OCD Working Environment

M

mailing

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Jan 18, 2014
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It's easy for me to focus on my work when i have my complete privacy and silence. A ringing phone or delivery guy doesn't disturb me. But there are little things that can really flip a switch and make me lose my focus (in turn it makes me very angry and I lose my focus completely).

Does anybody have tips for focusing? I know some people can work under each and every circumstances and I would love to have this ability, too!


Edit: most "tips" on focusing are about removing things that are distracting.. however I would like to focus while having a lot of things around that distract me
 


mailing said:
Edit: most "tips" on focusing are about removing things that are distracting.. however I would like to focus while having a lot of things around that distract me
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I can't work distracted. I shut off my phone for an hour at a time. No Skype, no email, no nothing.

Think about the time cost of a tiny distraction. You're in beast mode and all of the sudden you get an email from a client. Sure it only takes a minute to check and a few to reply - but the momentum you had going, and then shutoff can easily cost you an hour or more in productivity.

AFAIK I'm not OCD. But I hate distractions because they destroy my time.

A few tips...

1. Work on only one thing until you finish it.

2. Set "working blocks" - promodeo works well. I usually do 30 minutes racing the clock with a 10 minute break. Rinse and repeat.

3. Have one "must do" goal for the day, make it small. For example, "outline project" or "write 5 bullet points". It helps gain the momentum. You'll find that once you start you don't want to stop.

4. Only have 2 things on your "to do" list. The one you're working on now and the next thing you need to do. Keep the tasks small, less than 30 minutes.

5. Yes, most people can work with distractions. They're the majority.

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”
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-Mark Twain

^^I've found that quote to be very helpful.
 
adderall31f-1-web.jpg
 
You have to want to do it. Drugs or whatever isn't going to fundamentally help, plus have fun playing with your health.
 
What may distract you may not distract me, therefore when you see me working through something that would otherwise distract you, it's because it doesn't distract me. My point is, there's no such thing as "working through distractions". It can happen temporarily, but if it's a distraction to you, you won't be able to keep it up for long. Your goal should be to eliminate the things that distract you. And that starts from making an effort, and then taking a month to turn that effort into a habit-forming ritual.

As for the entrepreneurial-hip drug addicts:

the-dalai-lama-when-asked-what-surprised-him-most-about-humanity-answered-man-because-he-sacrifices-his-health-in-order-to-make-money.jpg
 
As I said, it's easy for me to focus when I have the perfect environment. I know how to create it - this isn't the problem. I don't need drugs and I have my own strategies to achieve that.

The problem is that those kind of concepts don't work without the "perfect environment". What if you are on a train, on holidays for a couple of weeks or if you are hosting some relatives (I'm working from home). scottspfd82 mentioned distractions from emails, but think about the cost when you can't work for weeks because of such things.

I'm interested in a strategy that works without my "perfect environment". That's exactly the weak spot that I want to get rid of. I want to be "free", to be able to work while traveling if I have to instead of giving up and wasting 2-3 months per year because I don't have my "perfect environment".
 
Purposefully practice working on something that you need to focus on while you have distractions. Play loud ass music of a type that you can't stand or pour a bunch of paperclips in your chair and on your desk and sit on them in your bare ass for half an hour while you work. I'm being completely serious.
 
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It sounds like you are mental midget... You need to work on your mental toughness.

If you can't focus without a perfect environment, then that is exactly the environment you need to work in until you can focus.

Probably not the answer you want to hear, but that's how you fix it!

It's like a MLB player saying: "Man, I can crush a pitch when it's thrown right down the middle of the plate. However, I can't hit a curve ball for shit. How do I hit a curve ball?"

Obviously, you practice hitting a curve ball!
 
Meatytreats said:
It sounds like you are mental midget... You need to work on your mental toughness.

If you can't focus without a perfect environment, then that is exactly the environment you need to work in until you can focus.

Probably not the answer you want to hear, but that's how you fix it!

It's like a MLB player saying: "Man, I can crush a pitch when it's thrown right down the middle of the plate. However, I can't hit a curve ball for shit. How do I hit a curve ball?"

Obviously, you practice hitting a curve ball!
Click to expand...

This makes sense.
 
As others have said, meditate and practice working while listening to Ministry

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXCh9OhDiCI&feature=kp]Ministry - Jesus Built My Hotrod (Video Version) - YouTube[/ame]
 
I used to have trouble focusing while working out, or even starting my workout. I would check my phone, pace around, decide I needed to find the right music, etc. Then I realized I was being a bitch. Now if I catch myself doing anything like that I just talk shit to myself in my mind and get to work. Works pretty well. I'm a lot more healthy now.

As far as like regular work I dunno I forgot how to do that. Someone plz halp.
 
Unless you live in a city with a lot going on I've found working evenings to early AM a good way to limit distractions, people bugging you, sounds, whatever... much less at night most of the time.

If you want to work in distractions then you need to work you way up to the level of distractions you're currently dealing with and can't handle.

I know for me if I'm not "in" my work, or have something else on my mind every little thing is a distraction.
However, if I'm in the "zone" those same elements that distracted me before are not noticed.
 
Find out what works for you and stick with it.

If you work better with silence, find silence.

Who cares what works for other people?

All that matters is performance. If you have a Ferrari, you don't go offroading. Make yourself into a Ferrari, find smooth pavement and go for it.
 
On second thought, go like Hunter Thompson and get a gun. Shoot whatever distracts you.

/thread
 
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