Use Focus as a Compass

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Use Focus as a Compass

Quick, practical workflow — identify what drains your focus vs. what grows it, remove one drainer, and lock one grower for next week.

Step 1 — List yours 5 min

Keep it brutally honest and concrete.

Drainers (3)

  • Context-switching across 5+ projects/day
  • Manual ops (exports, backups, “small fixes”)
  • Unstructured messaging (WhatsApp/Email pings)

Growers (3)

  • Deep build blocks (90–120 min, no notifications)
  • Pipeline/priority review (15 min morning)
  • Ship something visible daily (tiny PR, doc, or post)

Step 2 — Remove/Automate one drainer Today

  • Manual ops → automate: turn recurring backup/mount checks into a daily cron + digest (alert only on anomalies).
  • Context switching → batch: one comm window at 11:30 & 16:30; everything else muted.
  • Unstructured messaging → form: route inbound requests via a short intake form (auto-labels + SLA).

Step 3 — Schedule one grower Next week

  • Deep build: Mon/Wed/Fri 09:00–11:00 (single objective per block).
  • Daily 15-min review: 08:45–09:00 (top 3; one must ship).
  • End-block note: “Focus ↑ / ↓ ? Why?” If it grows, you’re aligned. If it fades, adjust.

One-page template (copy/paste)

Drainers: 1) ________  2) ________  3) ________
Growers:  1) ________  2) ________  3) ________

Remove/Automate (this week): ________ → how: ________  (owner: ___, deadline: ___)
Grower Scheduled (next week): ________  (days/times: ________)

Metric: focus score 1–5 after each deep block; weekly avg target ≥ 3.5

Tip: Track with a lightweight note or a single spreadsheet column. Celebrate a weekly average ≥ 3.5; if it slips to < 3.0, re-balance tasks/goals.

Pro tip: lock calendar blocks first, then make your to-do list fit them — not the other way around.

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