How do you stay focused?
I've found that jumping around from project to project has left me paralyzed and afraid to launch things I've made. Any tips for getting out of that cycle?
I've found that jumping around from project to project has left me paralyzed and afraid to launch things I've made. Any tips for getting out of that cycle?
Smaller goals, and just launch. Hold off on huge marketing things like Product Hunt or similar until you feel it's ready or you feel you can handle the surge of comments, feedback and stress. Focus on the word of mouth aspect first, refine things, then go big when ready.
Seriously, if the basics work, then push it live.
I mimicked Ryan Kulp (https://www.ryanckulp.com/im-productive/) and it's working super well for me.
Tools I use:
The best way I stay focused is looking at my to-do list and planning out my calendar for the next day (or same day if you wake up early). So if I am running a content marketing campaign and I think it will roughly take me 1.5 hr to do it ill block off two hours in my calendar. Doing this allows me to just follow my calendar and constantly remind myself to buckle down. I think there's something to having it visually laid out in front of you.
In the context of staying focused on something longer, say launching a project, just do the same thing but map out longer steps. And do whatever you must to ship it.
There are no real hacks to staying focus you just have to optimize your environment and make it as easy to work as possible.
I agree that there are "no real hacks to staying focussed." You need to stack things in your favor and build momentum and embrace it.
For me its a constant struggle and it comes down to:
i) removing distractions
ii) building detailed short term plans , which involves making decisions.
iii) making a to do list each day before I start, and sticking to it.
Only focus on one project at a time. If one of your projects is up and running nicely, THEN you can work on another one. Until then, just keep a list of ideas. Here are a few tips for staying productive that have helped me:
MVP all the things and just get it out there. See what sticks, improve it, and ship again. Small bites, small sprints, ship - ship - ship.
A more detailed psych answer I often give is: You need to train yourself towards reward seeking motivation, versus motivated by pain avoidance.
What do I mean by this?
Most aspects of our lives are governed by pain avoidance: Don't speed in the car - to avoid a ticket. Go to work at the job you hate - to avoid being homeless. Don't engage the person you are interested in - to avoid rejection.
Pain avoidance is the default motivator of life - in some cases it should be (Don't touch fire) - but it should not and does not have to like that for everything.
Re-anchor how you look at and approach things towards seeking pleasure/rewards. Instead of thinking about the possible failure of your new project(s) - focus on the possible rewards. Those could be freedom, monetary, a sense of accomplishment, fame, whatever drives you. Let the reward PULL you towards your goal.
Hack your brain to focus on the reward you are working towards - it will carry you through the process - and any setbacks are put into their proper context of merely being a bump on the road - and very survivable.
A pomodoro timer + Evernote.
I have an Evernote note called 'Whiteboard' which is basically a stripped down running to-do list. Every morning, I add some to-do's for the day and try to finish them up. If I find some free time, I finish to-do's that I didn't complete in previous days.
I have a couple years built up of checked off to-dos so it's a great way to keep track of progress and feel proud of everything you've done.
If I really have trouble focusing, I'll break down a task in to the smallest possible components and add a to-do for each one. For example, if I'm trying to write a blog post, I'll great a task list like this:
By the time I check those off, I'm in the zone and I can just work.
It's easy once you develop a new habit of working on things even when you've lost that initial spark from the idea/first coding phase. Mostly that's what happens, the honeymoon phase ends and you have never experienced committing to a project beyond that so you seek out a new honeymoon phase. Just try going through it once. Get married to one project and see it through.