Finding Your Focus

The world we live in today is full of distractions. Our obsession with screens, push notifications, same day delivery, short video clips, and every other nearly-instant gratification is training our brains to think differently. This really isn't a problem unless it starts affecting our ability to succeed in school, at our jobs, and with our family. Attention Deficit Disorder is something I discovered I had as an adult when I realized I couldn't overcome issues that were affecting my ability to do my job well. I have discovered though that the tools that I've put together over the years to succeed aren't just for people with ADD/ADHD - they can help anyone struggling to stay focused. This session is practical in nature - learn how to discover when your brain is tricking you and the things you can do to get back on track.

Given at That Conference 2018 https://www.thatconference.com/Sessions/Session/12649

Transcript

1. Finding Your Focus Living in a world full of distractions ...and shiny things Aaron Douglas @astralbodies
3. my story I'd like to share my story of dealing with focus
4. — Robert Glover In general, people are not drawn to perfection in others. People are drawn to shared interests, shared problems, and an individual’s life energy. Humans connect with humans. Hiding one’s humanity and trying to project an image of perfection makes a person vague, slippery, lifeless, and uninteresting. I want to start off with this quote. I am not perfect. I am here to share my humanity.
5. https://moviepilot.com/p/stranger-things-theory-on-the-upside-down/4041658 Have you ever felt like you’re going through life with blinders on? Much of my childhood I felt like I was out of phase with reality. I still have these feelings to this day. I’m here but not quite in sync with the people around me - the feeling I’m missing something. Feels like Will when he's slipped into the Upside Down
6. Here’s a great example of me being out of phase as a child. Ms. Farrell Cake, Superman
7. In general I was a hyper kid. I was labeled a problem child in elementary school because I was a terror at times.
8. I started to change in middle school and more into highschool. Things like math and science grabbed my attention; computers too. Still had problems reading long passages in books and to this day AP Biology ruins me. I bet I'm not the only one who didn't like Bio. I had a good set of friends to be with. Met my future husband.
9. As an adult I embraced the differences. I started going to college part time, working full time. This worked so well with my brain and I was productive at both work and school. I definitely got comfortable and you can see my weight started to gain a bit. The truth was I was happy. I never felt encumbered by my weight. As I got older my body started to change.
10. Third thing Stinky carpet, grey walls, people not happy with their work, Mindflayer, Officespace I had to make a change. Something HAD to change. My brain, my brain, my heart, and my mind all needed something to change.
11. In early 2013 I met a friend of a friend working at Automattic, an entirely remote company. Interested me, looked at the job listings, saw mobile. Applied, trialed, and got the job. Didn’t really want to leave Red Arrow but felt this was something I couldn’t pass up. Sadly soon after I started I realized that my brain was not liking it. I nearly quit. Too much input, only myself to keep me on track. My ways of dealing with the attention just didn't work any more.
12. Within two months I wanted to quit. What I discovered is that my ways of dealing with distractions, finding my focus, didn't work the same when I was at home.
13. ADHD Diagnosed with Adult ADHD. I knew I had it forever. Started off with taking some medications but what I really wanted to do is develop tools to help me so I didn't have to rely on the medication. The medication is a tool as well; helps me see what it feels like to be normalized.
14. the irony Lets just mention that the irony runs thick for me to find my focus to write a talk about finding my focus.
15. distractions Things that cause us to lose focus or maybe things that have changed in society that distract us Life is full of distractions
16. screens Screens are a continual source of distractions Faces stuck in them It's not the screen really it's stuff like push notifications
22. Open office plans
23. interactions are shortening Conversations last seconds; long duration voice calls are avoided Multiple conversations at once Tweets vs. Articles Everything is summed up
24. signal vs. noise What this means is its harder to get the signal through the noise when you want to communicate A lot more noise
25. context shifting And when it comes to work or school these distractions play into context shifting When you focus on one particular type of task, challenge, or information set, then switch to something completely different, you're shifting contexts. Sometimes, the transitions are huge and jarring.
26. It takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to the task. https://www.fastcompany.com/944128/worker-interrupted-cost-task-switching Higher stress, no real increase in errors Uninterrupted workers work slower; interrupted workers work faster because they expect to be interrupted; adding to stress https://www.fastcompany.com/944128/worker-interrupted-cost-task-switching
27. poor focus Lots of signs of poor focus
28. procrastination
29. strained relationships Come across looking like you're selfish, uncaring, not listening
30. apathy indifference, lack of concern
31. depression
32. life seems to be flying by
33. finding your focus
34. multitasking is a lie.
35. 7 ± 2 Miller's Law It is often interpreted to argue that the number of objects an average human can hold in working memory is 7 ± 2. Multitasking is a waste of short term memory
