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Focus better by deliberately unfocusing

Painting of face with flowers around it to represent mental phenomena

Always looking for ways to focus better and be more creative. After all, every hour of productive focus & creativity results in compounding skill growth & output. Just read a research-backed article about 3 techniques for injecting deliberate "unfocus" to focus better.

1: Positive constructive daydreaming

  • Choose a low-key activity like knitting
  • Imagine something playful/wishful like lying on a yacht
  • Swivel attention into the internal space of the daydream while still performing low-key activity

2: Take a nap

  • Break the stigma of feeling like a 4 year old
  • 10 minute nap for clarity and alertness
  • 90 minute nap for creativity refresh
  • Longer time to form associations and dredge up ideas that are in the nooks of your brain
  • You don't have to actually sleep

3: Psychological halloweenism (aka pretend to be someone else)

  • Embody the different personality
  • Take on this identity mentally
  • Keep doing what you were doing
  • Your brain will generate new ideas & insights

I actually do a crappy version of #1 already and no shame about #2. I wouldn't say I'm extremely deliberate about them though. Gonna be trying out #3 and doing #1 and #2 more consistently.

Do you all do these or know of any other techniques beside meditation?


This comes from a Twitter thread.

on July 23, 2020
  1. 1

    I get my best ideas/overcome mental blocks when I wash dishes by hand. Is that "unfocusing" too?

    1. 1

      Me too! Or cooking, showering, going for walks, listening to audiobooks and losing focus. I think in a way those are all unfocusing. I'm curious to try the "daydreaming" part though and see what results I get from that additional component.