Hey,<\/p>\n
In today’s email I’ll be offering suggestions to a problem that
\nchallenges many learners: not being able to focus.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Focus is essential for being productive and for learning anything.
\nThis is doubly true if you’re self-educating, where the lack of
\ncarrot\/stick incentives from professors and exams means *you* are
\nresponsible for staying on task.<\/p>\n
Obviously everyone has different natural strengths in being able
\nto focus. Some people are easily distracted and have difficulty
\nconcentrating. Others can be mesmerized for hours staring at paint
\ndry.<\/p>\n
I’m guessing you’re somewhere in-between those extremes, but that
\ndoesn’t mean you can’t rework your approach to increase your focus.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Step One — Change Your Environment<\/p>\n
One of the biggest problems with focus is not having an environment
\nthat is conducive to staying on task.<\/p>\n
Look around the room where you work and ask yourself how it makes
\nyou feel.<\/p>\n
Does it make you feel like channeling all your energy into
\nproductively accomplishing a task? Or does it make you want to
\nopen up Facebook or play video games?<\/p>\n
If your environment is full of distractions, focusing will be
\nimpossible–that’s obvious. But, even more, if your environment
\ndoesn’t *feel* focused, you probably won’t focus. Excess clutter or
\nan unmade bed may not be distractions in themselves, but they don’t
\ninspire a clear head.<\/p>\n
An easy solution to this problem is to pick an outside environment
\nthat forces you to focus. Libraries are a common choice for learning
\nbut the key is that it should be something that motivates you.
\nThere’s no need to pick a boring location if it doesn’t urge you
\nto stay on task.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Step Two: Enjoy the Boredom<\/p>\n
Not fun, right? Well actually it can be. Most of the problem in
\nfocusing is in the early stages, when you haven’t hit your flow.<\/p>\n
If a task seems boring initially, that doesn’t mean you won’t be
\nengaged in 15 minutes, it just means you haven’t built up the
\nmomentum to stay on task.<\/p>\n
When I’m writing I force myself to stay in the state of boredom or
\nfrustration for the first 15-20 minutes as I debate about headlines,
\nopening paragraphs and structure. It’s not fun, but once I get past
\nit, I can write for an hour or two without interruption, completely
\nfocused.<\/p>\n
The same is true with many learning tasks. When you’re starting the
\ninitial urge is to take the first distraction as an escape. If you
\nforce yourself to enjoy the first 15-30 minutes of boredom, you can
\neventually push into a more productive state.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Step Three: Train Your Focus<\/p>\n
Focus is like a muscle. If you don’t practice it frequently, it will
\natrophy.<\/p>\n
The way to train any muscle is to:<\/p>\n
1. Know your current strength.
\n2. Force yourself to push between 80-100% of your maximum strength.<\/p>\n
With focus, that means keeping track of how long you’re able to
\nproductively focus on a project and how long it takes you to get
\ninto that flow. Then, practice staying on task just a bit further
\nfrom the point you’d normally give up.<\/p>\n
If you normally stay focused on writing for 30 minutes before taking
\na break, force yourself to go an extra 15 next time you feel like
\nquitting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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