Don't Get Distracted

It's getting harder to focus every day

I’m feeling it right now. I had to set a timer for 15 minute on my computer and block all distractions to write this. If I didn’t force myself to focus I would easily get distracted by something after few minutes. Even when I’m doing things that I’ve been waiting to do it, I still feel the urge to do something else. I don’t know how and when this happened. During the last few years I was always studying, working, and doing open source. And actually got stuff done. Doing all of those at the same time requires paying attention to what I wanted to do and ignore the noise.

The lost art of concentration: being distracted in a digital world

We check our phones every 12 minutes, often just after waking up. Always-on behaviour is harmful to long-term mental health, and we need to learn to the hit the pause button

How to reclaim your attention from the distraction economy | Psyche Videos

Could you watch this video on full screen, 1x speed, with no distractions? Here are five steps to rebuild your attention span

Finding Flow: Escaping Digital Distractions Through Deep Work and Slow Living

Learn how to achieve flow state and defeat digital distractions through environment design, mindful breaks, and deep work practices for a more focused life.

Software Bonkers

I’m software bonkers: I can’t stop thinking about software. And I can’t stop building software.

Please stop multitasking. I’m begging you. Please.

The greatest trick we ever pulled on ourselves as knowledge workers was convincing ourselves we could juggle multiple projects with no consequences.

My productivity app is a never-ending .txt file

The biggest transition for me when I started college was learning to get organized. There was a point when I couldn't just remember everything in my head. And having to constantly keep track of things was distracting me from whatever task I was doing at the moment.

Why It's So Hard to Focus at Work (Hint: It's not you, it's your workplace)

The workplace is overloaded with distractions. Here's why (and how) companies should protrect their most important asset – their team's attention.

The Busy Person's Guide to Thinking

Thinking better isn't about learning more; it's about doing a few simple things that really help create unstoppable progress.

Thoughts on thinking

I have been stuck. Every time I sit down to write a blog post, code a feature, or start a project, I come to the same realization: in the context of AI, what I’m doing is a waste of time. It’s horrifying. The fun has been sucked out of the process...

Freefall 4399 July 13, 2026

TRANSCRIPT Sam: Telling the computer what I want to have done. It makes my job easy. I don't know how it works. I don't know what I'm actually doing. Sam: I've always assumed the other guys know what they're doing. If they're using A.I. as well... this could be a problem. Sam: It makes it too obvious that almost nobody knows what they're actually doing. That destroys one of the illusions societies are built on.

Andrew Sullivan: My Distraction Sickness — and Yours

An endless bombardment of news and gossip and images has rendered us manic information addicts. It broke me. It might break you, too.

Advice on Upskilling

Upskilling on Advice – Working Draft – Note: If you are reading this as a PDF, consider switching to the Google Doc which may contain new updates. Authored by Justin Skycak Copyright © 2026 Justin Skycak First edition (working draft), updated 1 May ...

How to Leave Work at Work

Some jobs have very clear lines between when you’re “on” and when you’re “off” while in others the lines are blurred — or potentially nonexistent. That makes not being distracted by work, especially mentally, a major challenge. But you can reduce how distracted you feel by work during times when you’re not working. First, define what “after hours” means for you, considering personal commitments like your commute and family obligations. Next, have mental clarity about what needs to get done and when you will do it. Then, communicate with your colleagues about how (or if) you want to be contacted in your off hours. Finally, do your work at work. If you must bring it home with you, define select hours to work, and don’t let yourself think of work outside of that time period.

Your Brain Can Only Take So Much Focus

Research has shed light on the power of focus and its role as a hidden driver of success. Yet as helpful as focus can be, research also shows there’s a downside to it: excessive focus exhausts the focus circuits in your brain. It can drain your energy, make you lose self-control, impair your decision-making, and make you less collaborative. The brain operates optimally when it toggles between focus and unfocus. When you unfocus, you engage a brain circuit called the default mode network (DMN). The DMN activates old memories, goes back and forth between the past, present, and future, and recombines different ideas. Using this new and previously inaccessible data, you can imagine creative solutions or predict the future, and more. There are many simple and effective ways to activate this circuit in the course of a day, such as positive constructive daydreaming, napping, and consciously thinking from another person’s perspective.

Every productivity thought I've ever had, as concisely as possible - …

I combed through several years of my private notes and through everything I published on productivity before and tried to summarize all of it in this post. If you’re unproductive right now Here’s what you should do if you’ve been procrastinating for an entire day: Accept that you won’t do anything today and try not to get angry at yourself Set the alarm for the time you will be preparing to go to bed today No, really. Do it. It will take 20 seconds Procrastinate for the …