4 ms·

Ask HN: What are ways to prevent distractions and stay focused on the project?

14 points by throwaway8891 8y ago

tomtompl 8y ago
I was actually reading this article a second ago https://medium.com/the-mission/how-to-design-a-lifestyle-that-eliminates-distraction-and-enables-hyper-focus-c1f350d5b5ba https://medium.com/the-mission/how-to-design-a-lifestyle-tha... so I thought I will share
baxtr 8y ago
This is probably the best advise I’ve read about this topic. It has helped me tremendously https://medium.com/swlh/theres-no-such-thing-as-motivation-e02edd7de30 https://medium.com/swlh/theres-no-such-thing-as-motivation-e...
oldmancoyote 8y ago
You can beat distractions, but you can't avoid them. The trick is to divide the work into small enough pieces that you can finish one before being distracted. Once you have organized the pieces, you can finish one, let it go, accept a distraction, then resume working on another.
ndethore 8y ago
By "preventing distractions" do you mean avoiding procrastination or not giving in to the shiny object syndrome and starting to work on other projects?
PeOe 8y ago
Time-blocking could be a help. You block a few hours where no one should interrupt you, shut down your phone and close your e-mail client and just focus on work. In the beginning, it´s a bit wired because you don´t need to do anything else while working but you get used to it and become more concentrated. More Infos: https://zenkit.com/en/blog/why-you-should-be-time-blocking-and-not-just-writing-to-do-lists/ https://zenkit.com/en/blog/why-you-should-be-time-blocking-a...
- mj_tom 8y ago
  I finished reading "Deep Work" recently (book mentioned in the article) and have started using this time-blocking strategy to great effect. The book also suggests scheduling time specifically for distractions, the idea being to turn the situation on its head so you have something to look forward to rather than something to avoid.
itamarst 8y ago
1. Start with your goals. 2. Make sure you have multiple non-contradictory goals pushing you in the same direction. 3. Connect your daily actions to those goals. For example, as an employee: 1 and 2. "I have this job because I need to pay bills, and I care about what the company does, and I don't want to let my teammates down, and I am learning new technology I am interested in." 3. "Building this piece of infrastructure, even if boring, is critical to project's success because <reasons>, and will enable me to meet my goals by building on it." Longer version here: https://codewithoutrules.com/2018/05/20/staying-focused/ https://codewithoutrules.com/2018/05/20/staying-focused/

14 points by throwaway8891 8y ago

I was actually reading this article a second ago https://medium.com/the-mission/how-to-design-a-lifestyle-that-eliminates-distraction-and-enables-hyper-focus-c1f350d5b5ba https://medium.com/the-mission/how-to-design-a-lifestyle-tha... so I thought I will share

baxtr 8y ago

This is probably the best advise I’ve read about this topic. It has helped me tremendously https://medium.com/swlh/theres-no-such-thing-as-motivation-e02edd7de30 https://medium.com/swlh/theres-no-such-thing-as-motivation-e...

oldmancoyote 8y ago

You can beat distractions, but you can't avoid them. The trick is to divide the work into small enough pieces that you can finish one before being distracted. Once you have organized the pieces, you can finish one, let it go, accept a distraction, then resume working on another.

ndethore 8y ago

By "preventing distractions" do you mean avoiding procrastination or not giving in to the shiny object syndrome and starting to work on other projects?

PeOe 8y ago

Time-blocking could be a help. You block a few hours where no one should interrupt you, shut down your phone and close your e-mail client and just focus on work. In the beginning, it´s a bit wired because you don´t need to do anything else while working but you get used to it and become more concentrated. More Infos: https://zenkit.com/en/blog/why-you-should-be-time-blocking-and-not-just-writing-to-do-lists/ https://zenkit.com/en/blog/why-you-should-be-time-blocking-a...

mj_tom 8y ago
I finished reading "Deep Work" recently (book mentioned in the article) and have started using this time-blocking strategy to great effect. The book also suggests scheduling time specifically for distractions, the idea being to turn the situation on its head so you have something to look forward to rather than something to avoid.

itamarst 8y ago

1. Start with your goals. 2. Make sure you have multiple non-contradictory goals pushing you in the same direction. 3. Connect your daily actions to those goals. For example, as an employee: 1 and 2. "I have this job because I need to pay bills, and I care about what the company does, and I don't want to let my teammates down, and I am learning new technology I am interested in." 3. "Building this piece of infrastructure, even if boring, is critical to project's success because <reasons>, and will enable me to meet my goals by building on it." Longer version here: https://codewithoutrules.com/2018/05/20/staying-focused/ https://codewithoutrules.com/2018/05/20/staying-focused/