From 2d82c9db4ad0434c3546ea871bacdae6e935ef31 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Craig Maloney Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2018 18:36:01 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] More editing on the focus container --- chapter05.md | 10 ++++++---- 1 file changed, 6 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-) diff --git a/chapter05.md b/chapter05.md index 4cf5ef6..ee48f0b 100644 --- a/chapter05.md +++ b/chapter05.md @@ -60,16 +60,18 @@ Arbitrary goals may work for some tasks. Some game contests only run for a week One thing that I have found is to narrow the focus to the present moment using containers. -#### FIXME - ## Containers -We should replace soft deadlines with the commitment to work on a particular project for a given length of time. One trick that I have found useful is the idea of a timed container where one chooses what they are working on and then focuses on that project with their full attention for the period of time. I've used 10 minutes but something as small as 5 minutes or as large as 25 minutes can be useful. The work we selected at the beginning of the container is the only thing we work on, and we do our best to make sure there are no interruptions, whether internal or external, until the container is complete. When the work is done we wrap up wherever we landed and then take a quick break before starting the next container (with the same or some other task before us). +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. More often than not it isn't as important and I can make a note to check in on that after the container. -When we start the container 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 also no expectation about what we will have accomplished when 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 debugging a problem perhaps we write down where we left off and what steps we took in order to get there and then work on something else. Or we get up for a bit and come back to the session in progress. +#### FIXME + +When we start the container 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 also no expectation about what we will have accomplished when 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 debugging a problem perhaps we write down where we left off and what steps we took in order to get there and then work on something else. Or we get up for a bit and come back to the session in progress. 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 just focus on one thing at a time without + ## Distractions Life is often full of distractions that are beyond 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 and needs our attention. Something happens at home and now our minds are split between work and home. Whatever the cause may be there are times when our attention isn't where we feel it should be and we feel pulled in every direction at once. -- 2.31.1