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LM: #362: Devastating focus
The last 10% demands different energy than the first 90%.
As I have been finishing my book, I have entered a mode I call “devastating focus.” I want as much of my thoughts and actions to be centered toward one goal as possible.
Some things I do to switch to devastating focus:
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- Don’t watch movies or TV
- Don’t listen to music
- Bored? Ask myself, What can bring this project forward?
- Still bored? Default entertainment: read.
- All devices set to black and white
- Social life cut by 80%
I keep a stack of index cards at my writing spot. If I feel resistance, I repeatedly write reminds to myself, “There is only this. There is only this. Other ideas can wait. There is only this.”
Switching to devastating focus is uncomfortable at first, but day by day it becomes easier, even natural and gratifying. It’s effectively self-hypnosis.
Bringing a project into the world requires entering a new version of reality before it even exists. If you merely press on the boundary with your finger, it will barely yield. Devastating focus condenses that point of contact into a needle that punctures the current reality.
Book: How a Little Becomes a Lot (Amazon) is former heroin addict Eric Zimmer’s guide to making small changes towards a meaningful life.
Cool: Using the inverted pyramid to encourage LLMs to recommend your content.
Best,
David
P.S. I’ve made a summary of my own book, Mind Management, Not Time Management, both written and video forms.
