XMind

Focus by Leo Babauta

1. intro

   1. a new lifestyle

   2. an expectation

   3. its an addiction

   4. exercise: how many times/day u want to switch tasks?

2. clear distraction

   1. limiting the stream

      1. why

         1. impossible to focus on important things

         2. find a better way to do our activities

      2. how

         1. information cleanse

            1. no email checking

            2. no social media checking

            3. no news reading

            4. no TV, IM

            5. minimize phone usage

            6. read important books/essays

            7. wath thought provoking movies

            8. spend time for productive usages

         2. reducing the stream

            1. identify:

               1. most essential ways to communicate?

               2. most essential information you consume?

               3. what can you cut out?

               4. try eliminating one stream per day

         3. using the stream wisely

            1. reduce the stream to essential things

            2. limit the time for unessential reading and communicating

            3. write this limit down

   2. get used for "not-responding" to unessential things

      1. how

         1. imagine you're free from compulsion

         2. addres the fears -- why you're afraid for nor-responding?

         3. start weaning urself

   3. let go of the need, stay updated

      1. basis: fears

      2. how to break:

         1. examine each fear individually

            1. might seem ignorant

            2. might miss out opportunity

            3. might see something bad to be responded

            4. bad things will happen if we're not stay informed

         2. test them

            1. turning off te news for one day

   4. not living the inbox

      1. get your tasklist out of the inbox

      2. do email at only pre-appointed times

      3. do your work with email closed

      4. choose your task wisely

   5. distraction value

      1. why important

         1. our minds need a break

         2. take our mind off a troubling problem

         3. can lead to inspiration

         4. fun

         5. lead to better focus, once we go back to focusing

      2. manage healthy distractions

         1. block off a few hours a day

            1. all at once

            2. broken into 2-3 parts

         2. work in intervals

            1. focus for 10-15 minutes, 2-5 minutes of distraction and repeat

         3. try 40-20 minutes split/hour

            1. 40 minutes focus

            2. 20 minutes distraction

         4. disconnect completely for large parts of your day, have certain periods for distraction

   6. why letting go is difficult

      1. addiction

         1. must be beaten individually (not all at once)

         2. figure out triggers for addiction

         3. become mindful of triggers and urges

      2. filling an emotional need

         1. reason

            1. email/social media

               1. satisfy a person for the feeling of being important

            2. entertainment

               1. remove boredom

         2. filling the void from removing distraction

            1. be honest about it

            2. be conscious of it

            3. find a passion to fulfill it

      3. fears

         1. way to beat

            1. face them

            2. confront them with facts

               1. what harm has actually been caused?

      4. desire

         1. what are ur desires?

         2. what the consequences when it comes to the addiction?

   7. tools

      1. mac

         1. fredom

         2. selfcontrol

         3. concentrate

         4. writeroom

         5. ommwriter

         6. ulysses/scrivener

         7. megazoomer

         8. think

      2. browser extension

         1. ff:leechblock

         2. chrome:stayfocusd

         3. chrome:readability

      3. windows

         1. dark room

         2. creawriter

         3. Q10

         4. writemonkey

      4. others

         1. typewriter

         2. emacs

3. simplify

   1. create uncluttered environment

      1. start

         1. clear your desk

            1. just pick a few important items to be left on your desk

            2. other items

               1. give someone else

               2. recycle

               3. throw

               4. decide quickly

                  1. or pick 10-15 minutes to deal later

         2. turn off comp notifications

            1. email

            2. IM

            3. calendar

            4. twitter

            5. mobile device / phones

         3. find some music & headphones

            1. do not spend too much time on this

         4. clear your computer desktop

            1. install launcher program

            2. delete app shortcuts

            3. put all folders/files into your documents folder

            4. hide everything else

         5. clear your floor

         6. clear your walls

   2. slowing down

      1. rushing produces errors

      2. benefits

         1. better focus

         2. deeper focus

         3. better appreciation

         4. enjoyment

         5. less stress

      3. change your mindset

      4. can't change?

