Hey there!
Welcome to my newsletter where I talk about Branding, Mindset, Self-Development & Building a one-person creative agency
This is issue #002 of Self-Caught to Self-Taught.
Read time: 3 Minutes
Every time I hop on my desk to work, here’s what’s in my head:
I need to hold a meeting with my client,
Submit a project cause today’s the deadline,
I’ve to share some value on social media handles,
Create a reel,
Read a Book, listen to a podcast,
Watch some educational content,
Take notes on everything that makes my mind tick
And the list just goes on...
For a long time, I’ve believed in Multi-tasking. (Let’s do this, do that -It’ll save my time).
A few days back, everything changed. I realized my work wasn’t a single bit near to the standards I’m supposed to maintain.
Turns out “Humans suck at Multi-tasking”
What I learned is, We need to be focused on a single task at a single time —getting into Flow-State
What is Flow-State?
The idea that being in flow — or getting in the zone — is the state in which you feel happiest and perform your best work, and that you can design your life to have more flow experiences.
Why is it Important?
To be happy, you need to do activities that put you in flow. Amazing creativity and performance comes when you are in the flow.
Flow-State vs Multi-Tasking
—You’ll lose control of your life if you aren’t focused (it’s as simple as that). Dan Koe’s article on Taking back control of your life
That should be enough for you to understand why you shouldn’t handle two or more tasks at a time (ofc you can grab your lunch and listen to a podcast —but stop emailing your boss/client and texting to your gf at the same time).
That said, Let’s dive into how to achieve this so-called “Flow-state” or a “Focused-environment” (A breakdown of steps by Leo Gura):
#1 Squeeze out
Grab a pen & paper.
Jot down 5 things —What distracts you?
Whenever you are:
Working
Reading
Studying
Is it hunger? Is it notifications on your phone? Is it your environment?
Things which make you feel overwhelmed. (even in a relationship)
#2 Crush it
Now you know what distracts you.
Write 5 things again —This time what you can do to eliminate those 5 distractions
Be ruthless. I’m not going to tell you to do this, or do that —somewhere in your subconscious mind you already know what needs to be done.
#3 Get Blocked
Anything you want to put focus on, Block a time for it —It can be 15 minutes, 30 minutes or maybe even an hour or two.
What to keep in mind:
Don’t let yourself get up from the task (not a second)
Make sure you are following your eliminations list.
Do not (DO NOT) Multi-task. Centre your mind on that one task.
List your tasks of focused work for the day and simply block your time for each of them. I prefer Google Calendar and Notion for my to-do lists.
A fair warning - The human mind usually takes 10-15 minutes to get back to the mental state you were in before getting distracted.
#4 Get Rewarded
You just had your focused task done, feels amazing right?
Nah, you’ll feel exhausted AF.
Focused tasks can drain a lot of energy (in a good way).
What to do:
Text your friends, and hop on a call with them.
Missed an episode of your favourite series or podcast? go ahead and watch it.
Do anything you want for the next 15 minutes.
Productivity = Time + Focus + Energy + Reward
Productivity Formula
Apply this method and you can achieve focus in anything that you do and “Do more in less time”.
That’ll all for today. See you next week!
Your 'Not so distracted' friend,
Harshil.