Tag: Focus
TopTracker
TopTracker provides a straight-forward, free time tracking utility that works on both Windows and OS X. The utility allows commenting on each session tracked (e.g., words written during that session). It also allows export via CSV, from where numbers can be crunched further in Excel to see how well progress is going. By default, TopTracker will…
Technology and Distraction
Tristan Harris, former design ethicist at Google, discusses at TED the interplay between technology, attention, and distraction. For additional discussion of this TED talk, see Alexandra Dempsey’s post on the Freedom blog. For additional discussion the significance of focus, the importance of guarding it, and a helpful tool to that end, see Focus—there’s an app for…
Scheduling focus
The folks at Freedom have a helpful tutorial about “how to be more productive in the afternoon.” The same principles, though, will apply also to the mornings or whenever one’s preferred time is for focused work. For additional discussion of Freedom, the significance of focus, and the importance of guarding it, see Focus—there’s an…
Focus—there’s an app for that
For various reasons, focus can be difficult in a whole host of contexts—at work, at home, or during recreation. One contemporary culprit that can all too easily hamper efforts to “lose” oneself in the “play” of the real world are the digital devices and media with which some of us are constantly surrounded. As a…
Staying focused
Over at the Evernote blog, Valerie Bisharat has some helpful reflections on “how to avoid focus-stealing traps.” One particularly interesting study that Bisharat cites is from the University of Texas at Austin [and] suggests that having our cell phones within reach – even if they’re powered off– reduces cognitive capacity, or ability to concentrate. The…
Toward not multitasking on the Dropbox blog
The Dropbox blog has a short essay on the downsides of trying to multitask. Rather than multitasking, deep and singular focus is just what the doctor ordered, but in our hyper-connected world, it isn’t always easy…. You could chuck all your gadgets and move to the woods, but luckily you don’t need to get that drastic.…