Staying focused (even with lots of interruptions)
A few months ago, while at the eZ systems summer conference, I was showing my focus deck to my friends Tony Wood and James Eichhorn. I promised to blog about it, but have taken a very long time to get to it. So, here's the deal: I have a simple and effective trick for keeping focused on the tasks at hand, even when facing lots of interruptions (such as instant messages, phone calls, people dropping into my office, lots of meetings, etc.) and while having the attention span of a gnat.
The trick is called a focus deck - it is a stack of 3 x 5 inch index cards that I keep next to me (or in my bag).
Each card has a major task or project printed (with a laser printer, no less) on it in big block letters. In the upper corner is a little note on roughly how much time to allot to the task or project.
The tasks are placed in the deck (roughly) in the order in which I should do them.
Interspersed with the printed cards are hand written cards of other key tasks and projects, but ones that I am unlikely to repeat after the project or task is finished.
My current stack looks like this:
- REVIEW CALENDAR (5 minutes)
- REVIEW "WAITING FOR" LIST (5 min.)
- REVIEW TICKLER (5 min.)
- PROCESS INPUT (30 min.)
- EZ NORTH AMERICA (no time listed)
- Develop partner pipeline in N.A. (2 hours)
- EZ LEGAL
- Work on eZ licensing (1 hour)
- BREAK (15 minutes)
- OSBDCon (1 hour)
- LUNCH (no time listed)
- PROCESS STUFF (30 minutes)
- MOZILLA FOUNDATION (2 hours)
- FOO ASSOCIATES (15 minutes)
I flip over the cards as I do the relevant work. If I get interrupted, all I have to do is look at the card that is face up. (Of course, I still often jot down a note on what particular task I was doing when an interruption occurs).
The cards make a great reminder, because all of my current, major ongoing activities are listed in them. As projects end and new ones begin, I adjust the deck accordingly.
When I take a break to look at my day, all I have to do is skim through the deck.
If I want to focus on something in the next few days, I just drop a card in and then recycle it when I am finished.
The cards don't replace my calendar, my tickler or my task list (which is another stack of index cards) - they are just another handy tool that doesn't add much complexity, but that has lots of benefits.
Speaking of my task list, I'll blog about that in the near future.
Tags: conference, eZ, Foo Associates, Legal, Licensing, Mozilla, Mozilla Foundation, Speaking, UncategorizedRelated posts
Posted on Sunday, August 13th, 2006 at 22:04
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August 14th, 2006 at 0:17
Hi Zak,
Thank for this, your card trick is just what I need and the best thing this year, although Snakes on a Plane comes close :)
Tony
August 14th, 2006 at 7:04
Heh. Just call me Samuel L. Zakson…
August 14th, 2006 at 8:46
'Allo Zachary!
Yes, we remember those cards. You had them everywhere you went. After a while, we couldn't resist playing the odd trick on you… by re-arranging them, hiding them, and writing on them. Did you ever notice that? :-)
August 14th, 2006 at 9:14
Hey Craig,
That was a different system, known as the clusterstack - where I put everything onto index cards and then didn't ever do it. :)
Cheers!
–zak
August 14th, 2006 at 12:24
Very nice, Zak! I love the idea with the cards. However, as a nerd, I see the use for an electronic organizer. Somewhere up in my head is an idea for my own, simple GTD application. I have a simple plan for creating a PHP script letting me create tasks, categorize and prioritize them. Time will tell if I get to finish my personal ideas.
In May I wrote a blog post on how to work more effectively. Unfortunately, the blog post is in Norwegian, but here is the main ideas:
- Don't us IM
- Only read e-mail twice a day (in the morning and after lunch)
- Use portable task lists (like your decks)
- Work alone
- Don't browse the internet
Cheers!
Martin
August 14th, 2006 at 16:53
Hi Martin,
We should chat about these ideas - I also have various ideas on building an effective GTD app. Perhaps I should blog about them.
I have also been playing with Hiveminder (http://hiveminder.com) - Hiveminder is a great todo list manager. I sent you an invitation.
As for the ideas, I couldn't agree more. I do read email more often, but I limit checking mail to the gaps between other tasks.
Cheers!
–zak
August 15th, 2006 at 0:15
I have more than one "Phone call" card.
Does anyone have a "Win new business" card I can swap for a my extra "Phone call".
Seriously, I am the worst for distractions. James is really organised, but I get distracted by anything and everything so any tips and refinements would be great.
August 15th, 2006 at 9:22
GTD-PHP is simple, but it prooved to be quite useful to me.
http://gtd-php.sourceforge.net/
August 20th, 2006 at 9:32
Thanks for the invitation, Zak. I'll dig into Hiveminder in one of my current projects. Either to get some ideas, or to use it on a regular basis.
In my (rather poor) english weblog, I wrote about my GTD project about a year ago.
If you would like to get hold of me via IM, you can reach me at my first name dot my last name at mindless dot com.
Cheers!
Martin
August 22nd, 2006 at 7:20
Martin said:
"# Don’t us IM"
then
"If you would like to get hold of me via IM, …"
Oh, the irony! ;-)
August 22nd, 2006 at 13:17
Don't use IM if you want to stay focused, Kristian. There is no problems in being online, but not using the service. It's all about dicipline and your friends and collegues respecting your "Busy" status. However, I see the irony. :-)