The following 3 steps describe the Focus Method. Each step will have a category in this blog which will present various examples and techniques to accomplish them. It is important to follow these steps in order and not get ahead of yourself. The reason systems like GTD have failed for so many people is that they don’t provide enough context to the problem they are trying to solve. Many people try skipping directly to step 3 and make drastic changes cold turkey. But if you do this without the first two steps, you are bound to replace your dropped habit with another just as bad.
Step 1: Become Aware – Systematically focus on how you let stimulus into your life
Many of us accept the defaults in our lives. The defaults are all aimed at flooding us with information. When we realize that these are choices that we didn’t necessarily realize we made, we can consciously decide otherwise.
Read more about Becoming Aware…
Step 2: Consume Small Bites – Create systems that focus on tiny sets of data at a time
When our senses are bombarded with Too Much, it can be scary and exhausting. We often deal with Too Much using coping mechanisms like procrastination. The healthiest and most productive way to overcome Too Much is by limiting our focus.
- Don’t look at a list of 1,000 todos. Focus on 3 at a time.
- Don’t look at an inbox of 6,000 emails. Focus on sorting as they come and processing them later.
- Don’t try cleaning the entire house. Focus on 3 areas to clean.
There are myriad techniques to accomplish this goal, and this blog will be presenting many of them. GTD is one popular technique, but it can be too strict and often misses the bigger context. In the end the system you build for yourself, refined to your needs, is going to serve you best.
Read more about Consuming Small Bites…
Step 3: Limit the Sources – Systematically focus on limiting or removing the sources of stimulus from your life
First you become aware of the stimulus. Then you start processing the stimulus in smaller chunks. Finally, it is time to decide what stays and what goes.
This is where you start focusing on separating needs from wants. Do you need to check your email on 5 different devices or do you want to? Do you need to check Facebook daily or do you want to? Different people will have different answers depending on their situations.
As you start pruning your sources, consuming small bites will feel more natural. You know how when you are served a huge portion of spaghetti, you tend to eat more than you should and feel a little gross afterwards? When you start limiting your sources, that is like serving yourself just enough food. You feel more energetic, more positive, and less overwhelmed.
Read more about Limiting the Sources…
