a year!
Common knowledge specifies that if you're going to do any work, it needs to be at a desk. I say no, you can focus on your work anywhere in the world.
Anywhere you go, you need to have the tools to control your environment in order to focus on the essential.
For the last year I've worked in coffee shops, trains, airplanes, bars, fields, forests, and yes, even at the beach. A minimalist workspace can be manifested within seconds anywhere that you are in the world.
Here are the keys that you need to create a minimalist workspace for focus.
1. use fewer tools
We tend to accumulate countless tools for our work. We think we can't work unless we have a printer/fax/scanner in front of us, even if we've printed or faxed very little for years.
Instead, reduce your