+We put a lot of emphasis in our day on completion and hitting deadlines. This emphasis can lead to us creating strong attachments to completion and deadlines. Sometimes this is warranted because of external factors (the "critical-path" of the project require us to get this done by a certain date and time). But many of our deadlines are internal deadlines that we've set for ourselves. We set a goal that we will be this productive by the end of the day. The unstated condition of this internal productivity deadline is that we'll feel guilty and ashamed if we miss the goal. We'll fee like we're not measuring up to our expectations and wonder if we're worthy of the task at hand. We'll feel like our day has been wasted and wonder if we're capable of doing anything at all.
+
+It's better for us to remove deadlines wherever possible. We won't be able to get rid of the external ones where folks are waiting on our contributions (though we may want to renegotiate those if they're not hard deadlines) but we can let go of the desires to hit arbitrary productivity and meet arbitrary deadlines.
+
+Arbitrary goals may work for some tasks. Some game contests only run for a week which makes teams focus on the critical pieces of the game in order to release it in the allotted time. But if you continually feel guilty and unworthy because you can't seem to meet the goals you set for yourself then you'll want to reconsider using them at all.
+
+One thing that I have found is to narrow the focus to the present moment using containers.
+
+## Containers
+
+We should replace soft deadlines (deadlines that aren't externally imposed on us) with a commitment to work on a particular project for a given length of time. One trick I've found useful is the idea of a timed focus container. When I do a timed focus container I start by choosing what will be focused on during the container. Once the task is chosen I set a timer at my work-space and then focus on that task with my full attention for the remainder of the time on the timer. I've had the best luck with using 10 minutes but a session as small as 5 minutes or as large as 25 minutes can be useful. The work selected at the beginning of the container is the only thing I work on and I do my best to make sure there are no interruptions (whether internal or external) until the container is complete. When the work is done I wrap up wherever I landed and then take a quick break (about 5 minutes) before starting the next container. The next container can continue with the same task, or I can select another task. But the idea is simple: I only focus on the thing in front of me for the allotted time. When my mind tries to wander or I get the temptation to "just check this one thing" I pause for a moment and see if it is indeed important. Most of the time it isn't important and I can make a quick note to check in on that after the container.
+
+We can use these containers to overcome our desires to multitask. We only focus on one thing at a time. We can also use containers to just let the session go where it wants to take us. When we start the container we don't start off with trying to finish a particular task; instead we see where the session takes us. There is no judgment of the quality of the work in the container, just the expectation that we will work for the duration of the container. There's no expectation for what work we will accomplish, just that we will work on it until the container is finished. If we complete the task before the container ends then that's awesome! We can then figure out what out next task will be. If the container ends and we're still in the middle of a task we can then write down where we left off and what steps we took in order to get there. We can then work on something else, or we can take a quick break and then come back to the work with a focus container.
+
+The underlying concept for the container is just to agree to work in the container without judgment for the work done and for the progress made. When the work is done in the container we take a step back and reflect on what we did and where we need to go. We give ourselves permission to not have to worry about it in the moment, but also allow ourselves the freedom to look back in short increments and see how we're doing. We allow ourselves to just work in the moment without fear of judgment, reprisal, or self-recrimination. We give ourselves the gift of uninterrupted work (or at least as much as we can possibly give). And we give it our full attention by turning off notifications, closing other programs, and focusing on the work in front of us.
+
+I'd like to invite to to take on this practice of doing focused containers. I think they're an excellent way to give ourselves permission to focus on one thing at a time without the need or worry for what will get accomplished during that container. It limits us to focus on one thing at a time and do it to the best of our abilities. The limitation of working on one thing at a time without thinking about the other bits of work that we have to do can be liberating and I hope that you will at least get a sense of what fully-focused work can feel like.
+
+This whole book was created and edited using focus containers. I took about 10 minutes per container to write the initial draft, and later I used 10 minute containers to edit the book. Sometimes they bled over into 15 or 20 minute containers but that was because I was so engaged with the material that I didn't want to stop. This was in sharp contrast with how I've normally approached tasks, which requires me to get over the initial hurdle of allocating a half-hour or so to the task. With a focus container I think to myself "I can just take 10 minutes to work on this" and gradually I see the progress unfold with each container.
+
+## Distractions
+
+Life is full of distractions. So many things want our attention, and many of these distractions are outside of our control. Someone walks up to our work-space and needs our attention at that moment. An email thread that we thought was settled becomes a heated discussion our attention is drawn to it. Something happens at home and now our mind is split between our work tasks and worrying about what's happening at home. Whatever the cause may be there are times when our attention isn't where we want it to be and we feel pulled in every direction at once.
+
+This is where the containers are most helpful. If something interrupts the container we can determine if it's more important than the work we're doing. If we determine that it is more important than what we're currently doing we can stop the container with the understanding that we'll return to the work once we've handled the interruption. If the interruption is not more important then we can agree (both with whomever is interrupting us, or with ourselves) that our focus needs to be here with the work until the container ends. We'll be able to give that other thing our full attention once the container ends. We'll also try to split our attention between the work and the interruption, and will give each of them our full attention at the appropriate time.
+
+This creates a simple delineation between our work and the rest of the world. But just because it's simple doesn't mean it's easy. Keeping the delineation between our work and the outside world can be challenging, especially if the culture you're in is about immediate results.
+
+I don't have good answers if the culture you're in demands your attention at all times. The best I can offer is that a containerized approach gives you at least some periods of undisturbed concentration. But if you feel on-guard all the time because something might happen at any moment then you're going to remain less effective than if you can shut the world off for a bit. I'd also challenge you to examine if that perception is really true; are you constantly being ambushed by interruptions? Testing that theory may be in order. Keep a log (whether it's a sheet of paper, text file, spreadsheet, or database is up to you) of when you did a focus container and if that container was interrupted or not. If you find that you are getting interrupted more often than not then you need to examine what is causing the interruption and assess if it's something that you can control. There are many ways to handle and minimize workplace distractions that I won't go into here but being aware of the distractions and determining where they are coming from will be key to figuring out how to mitigate them in the future.
+
+Also be aware of the self-imposed distractions you've added to your life. Do you need immediate notification that someone liked something you shared? Is the funny anecdote you just remembered important enough to warrant switching out of your current context so you can post it to your friends and colleagues? Do you really need something to pop up in your field of view to let you know that your music player changed a track? Are you willing to sacrifice your attention and flow throughout the day because a program detected a change in your environment, regardless of the importance of that change?