Comments on: How I Stay on Task and Manage Distractions

By: Clay Collins

Clay Collins — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 08:01:44 +0000

@Maya: I LOVE sand timers (that’s obvious). These little ones work well, but you can also get larger wood ones that rock your desk.

By: sanding

sanding — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:06:31 +0000

[...] recall.It turns out to be sodium dichromate — a highly toxic chemical which can learawstory.comAn ADD-Proof Method for Staying on TaskI’m making my kid do this tomorrow. Great illustrations. It’s called &quotThe Sand Timer/Notepad [...]

By: Maya

Maya — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 05:21:18 +0000

I like the sand timer idea..definitely better than my noisy beeper (although it is a great productivity tool) I’ll have to get me a sand timer for my desk soon!

By: Clay Collins

Clay Collins — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:54:45 +0000

@Sterling: This makes total sense. If you’re in the flow state then that sense of timelessness can be powerful. Perhaps the last thing you want in the flow state is “chronological awareness.” I understand what you’re saying and it’s certainly something to think about. I think the sand timer works better when doing mundane “tasky” tasks that you’d rather not be doing. Thanks for the distinction and insight.

By: sterling | bizlift

sterling | bizlift — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 08:37:18 +0000

@Clay - Thanks for the link to the previous article. I can see the value of the hourglass as a tool to be aware of passing of time.

My earlier comment about stopping to flip every 3 minutes was from a completely different point of view.

It was about getting a complex task done (like programming) regardless of how long it takes. Sometimes I’d rather stay in the zone and concentrate without worrying about time. Kind of like a painter deep in the flow not caring how long it takes to work on his creation.

If I can’t reach easily reach the flow state, the hourglass sounds like a great idea. Or if I really need to be aware of a limited amount of time to accomplish a task. Thank you for the tip.

By: Paul Montwill | Sharingmatters.com

Paul Montwill | Sharingmatters.com — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 08:11:08 +0000

@Clay: I hope you also watched his “Last Lecture”. It is great. Really.

@Barbara: I do the same - write tasks down and cross them off the list. I can’t believe that we all have so many things in common. These little funny habits. I always use red pencils, for example. I don’t like blue or yellow ones. I am a stationary maniac. Recently I have purchased some great Moleskine notepads :)

By: Clay Collins

Clay Collins — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 23:42:16 +0000

@Amy: Thank you for your comment and for linking. And yes, the new “brain sync” music does seem to work well for me. I’m going to your blog now…

–Clay

By: Clay Collins

Clay Collins — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 23:39:35 +0000

@Kelly: Thanks for the comment. The white noise is not something I use very often, and I much prefer classical music or the brain sync music that I recommended. The sand timer actually isn’t a distraction. It takes less than a second to flip it, and after a while you know WHEN it needs to be flipped. It’s really something that has to be done to understand (I thought I was crazy the first time I tried it). I wrote a post about why sand timers are great; it can be found here. Check it out if you like. It’s kind of counterintuitive. The sand timer would seem to create more distraction, but it actually helps me focus. To each his own :-), but if you have one sitting around I’d recommend at least giving it a shot. It’s nice seeing you here.

By: Clay Collins

Clay Collins — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 23:30:14 +0000

@Evelyn: Yeah, I have the same problem when I’m at home. Stay at home workers need to set good boundaries, I think. It’s difficult when much of the world has a different life setup than we do.

By: Clay Collins

Clay Collins — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 23:29:09 +0000

@Pat R. I’m glad you liked the suggestions and I wish you luck with your new blog and your new job. I selfishly hope you continue to make time for your readers despite the new job.