         1. make changes on how you work

         2. discuss with your boss

         3. change jobs

      5. tips

         1. do less

         2. have fewer meetings

         3. practice disconnecting

         4. practice with being comfortable with sitting, doing nothing

         5. realize that if it doesn't get done, it is ok

         6. start to eliminate the unnecessary

         7. practice mindfullness

         8. slowly eliminate commitments

   3. going with the flow

      1. avoid frustration just because u didn't do positive morning routine

      2. learn to go with the flow

         1. realize that you can't control everything

         2. become aware of ur mind's state

         3. breathe

         4. get perspective

         5. practice

         6. laugh

         7. realize that u can't control others

         8. accept change and imperfection

         9. enjow life as a flow of change, chaos and beauty

   4. effortless action

      1. be like water - effortless

      2. postition ourself effortlessly within the moment

      3. steps

         1. act because of passion

         2. when you're going uphill

            1. such as

               1. dreading something

               2. procrastinating

               3. forcing yourself and hating it

            2. change course

               1. stop and ask yourslef why

               2. there must be a reason

               3. you'll never sustain any action for long if you hate doing it

               4. change course to something you're more excited about

         3. don't try to control what you can't control

         4. be in the moment

         5. see the possibilities

         6. be flexible

         7. find the pressure (effective) points

         8. do less and less, with less and end less effort

         9. anticipate the difficult by managing the easy now

   5. 3 strategies to prioritize tasks

      1. reduce your tasks

      2. choose exciting task

      3. put ur focus on a single task

   6. letting go of goals

      1. why goals are not ideal

         1. artificial

         2. constraining

         3. put pressure on us

         4. discourages us when we fails (and we always do)

         5. makes us to think about the future, instead of present

         6. never satisfied

      2. instead of goals...

         1. do anything exciting

         2. don't worry about where you'll be (professionally)

         3. don't make plans since they're illusion

         4. don't force things, do what comes naturally

         5. focus on the present, on being happy now

   7. finding simplicity

      1. why simple life

         1. less stressful

         2. less expensive

         3. focus better on work

         4. free up time for the family

         5. rid life of things you did not like doing

         6. fewer possession

      2. what is simple life

         1. find what matte the most to you

         2. fewer possessions

         3. fewer commitments

         4. less distractions

      3. simplifying work means

         1. clearing workspace clutter

         2. focus less on busy work and more important work that has high impact

         3. working on fewer projects

         4. narrowing the scope of your work

         5. wliminating information stream

         6. creating the work life you want

      4. might be difficult due to

         1. you have to learn say no to others

         2. you should try to learn to do less

      5. how to start

         1. pick your life's short list

         2. start clearing clutter in one spot

      6. how to systematically simplify

         1. take 10 minutes a day to clear small area of clutter

         2. take 10 minutes a day to simplify ur commitments, what you do, and what comes to your life.

4. focus

   1. simple system

      1. find amazing things: your passion

      2. clear away everything else

      3. focus on that

   2. single tasking

      1. why multitasking is counterproductive

         1. less efficient - more task switching

         2. more complicated

         3. our brain can handle only one at a time

      2. how

         1. become conscious

         2. clear distractions

         3. choose wisely

         4. really pour yourself into it

         5. practice

         6. more details: at work

            1. pick just a few task each day

            2. don't do anything else before doing the task

            3. clear distractions

            4. one task at a time

            5. urged to switch to another task?

               1. breath deeply

               2. refocus yourself

               3. get back to the task at hand

            6. keep the task until you're done

            7. if things come up, note them on a paper

            8. take deep breaths, stretch, and take breaks now and then

   3. power of smaller work

   4. focused reading & research

      1. how: on reading

         1. clearing away everything else

         2. shut off the internet

      2. how: on research

         1. close email/IM/social networks/other distraction

         2. do initial research, open up articles/pages

         3. skim these articles/pages. looking for links to other needed articles. open the links

         4. repeat with new articles/skimming/opening links as necessary

         5. read one article at a time

         6. repeat, taking notes, and bookmarking one article at a time

   5. walking, disconnnection, focus

      1. walking routine to consider

         1. walk 20-30 min to a location and remain disconnected

         2. work/read for 30-40 min

         3. repeat as many as you can

      2. benefits

         1. when u walk, u can think

         2. when u walk, u can clear ur head

         3. better shape

         4. more focus

         5. no internet, more work done

      3. disconnect/connect working routine to consider

         1. disconnect for a day or two - do your work

         2. then connect for a day or two

         3. repeat

5. others

   1. finding focus for parents

      1. one approach

         1. create time blocks

            1. early mornings

            2. mid mornings

            3. later mornings

            4. afternoon

            5. late afternoon

            6. early evening

            7. late evening

      2. very young children

         1. take turn for each parent

         2. get help

            1. pro babysitter

            2. relatives

   2. problems of others

      1. working on service industries

      2. staff/coworkers interruptions

         1. remove urself as a bottleneck

         2. set hours of unavailability

         3. delegate a abckup/decision maker

         4. set expectations

         5. be in the moment

         6. focus when away from work

      3. bosses

         1. how

            1. talk

            2. change what's under ur control

            3. work away from the officec

            4. prove that it works

            5. find another job

      4. unsupportive people

         1. don't force

         2. share why it is important and how it is affects you

         3. enlist their help

         4. set example

         5. change what you can

      5. focus for manages

         1. problems: hectic works

         2. solution

            1. create environment where focus is possible