Focus Digest: May 2023

Automate action by leveraging habits… ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  Focus Digest: May 2023 Welcome to May, Friend. (Welcome to the Focus Digest. We send this out once a month. If you'd rather not get the focus digest you can easily opt-out via the link at the bottom.) Introducing Focus Boosters… Productivity Focus Booster 🚀 Simplify and update your task management Launching Tuesday, May 9! We’ll take you through our 3-step "RUN" framework, and hook you up with all the templates, worksheets, training, coaching, and other tools you need to organize your daily tasks, overcome distractions, and stay focused on the things that count. ⚡️ Step 1: Refresh In this live workshop, find out how to audit and streamline your current tools and systems and get clear on what’s working for and against you. (Live Call on Tuesday, May 9th) ⚡️ Step 2: Upgrade Go behind the scenes during this live session, as Shawn Blanc will be sharing the ins and outs of his productivity system. Get fresh ideas for how to build a daily productivity system that plays to your strengths (even if you find "systems" annoying). (Live call, May 23) ⚡️ Step 3: Nurture Make your system stick. Create your own flywheel that keeps you focused on what matters most day after day. (Live call, June 6) If your to-do list overfloweth and you have multiple areas of life to manage, it’s time to get a system that actually works. This Focus Booster will help you stop getting wrapped up in the incoming tasks of your day so you can focus on the important things — instead of letting them slip through your fingers. 👉 [Join us and 300 other Accelerator members for the Productivity Focus Booster.]( (FYI: As a member, you’ll also get access to our entire course library and resource vault, including the advanced Time Management masterclass, our Margin Course, and our complete library of tools, templates, and cheat sheets.) Sign up now to get full access, AND save your spot for the Productivity Focus Booster. 🚀 [thefocuscourse.com/accelerator]( The Productivity Focus Booster" is for you if... - You want to get an in-depth look at our best productivity workflows and more. - You’ve read a productivity / GTD book or two and had trouble applying the rigid methodology to your day-to-day life. - You’re not an organized person, but would like to have a few tricks up your sleeve to help you stay on top of your to-do list (at work and/or at home). - Your to-do list overfloweth. You’ve got too much to do, not enough time to do it, and a general feeling of overwhelm when you look at your list of things to do. - You have multiple areas of life to manage (work, home, personal side projects, etc.) and you’re not sure how to organize them. - You find systems to be annoying, but know that you need a better way to stay on top of your tasks. - You want to ensure the important things you need to do are not falling through the cracks. - Most of your day is filled with busywork rather than meaningful work. - You struggle to manage all the incoming tasks that come your way. [Join us and 300 other Accelerator members for the Productivity Booster]( We talk a lot about courage as a society, but we forget that at its most basic level it’s really just taking action.  — Ryan Holiday Automating Action by Leveraging Habits For years I felt my most important work was getting the scraps of my focus. The projects and tasks that would truly end up moving things forward would end up getting the leftovers of my attention. I needed to find a way to make it effortless to get into a state of deep work and spend the bulk of my mental energy doing the work itself. As weeks and months went by, I began to notice a sneaky culprit, dual focus. I set my sights on eliminating dual focus and finding a way to automate action. That way, I could maximize the amount of time I spent in "flow" and consistently make progress on the truly important. Eliminating Dual FocusDual focus is that feeling of sitting down to do the work and wondering, "what should I do first?" It’s showing up ready to write smacking head-first into the brick wall of writers block. Ultimately, dual focus robs you of your ability to… focus. The good news is this is very solvable. AND, if you’ve started [planning out your week]( you’re more than half way there. Single focus is sitting down to do the work having already determined exactly what to focus on. Your attention isn’t being split between the right next step in the work you are trying to achieve while also trying to pick the right music to listen to, or best tool for the job. When you eliminate dual focus you are able to spend the