I have recently been experimenting with a different method. I'm not sure taking the joy out of what you focus on is the best idea anyway.
Instead of figuring out how to set up the perfect set of variables to trigger flow (focus) for long periods of time, I do something else.
I purposely interrupt my work every 10 minutes for a long (5+ minutes) break. Most accounts I have read say that it takes 10-20 minutes to get into a state of flow to be able to do some real, hard work. But with the limitation of only 10 minutes of work, I force my brain to learn to get into flow much more quickly (definitely under 5 minutes, and I think much less but it's hard to measure!).
I only started doing this the last couple of weeks. I'm amazingly more productive, and the scope of my projects are increasingly ambitious.
I am posting this to see if anyone has had a similar experience. So, have you?
Totally. More generally, setting lots of small, tight deadlines really helps force my focus, if you're a deadline-driven type maybe you might feel the same way. I ran into the term "forced efficiency" the other day and it pretty much encompasses this practice:
http://gtd.marvelz.com/blog/2007/06/27/maximize-productivity...
Very cool idea. It's the mental equivalent of cross training for an MMA match! I'd like to give this a go tomorrow, but we have to come up with something a bit more memorable than "The ljolel Method". Any suggestions? ;)
that sounds really interesting. Haven't tried it yet, but it certainly looks like something I will try to do in the near future. Thanks for sharing :-)
Needless to say, meditation contains a whole tradition of techniques to teach people to train their focus. I recommend it to anyone who hasn't already tried it-- it's worth encountering, even if you ultimately decide it's not for you.
Coming from a different direction, the meta-cognitive therapists also have some techniques around focus and directed attention.
"One final thing to keep in mind; you absolutely do not have to be a Buddhist to meditate in this way, and this practice won’t turn you into one, either."
Which isn't to knock Buddhism in the slightest, but just a reminder that it's possible and useful to consider the practice of meditation as a separate thing from the Buddhism, or mysticism, or whatever-else-ism that it's often packaged up with in popular consciousness, and which might put off some people from trying it.
Real Buddhists are likely the most expert meditators you can find. And meditation, like anything worth doing, benefits from good teaching. Buddhism is not an evangelical religion. Thus a real Buddhist teacher will be happy to teach you meditation without requiring you to "profess your faith" or any of that silly nonsense.
This is a gift. Not only can meditation be a "separate thing", but those who are the most expert will be happy to unpack it from their own beliefs and teach it to you as separately as you like, because of those beliefs.
Isn't that beautiful? Does it remind you of open source at all?
(Also - if you decide to go further with this, you might make up your mind whether there is some reason Buddhism and mind training correlate so highly, beyond history.)
I have a buddhist friend and we're having a great, balanced relationship. I can confirm everything you said about the "modularity" of their approach. I also meditate from time to time but I find it great for relaxation and energy recharging, as opposed to training the focus.
This will probably be shot down, but I stay focused - and yes get the flow too - by living on coffee, pizza and cigarettes when working on crushing deadlines. Alternate the pizza with your favourite junk food every other day.
I certainly remember doing the same things in my early days. The only downside of this - for me, of course - was that your physical layer (your body, that is) will sooner or later let you down if you're fighting against it like this. Otherwise, if those stimulus are keeping you aware, just go for it :-)
Instead of figuring out how to set up the perfect set of variables to trigger flow (focus) for long periods of time, I do something else.
I purposely interrupt my work every 10 minutes for a long (5+ minutes) break. Most accounts I have read say that it takes 10-20 minutes to get into a state of flow to be able to do some real, hard work. But with the limitation of only 10 minutes of work, I force my brain to learn to get into flow much more quickly (definitely under 5 minutes, and I think much less but it's hard to measure!).
I only started doing this the last couple of weeks. I'm amazingly more productive, and the scope of my projects are increasingly ambitious.
I am posting this to see if anyone has had a similar experience. So, have you?