I am going to make this a quick cheat sheet for how to Hyperfocus (basically get in the zone for work or anything). The book is great and goes into a lot of great detail. It repeats itself a little, but explains itself well enough that it is worth a read. You can get it on amazon at the link below.
The basic idea of this book is that we have two modes that we need to harness to become more productive, these are Hyperfocus and Scatterfocus. Both are valuable tools, Hyperfocus helps you complete complex tasks, have meaningful meetings with friends and family and work on habitual tasks productively, whereas Scatterfocus helps with creativity, new ideas and giving solutions that are non linear to complex problems.
Hyperfocus is the mode where we focus on one task with intention and avoid all distractions that may get in the way of this. It is a bit like being in the zone while playing a sport or a state of meditation where we have one focus and let all others go while focusing on the task at hand. We use this mainly for complex tasks that take up more energy. Here are the 5 things you can do to get into Hyperfocus mode to get things done faster and using less energy than you would otherwise.
1. Avoid distractions
Set up your space and phone using the below pointers.
Reading this on your phone? That is your biggest distraction right there! I know this all too well, ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you that guy spends all the time in the world on his phone. Set up your phone with the below and then stick it in another room. (Well after reading this of course.
Turn off all the non essential notifications, essential being messages from your partner, urgent calendar appointments alarms, and those are pretty much all you need.
Delete all distracting apps from your phone, these include all social media apps including messaging apps (unless you need them for work, then just turn off notifications for these). All news apps, and finally and most shockingly... email!!! That’s right, it’s going.
Look around you, are there things that distract you in the room? A toy you fiddle with (although not always a bad thing if it is easy to fiddle). Is it noisy? Write a list of all the things that distract you in your environment. Then write down all the thoughts that distract you so you can clear out your brain of things that are in your attentional space, you should do this regularly, it also means you won’t forget any good ideas or important things on your mind.
2. Question what you are doing and choose to do it actively
Is reading this valuable to you or helping you improve? Do things with intention and consciously, don’t read on autopilot, it’s a waste of time and you won’t remember what you are doing or why you started.
Do things that matter to you, with intent. Even if it’s watching a comedy. Make it the centre of your attention. Do it actively, reading a book? Highlight the juicy parts. Working on a complex task? Make sure you got rid of the distractions in point 1 above, it’s something you can do with intent and you do it actively.
3. Consume caffeine
Probably my favourite tip from this book, drink coffee to improve focus. If you are doing something that requires focus then do it with coffee (just as I wrote that I took a sip of cold disgusting coffee from the coffee I made this morning and left on my desk, hey it still works).
Coffee improves cognitive performance and even in some studies physical performance. If you drink it 10 hours before you intend to sleep, it shouldn’t affect your sleep either.
4. If your mind starts wondering take a break
If you are doing something and your mind wonders, that’s cool. Take a break. Some tasks we can focus on for ages, other tasks might be more taxing, take a break. You can set a timer and say focus for 15 or 25 mins then take a 5 min break and go for a little walk or chat to a friend. Then get back to work.
5. Set yourself distraction time
Life isn’t all work, and distractions are fun for a reason. Set up time in the day to indulge in these distractions. Surf the internet for hours looking for your dream house, slide through instagram without a care in the world. There is a reason we like doing this, don’t be a self hater for wanting to do all these indulgent things, just focus when you need to.