You block out three hours for deep work.
Fifteen minutes later, you're stuck in the YouTube rabbithole.
You "planned" to write for those three hours, but then figured you needed to do some "research" first, and one thing led to another.
The truth is: you didn't create a plan at all. You had a vague intention. And vague intentions are a breeding ground for procrastination.
Before you start your next focused work session, try this instead...
Take 2-5 mins to specifically define:
1. What you’re actually going to work on
2. Any rules related to that task that you know will be useful
3. What you’re NOT going to work on
4. Guardrails that need to be put in place, if any.
5. Your plan: e.g., “if I finish early, I’ll immediately do X for the remainder of the 90 mins”
You want to write this out. Either in your notes app, physical notebook, or a time-tracking app like Rize (what I use).
Here’s a real-life example (I wrote this before starting this morning's writing session):
Every time I do this, I find I'm far more focused and relaxed. I don't need to think about the "meta" of what I'm doing. I only need to follow the plan I've set out.
”But doesn’t this kill creativity? Aren’t there times where you WANT to be vague and see where your work leads you?
In my experience, it’s the complete opposite. Providing constraints, anti-tasks/guardrails and specific objectives encourages creativity.
Yes, there are times where you must be intentionally vague. If you’re planning a 90-min writing session but don’t know what you’ll write about, then you can’t be specific about the topic. But you can state, “for the next 90 mins, I’m going to write 1000 words on whatever topic comes to mind. I’ll follow curiosity where it leads me. My only goal is to write the words. It doesn’t matter if they suck.”
"Doesn’t this just add more friction?"
Nah, the opposite. Clarity/specificity lowers activation threshold. When your task is poorly defined or vague, it’s a lot easier to delay you starting on it.
"This seems time-consuming."
It’s not. It takes <5 mins and results in significantly heightened focus and productivity.
Give it a go.
Update on ~30 days of fairly strict fruit/sugar till noon:
- Down from ~91kg to ~89kg.
- Noticeable change in body comp. More vascular. Godly pumps in the gym.
- Much more energy, all day long. Have to find ways to expend more during the day otherwise I won't sleep well.
- Generally feel lighter/more playful/joyful etc
Some cons:
- Sleep has slightly degraded. I wake up more and find it harder to get to sleep some nights (maybe due to energy increase)
- Had digestive issues for the first 2 weeks, but they're resolved now. Probably just the body adjusting.
- Tinnitus is more noticeable especially at night. Not horrible, but there.
