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Ryan Barrington Cox

Ryan makes things in Asheville, NC.

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Focus may be the most valuable skill to master today. We are bombarded with information. The options are limitless. We live in an ADD-inducing world.

Still, we have to get shit done.

I’ve struggled with focus. As a kid, I found it hard to focus on books without getting distracted. Even today, I’ll start reading documentation and before I know it (unconsciously!), I’ve opened up a new browser tab and started checking my email or Facebook again.

Keeping focused isn’t always easy, but it’s worth the investment.

I need focus to push through difficulty to completion. That’s how I learn and grow.

We all know the person who starts a million projects but never gets anything done.

Mastery doesn’t happen easily or by itself.

So what can I do to increase my focus?

  1. Decide beforehand what I’m going to work on and be vigilant. Time tracking tasks helps with this.
  2. Keep in mind the one thing I want to accomplish today and do it first. It’s better to finish one thing 100% than partially complete eight things.
  3. Turn off email, text messages and Facebook. Clear the environment of clutter.
  4. Forgive myself when I fail.

Line up the balls, then…

Hack it.

Hit it.

Go!


*Inspired by Leo Babauta’s (free) eBook, Focus: A Simplicity Manifesto in the Age of Distraction



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