Finding Your Focus - Speaker Deck

Slide 1

Slide 1 text

Finding Your Focus Living in a world full of distractions ...and shiny things Aaron Douglas @astralbodies

Slide 2

Slide 2 text

No content

Slide 3

Slide 3 text

my story I'd like to share my story of dealing with focus

Slide 4

Slide 4 text

— 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.

Slide 5

Slide 5 text

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

Slide 6

Slide 6 text

Here’s a great example of me being out of phase as a child. Ms. Farrell Cake, Superman

Slide 7

Slide 7 text

In general I was a hyper kid. I was labeled a problem child in elementary school because I was a terror at times.

Slide 8

Slide 8 text

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.

Slide 9

Slide 9 text

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.

Slide 10

Slide 10 text

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.

Slide 11

Slide 11 text

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.

Slide 12

Slide 12 text

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.

Slide 13

Slide 13 text

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.

Slide 14

Slide 14 text

the irony Lets just mention that the irony runs thick for me to ﬁnd my focus to write a talk about ﬁnding my focus.

Slide 15

Slide 15 text

distractions Things that cause us to lose focus or maybe things that have changed in society that distract us Life is full of distractions

Slide 16

Slide 16 text

screens Screens are a continual source of distractions Faces stuck in them It's not the screen really it's stuﬀ like push notiﬁcations

Slide 17

Slide 17 text

No content

Slide 18

Slide 18 text

No content

Slide 19

Slide 19 text

No content

Slide 20

Slide 20 text

No content

Slide 21

Slide 21 text

No content

Slide 22

Slide 22 text

Open oﬃce plans

Slide 23

Slide 23 text

interactions are shortening Conversations last seconds; long duration voice calls are avoided Multiple conversations at once Tweets vs. Articles Everything is summed up

Slide 24

Slide 24 text

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

Slide 25

Slide 25 text

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.

Slide 26

Slide 26 text

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

Slide 27

Slide 27 text

poor focus Lots of signs of poor focus

Slide 28

Slide 28 text

procrastination

Slide 29

Slide 29 text

strained relationships Come across looking like you're selﬁsh, uncaring, not listening

Slide 30

Slide 30 text

apathy indiﬀerence, lack of concern

Slide 31

Slide 31 text

depression

Slide 32

Slide 32 text

life seems to be flying by

Slide 33

Slide 33 text

finding your focus

Slide 34

Slide 34 text

multitasking is a lie.

Slide 35

Slide 35 text

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

Slide 36

Slide 36 text

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

Slide 37

Slide 37 text

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.

Slide 38

Slide 38 text

limit distractions Turn oﬀ push/desktop notiﬁcations, block Facebook, put on headphones, don't do work in front of the TV. Clean desk.

Slide 39

Slide 39 text

just walk away When all else fails, just walk away from everything. Go for a walk, use the restroom, get caﬀeine.

Slide 40

Slide 40 text

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.

Slide 41

Slide 41 text

the power of N minutes Pomodoro technique 20 minutes is a long time for me. 5 minutes has a lot of power.

Slide 42

Slide 42 text

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.

Slide 43

Slide 43 text

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.

Slide 44

Slide 44 text

No content

Slide 45

Slide 45 text

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

Slide 46

Slide 46 text

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

Slide 47

Slide 47 text

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.

Slide 48

Slide 48 text

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.

Slide 49

Slide 49 text

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.

Slide 50

Slide 50 text

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.

Slide 51

Slide 51 text

Tons of apps to help you get started. Stop, breathe & think, Calm, Smiling Mind, Headspace

Slide 52

Slide 52 text

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.

Slide 53

Slide 53 text

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

Slide 54

Slide 54 text

When the weather wasn't good I used a simple with a step aerobics board. Jenny Ford Hand weights

Slide 55

Slide 55 text

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.

Slide 56

Slide 56 text

That Conference 5k runs, joined in 2016 Been running during the cold ever since or when bike riding won’t work

Slide 57

Slide 57 text

Keeping track of everything I do and trying to be social with it Helps having other coworkers to get cheered on

Slide 58

Slide 58 text

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.

Slide 59

Slide 59 text

tiny changes By nature I've made small changes to my life; incrementally adding exercise to my day

Slide 60

Slide 60 text

Tiny Habits - making small changes to your behaviors by adding new behaviors onto existing ones Learn more about habits with the Power of Habit

Slide 61

Slide 61 text

progress since finding my focus

Slide 62

Slide 62 text

5 years, 16 days As of today this much time has passed since I started working remote.

Slide 63

Slide 63 text

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

Slide 64

Slide 64 text

home is better I'm remembering things at home - drawers get closed :) My husband recognizes when I'm not fully focused

Slide 65

Slide 65 text

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

Slide 66

Slide 66 text

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.

Slide 67

Slide 67 text

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.

Slide 68

Slide 68 text

Feel free to reach out! aaron.blog @astralbodies Aaron Douglas