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Clay

Attentional Feng Shui is the practice of purposefully and beneficially architecting the attentional landscape of a room to emphasize your priorities. The how-to section is at the very end, and you’re welcome to skip directly to it. In the mean time, let’s talk about…

False Dichotomies

In a self-help climate that favors the mind over the body, the non-physical over the physical, and heaven over earth, it can be easy to forget that physical environments have a very real affect on us. And they should. While The Secret tells us that “thoughts become things,” it is also true that “things become thoughts.” And whereas the Emerald Tablet is often quoted as saying “as above, so below,” authors too often neglect the tablet’s follow-up: “as below, so above.”

People are quick to point out that our environments are products of our creation, and that we should look past external circumstances. They are right, of course, but this is only a partial truth that ignores the dynamic interchange between physical and non-physical realms. The influence and casualty runs in both directions (from physical to non-physical, and vice-versa) and I’m glad it does.

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Modern life has us enmeshed in a web of unwanted and unnecessary commitments.  Most of us spend the majority of our time doing things we don’t want to do.  We join committees because we think they’ll look good on our resumes, go to birthday parties out of obligation, attend inane meetings, stay in bad relationships out of fear, take on unwanted work projects to gain favor with our bosses, stay in jobs we don’t like instead of quitting.

Unwanted commitments seem to beget more unwanted commitments.  They’re like lies: they multiply fast.  If you take on an unwanted project to please your boss, then the next time a similar project comes by she’ll throw it in your lap.  If you unhappily go to an acquaintances birthday party out of sense of obligation, they’re likely to invite you over for dinner, or call you more often.  You get my drift.

What Does this Have to do with Productivity?

Well, it’s common knowledge that productivity naturally emerges from passion: when we love what we’re doing, productivity becomes irrelevant.  The corollary is that being unproductive results from doing things you’d rather not do.

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I’m a distractible person.  In fact, I sometimes wonder whether I have attention deficit disorder.  Given my distractibility, I’ve long been experimenting with ways to stay on task.  Here’s the best method I’ve found.

The Sand Timer/Notepad Taskmaster

Materials Needed: (1) A lined notepad, (2) a pen, (3) a sand timer, and (4) a music player with headphones.  Note: I use a three-minute sand timer purchased here (aff) for $1.50.

Here’s what to do . . .

1. Put on Headphones
Play music that helps you concentrate.  Headphones help you focus, keeps out other distractions, and reminds others that you are working.  I’ve found that baroque music or even white noise helps, but the Awakened Mind System (aff) from Dr. Jeffrey Thompson has uncanny and magical powers that keep me focused and insightful (I’ve done a lot of experimenting).

2. Start The Sand Timer 
Start the sand timer and flip repeatedly and make sure the sand stays in continual motion.  The constant need to pay attention to the sand timer and keep it in motion forces your awareness into the present, keeps you from getting lost in thought, and prevents other distractions.

3. Write Down Every Task

• Only allow yourself to do written tasks.  If your written task is "clean up desk," you can’t check that new email that just came in or quickly check the NyTimes.com front page.
• If you need to change tasks, cross out your current task and write down the new task.  So if you’re cleaning up your desk and realize you need to email Stephen ASAP about tonight’s meeting, cross out "clean up desk," and write down "email Stephen."
• Once you’re done with a task, cross it out and move on to the next one.  So after I’ve emailed Stephen, I cross out "call Stephen" and write "clean up desk."

Final Note 
The Sand Timer/Notepad Taskmaster is effective for at least four reasons.  First, it forces you to do only one thing at a time.  Second, it forces you to consciously decide on each task before beginning it. (Because task transitioning requires you cross out tasks and write down new ones, you’re forced to become more purposeful about what you do).  Third, the constant need to pay attention to the sand timer and keep it in motion forces your awareness into the present and keeps you from getting lost in thought. Finally, the headphones and music stimulate your mind, filter out external distractions, and let others know you are trying to work.

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Technorati Tags: stay on task, focus, avoid distractions, staying productive, manage distractions, time management, Sand Timer/Notepad Taskmaster

“Everything has [already] been said yet few have taken advantage of it. Since all our knowledge is essentially banal, it can only be of value to minds that are not.”
-Raoul Vaneigem

In 2005, NY Times columnist Thomas Friedman injected a bestselling hit, The World is Flat, into the national psyche. The book’s 5th “flatting” factor is outsourcing. Friedman argues that the practice enables companies to componentize manufacturing and service efforts, thus making each component more efficient and cost effective.

In August of 2005, author A.J. Jacobs (author of The Know-It-All and The Year of Living Biblically) read Friedman’s book and thought to himself, “why should Fortune 500 firms have all the fun?” “Why can’t I join in on the biggest business trend of the new century?” “Why can’t I outsource my low-end tasks? Why can’t I outsource my life?” He then goes on to write a notable piece of cultural history for Esquire called My Outsourced Life (notable because it later catches on in a big way). In My Outsourced Life, Jacobs outsources everything from worrying and spousal relations, to email and work related research. It’s an entertaining read and one that I recommend.

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Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.*
-Benjamin Franklin

Early to rise and early to bed makes a male healthy and wealthy and dead.*
-James Thurber

It is accepted dogma — perhaps even holy writ — among more than a few personal development writers that getting up early leads to increased productivity. Becoming an early riser has become something of a rite of passage for productivity gurus, and articles on how to become an early riser have been among the first written — and most popular — posts by self-help bloggers such as Steve Pavlina. There’s even an entire blog devoted to waking up early, and the blog claims that "any person who…sets serious goals in his/her life turns to rising early, sooner or later."

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Editor’s Rating: 7.1

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Thursday Bram of ThursdayBram.com.

Mark McGuiness begins his free e-book, Time Management for Creative People with a stereotypical "day-in-the-life" depiction of a designer trying to work on a creative project but facing disorganization in all of its facets: distracting emails, interrupting phone calls and important files lost on a messy desk. One might argue that this is a stereotype — that most creatives can handle a bit of basic organization, but there is a grain of truth in there somewhere. There are plenty of creative professionals who could do with some organization.

The real value in McGuiness’ e-book is what he doesn’t suggest. He makes no effort to impose some sort of order on the actual creative process; there is no effort to turn every creative into Thomas Kinkade. Instead, McGuiness focuses on managing the little details that often intrude on a professional’s time, but that cannot be ignored.
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This morning I woke up in silence, smiling in the wake of a great dream I can’t remember. I woke up mid-stretch. My eyes opened and I immediately got out of bed. There was no hitting the snooze button, there was no grogginess, there was no loathing my morning routine. There was also no being ripped from slumber, mid sleep-cycle, against the better judgment of my body. There was just peaceful morning silence.

A week ago I ditched my alarm clock and after a week of alarm clock-less nights, I don’t think I’ll be looking back, at least for a very long time.
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Whether it’s someone smacking their gum or an acquaintance who won’t stop calling, everyone has to deal with frustrating distractions getting in the way of their goals.

Tennis player John McEnroe was a master at leveraging his frustrations (usually directed towards chair umpires) to motivate him to battle through difficult matches, helping him win 17 grand slam titles.

McEnroe went too far, but he teaches us that frustrations can be harnessed to increase performance. The trick is to know when and how frustrations should be leveraged.
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