lions share of your energy on the creative work itself, not the fringe decisions. For example, when it was time to write this article I assigned myself the task of "write 10 article ideas related to task management and productivity." Instead of, "write Focus Digest." Plan your work in such a way where you give yourself a specific task in the larger process. That way, when you sit down to do the work, you don’t have to wonder, "Now what?" Give yourself the exact next step to take. But for me, single focus goes a step further. I don’t spend precious mental energy deciding what music I’m going to listen to or what tool I’m going to use. Routinize the process of doing deep work by deciding ahead of time the exact thing you’re going to do, AND the supporting tools you’ll use to do the work. That way you can spend your energy doing the brave work of building a masterpiece. Whether that’s a spreadsheet, expense report, SOP, or monthly newsletter. 😉 Automating Action Eliminating dual focus is a good first step, but we also want to find a way to automate action. What would it look like if taking action was easy? By leveraging habits and deep work routines we increase our likelihood of consistently taking action and ease the amount of decision fatigue in the process. Habits help us enter a state of flow. Which in turn causes all of our mental and creative energy to be focused on the action itself. What would it look like for you to cultivate a habit that automates action? One line a day of gratitude journaling. A 15 minute walk over lunch. Talking to a loved one during your daily commute. A daily 30 minute deep work block dedicated for brain intensive tasks. Planning your MITs for the next day. Tips for Single Focus - Set a timer for the minimum amount of time you are going to work on a task. Do your best to block everything else out during this time and stay focused. Feel free to keep going if the timer goes off, just don’t stop before - Develop a start-up-routine that helps you get in the zone. For me, that involves my favorite [Tycho album]( and writing in [Ulysses]( full-screen. The habit will help you get started even when you’re not feeling inspired. - Give yourself as clear a target as possible. The greater clarity you have regarding the work you’re trying to accomplish, the greater likelihood of completing the work. * * * The hope is that you will began to encounter less resistance as you set yourself to the tasks at hand. While also experiencing a greater sense of focus and flow while doing the work. Resulting in systematic progress on the things that truly matter. By eliminating dual focus and leveraging habits, taking action will become easier and easier. And what once seemed impossible soon begins to feel within reach. Upcoming Accelerator Membership Events - Productivity Booster Workshop 🚀 Refresh: How to audit and streamline your current systems (May 9 @ 12pm EDT) - New Accelerator Member Welcome Call (May 11 @ 3pm EDT) - Productivity Booster Workshop 🚀 Upgrade: Behind the Scene’s of Shawn’s Productivity System (May 23 @ 12pm EDT) - Productivity Booster Workshop 🚀 Nurture: How to make it stick (Jun 6 @ 12pm EDT) When you're ready... An all-access pass to every single course and tool in our library, plus a community to help you get clear, take action, and keep going. ✓ Unlimited access to every on-demand course in our library ✓ Instant access to all the tools, workflows, and resources in our vault ✓ Monthly office hours and Q&A with our team ✓ Gain accountability and breakthrough with the community You'll also get access to our complete library of templates for time management (including the brand-new 2023 Digital Planner). [Join Accelerator and get instant access to everything]( Noteworthy Reading For more on the topic of task and time management, dive into the articles below! - [How to Create an Effective Weekly Schedule]( - [Start your days right with a consistent shutdown routine]( - [Getting past collection in your GTD system]( - [Shawn’s "Number One Productivity Tip"]( - [Work Focus; Rest Focus]( - [Third-Wave Productivity]( In the chaos of sport, as in life, process provides us a way. It says: Okay, you’ve got to do something very difficult. Don’t focus on that. Instead break it down into pieces. Simply do what you need to do right now. And do it well. And then move on to the next thing. Follow the process and not the prize.  — Ryan Holiday That's it for this month's Focus Digest. — Isaac Smith Director of Accelerator [Unsubscribe from Focus Digest](. Or, to unsubscribe from everything, for ever and ever, [here](. Blanc Media, 714 Main St., Grandview, MO 64030, United States