36. noticing The first step is noticing when you've lost your focus This sounds incredible simple, but it's not Facebook; opening the tab after closing it Mindful meditation can help and I'll touch on that later
37. just get started I found the biggest problem was just getting started. I circle around a problem because I can't see the solution. Find a small slice and just get started.
38. limit distractions Turn off push/desktop notifications, block Facebook, put on headphones, don't do work in front of the TV. Clean desk.
39. just walk away When all else fails, just walk away from everything. Go for a walk, use the restroom, get caffeine.
40. tools We can't solve our focus issues by just installing an app or reading a book. These things as a whole have helped me find my focus. Always changing.
41. the power of N minutes Pomodoro technique 20 minutes is a long time for me. 5 minutes has a lot of power.
42. Kimmy's favorite motto is that anyone can do anything for 10 seconds (even turning a heavy "mystery crank" in an underground apocalypse bunker). Her theory is that, at the end of 10 seconds, you've inched closer to toward your larger goal. Kimmy knows what business leaders have known for years—that setting small, realistic goals can pave the path to success. When we break big goals into smaller ones, we feel a sense of accomplishment with every milestone along the way, boosting our motivation.
43. measure your productivity Figure out a way to judge how productive you are. Take notes, measure things that can be measured like the GitHub activity graph. You'll start to notice patterns as you collect and review more data.
45. Distraction-free mode, blocks access to distraction sites Focus is a mac app that's simpler and there are tons of similar apps out there
46. judge your productivity wisely You don't code for 8 hours a day I calculated that 40% of my team's work year is dedicated to tasks not directly associated with coding
47. Deep work are professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive boundaries to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill, and are hard to replicate. Split into two parts - the idea and the rules. A lot of the advice feels obvious but is quite helpful.
48. It has been said that if the first thing you eat in the morning is eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long. 21 different things that can help get you started. Some of the advice seems obvious but only helps when you've adapted it as a normal behavior.
49. Written in the 1940s but so incredibly useful. One of the big takeaways I had almost immediately was scanning through a book quickly so you know generally what's coming.
50. Mindful Meditation Mindful meditation is about focusing on something in the present like your breath. What you end up learning over time is not reaching a zen state but rather noticing when you stop focusing on the breath. The key is non-judgement so you don't react to input - just let it happen.
51. Tons of apps to help you get started. Stop, breathe & think, Calm, Smiling Mind, Headspace
52. exercise I've found the biggest impact to improving my focus has been regular exercise. Doing things around mid-day seems to work the best to reset my brain for the latter half of the day. You end up processing a lot in your mind too when you're out for some exercise.
53. Bicycle I bought back in 2012 suddenly got a LOT more use Loved being able to go out during lunch and get totally out of my element
54. When the weather wasn't good I used a simple with a step aerobics board. Jenny Ford Hand weights
55. Added a treadmill under my standing desk for a couple hours of walking while working I've had some issues with posture and shoulder pain so I've stopped it for now to prevent problems.
56. That Conference 5k runs, joined in 2016 Been running during the cold ever since or when bike riding won’t work
57. Keeping track of everything I do and trying to be social with it Helps having other coworkers to get cheered on
58. eating well You've probably heard this over and over but spiking glucose levels early in the morning can lead to a crappy day. Learn what works best for your body by trying things out and following a scientific process of observing results.
59. tiny changes By nature I've made small changes to my life; incrementally adding exercise to my day
60. Tiny Habits - making small changes to your behaviors by adding new behaviors onto existing ones Learn more about habits with the Power of Habit
61. progress since finding my focus
62. 5 years, 16 days As of today this much time has passed since I started working remote.
63. work is better " Work has been great. I’ve been a team lead now for almost two 1/2 years. Running a greenfield project and I feel like I’m involved in things that can really help change people’s world. I’ve been able to create meaningful lasting relationships with my coworkers and connected community like you all
64. home is better I'm remembering things at home - drawers get closed :) My husband recognizes when I'm not fully focused
65. 285lb > 195lb 589 miles ran $ 3,027 miles walked % 4,502 miles biked & 968,705 calories burned The Numbers At my heaviest I was at over 300lb
66. Still have a ways 
 to go ) Harken back to the perfect quote - remember that quote - slippery, lifeless, I'm not trying to be perfect because I'm not slippery I’ll always be changing things, tweaking my life. I have setbacks all the time.
67. What it comes down to Requires the willingness to observe yourself Admit that you have behaviors that you want to change Only change a little bit at a time. Don't be slippery, vague, or lifeless. Own the situation and become determined to change it.
68. Feel free to reach out! aaron.blog @astralbodies Aaron Douglas