Change your environment
If you’ve been feeling distracted lately, it might be time to rethink your environment. I’ve mentioned this in previous weeks: sometimes contentment comes from huge life overhauls, and sometimes it comes from small adjustments – removing the clutter from your desk, turning off notifications, leaving your phone in another room.
We take cues from our environment – the objects around us, the music in our ears, the thoughts in our head. Seemingly neutral things send us messages in favor of getting stuff done or not getting stuff done. To maximize my focus, or get into focus more easily, I remove the friction that makes my environment unsupportive.
I don’t remember where I read about it, but at some point I created a “focus list” that lays out the conditions for which I can best focus. It’s simple and effective. As I’m trying to start a project, especially something I don’t want to do, all of a sudden the laundry needs doing or the kitchen needs cleaning. Anything but the task at hand. I pull out the focus list when I “forget” how to be productive.
My list looks like this:
I am alone or, if around other people, they are quiet and generally leaving me alone.
I am wearing headphones. I have noticed wearing the headphones can sometimes be enough – seriously – there doesn’t have to be anything coming out of them. James Clear’s Atomic Habits described an athlete who experienced this same thing. It’s a sort of Pavlov’s dog for getting shit done.
I am listening to jazz or music with few words. I find the words distracting. I dunno why. Maybe Ride the Lightning works for you.
My small tasks are complete. If I’ve got three little things hanging over my head, I can’t focus on the big one. I know some folks say to tackle the boulders first and then the smaller rocks, but I like knowing as soon as I’m done with this big one, that’s it I’m done.
What are the conditions you need to be able to focus? What about your environment needs to change so you’re set up for success?
Environment can go unnoticed until something forces it into our consciousness. It is habitual – you see it every day, it lives among you, it is seemingly innocuous until it prevents you from doing what you want to do. So take this as your cue if you’ve been struggling to focus. It’s worth kicking the tires, especially if you’re willing to experiment a little. When you catch yourself in a moment of productive ease, take a pause and note where you are, how you are, what are the conditions. These details could line you up for future success.
Go get ‘em this week.