The very essence of focus is to “do one thing at a time.” This principle seems so simple in theory, but in practice it’s not so easy.
I’ve noticed that often people try to focus in the very same environment where new information arrives.
They use their email inbox as a to-do list, then wonder why they’re constantly distracted by one incoming message after another. Or they use their web browser to multitask, then can’t figure out why at the end of the day they’re left with dozens of unread browser tabs.
In order to focus, we need to step away from the incessant notifications of the Internet and withdraw to a private, secluded place.
If you happen to have access to a log cabin hidden deep in the woods, then I’m envious of you. For the rest of us, that private place can be simply a different software program than the one we use to interface with the outside world.
When I need to focus, I turn off the Wi-Fi. I know I can’t remain dedicated to one task with an ocean of information beckoning to me from just the other side of a browser window. Each time I sit down to work, I choose a task from my to-do list, turn on “airplane mode” on all my devices, and don’t go back online until it’s finished.
You might have heard this advice before, but it’s almost impossible to follow until you have a trusted, comprehensive system for managing digital information. If everything is stuck in the cloud, you’ll never be able to pull away from the siren song of the web and actually get things done.
Use PARA as your secluded log cabin in the woods—a place where you can shut out the world and tinker with your own ideas, theories, and creations before venturing back out to share them with the world.