1---
 2title: "Focus intentionally"
 3author: Amolith
 4lastmod: 2022-04-23T21:12:29-04:00
 5categories: ["Meta"]
 6draft: true
 7---
 8
 9I am too easily distracted. Sitting at my desk on an average day, I have movies,
10TV shows, and YouTube videos, about a million different chat applications, my
11email client, Steam, and a web browser with yet more chat apps plus social media
12all within a couple keystrokes' reach. Along with whatever primary task I've set
13out to do, I _also_ have a really chaotic brain and about a million other tasks
14bouncing around in it.
15
16Putting all of this together results in terrible productivity and incessant
17procrastination If my primary task is something I'm less-than-motivated to
18accomplish.
19
20In a recent episode of _The Art of Manliness_, Brett McKay interviews Dr. BJ
21Fogg about his new book, _Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change
22Everything_. One of Dr. Fogg's statements in this episode stuck with me; when
23training yourself to adopt new behaviours, there are three things that must
24factors that determine your success: motivation, ability, and a prompt. A prompt
25is just something that reminds you of the behaviour you're trying to adopt. The
26act of brushing your teeth might be the prompt for flossing. The act of flossing
27might be the prompt for making coffee. In my situation, the prompt is just
28needing to get work done so we'll ignore that factor. Ability refers to how
29simple you find the task and motivation is how motivated you are to accomplish
30it. These last two must balance each other out; if your motivation to complete
31the task is low, your ability must be high — the task must be easy, while if
32your ability is low, your motivation must be rather high.
33
34## Note
35
36- Close primary browser with a million tabs open and use Epiphany
37- Close all the chat apps
38- Disable notifications/enable Do Not Disturb mode on _both_ your phone _and_
39  computer
40- Take off your smart/fitness watch
41- If you listen to music, make it something calming, not eclectic
42
43## References
44
45- [The Art of Manliness: Become a Focused Monotasker](https://www.artofmanliness.com/character/behavior/monotasking-podcast/)
46- [The Art of Manliness: The Tiny Habits That Change Everything](https://www.artofmanliness.com/character/habits/podcast-581-the-tiny-habits-that-change-everything/)