Just Seven Things

Exploring why and how we do what we do, and how we can do it better

Archive for the tag “Focus”

The Balance between Focus and Multi-tasking

Out of Focus by Billy Alexander

Out of Focus by Billy Alexander

I commented yesterday on the challenging tension between multi-tasking and focus on GTD Times. I referenced how I use Mark Forster’s Do It Tomorrow methodology (see blogroll) to enable as much focus as possible during day to day working.

What’s been nagging at me has been catalysed by my reading of Guy Claxton’s Hare Brain Tortoise Mind.  

In the book Guy argues that our ‘intelligent unconscious’ is a sophisticated nervous system that gets to know the world by the idiosyncrasies of our own experience: ‘a brain is plastic: it transmutes ignorance into competence….. categories and concepts are distilled from particular encounters so that, by a process of spontaneous analogy, ‘what I do next’ can be informed by records of ‘what happened before”.

It ‘registers its patterns and develops and coordinates skillful responses’

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Mind Control and the Completeness Obsession II

Network Neurons 2 by Gerard79

Network Neurons 2 by Gerard79

I wrote a few days ago about failing to trust my ability to be ‘other-than-consciously’ complete on issues. I asked whether I am consciously intervening, thinking that this is a ‘better’ position.

Well, I’m pleased to say that I’m not sat alone in a corner with my nagging voice. I’ve just been continuing to read Guy Claxton’s Hare Brain Tortoise Mind.  Most excellent as always (I started with his book on Buddhism about fourteen years ago)

Two things married together while I was vacuuming earlier (a classic case of ‘loafing’ for creativity whilst also earning familial brownie-points….)

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Work Stress: Is it Wrong to Create it Yourself?

Men Sunset by Hilde Vanstraelen

Men Sunset by Hilde Vanstraelen

For a long (long) time, I’ve known very clearly about certain aspects of my personality. One of them that I had always labelled as somewhere along the spectrum of procrastination and laziness was the trait of always leaving important things to the last minute. Whether it was the last minute homework; the university essay deadline extension. The professional examination cramming or the Board papers finalised minutes before deadlines.

I had always put it down to laziness/ procrastination whilst at the same time being surprised whenever I came upon the output of my ‘rushed’ work. Invariably I was amazed with what I came up with in those final minutes. I was often left with the feeling that ‘if only’ I pulled my finger out, and gave myself ten times the time, I’d be able to incrementally improve what I produced tenfold.

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