Everyday Focus: A Good Strategy for Creative Types

I’m a process nerd. I love exploring how passionate people get all that work done, but I’ve been bad about actually sticking to a process. I’ve felt the burden of too many ideas to work on. Over the years I’ve had lots of process experiments, each with their own successes and failures. For over a week now I’ve been trying something new, and so far it’s going great.

Focus is difficult for me. I get excited and dive into a project. But I start working on the next one by the time it hits my sketchbook before I finish the first. I have decades of these types of projects. I finally found a set of complimentary strategies that make a dent in those feelings.

The Strategy

Go UX Yourself

Since I am a designer, I use plenty of tools to empathize with users in my everyday work. I’m just now applying those tools to improve my own process. I am the user. I have to objectively look at my experience to find ways to set myself up for success as much as possible.

Bullet Journaling

Recently I picked up a habit I’ve tried unsuccessfully in the past. It’s a paper process of planning tasks and projects. It is inspired by the bullet journal system. I log everything from trips to the grocery store to code deploys. Each task gets a little bullet, and it’s satisfying to transform that bullet into an ‘x’ after I complete it.

It’s important to keep the tasks small. Something you can do in a day, otherwise you end up with a long running list and you never cross off anything. I have a Noun Project 3x5 notebook I keep in my back pocket with my general sketchbook. The format is tight, but I need it with me at all moments of the day.

I’m super jealous of the neat bullet journals I see. My sketchbook currently looks like a madman’s hit list. I imagine it will be cleaner as I get more comfortable with the format. I’ll know better when to edit or omit. Right now I just think ‘PUT IT IN THE DAMN BOOK.’

90–90–1

Although I’m sure there are many forms of this thinking, I just read about this method. The idea is to spend the first 90 minutes of your day on the single most important goal. My goal is to make progress on the laundry list of projects in my sketchbook. I’m sure it is too vague for this process, but it’s been helping me focus tremendously.

I spend my most productive hour and a half not doing email, calendars or anything. Just knocking things off of my list. Today I did some lettering for film titles I’m working on.

One Sleep–in Day A Week

When I deviate from the plan, I always feel guilty. This schedule also burns me out fast. In response, I’ve given myself one day each week to recharge and let projects slide. This helps me step back up the next day.

The Play by Play

5:50am

1. Wake up to iOS 10’s new Bedtime feature—currently set to ‘Early Riser’
   I find myself actually waking up to this alarm more than others. It’s a pleasant experience. Apple also tracks how much sleep I’m getting.
2. Drink whatever water is left in my water bottle
   I’ve noticed a big difference in focus when I’m hydrated vs dehydrated.
3. Brew coffee in my Chemex. 
   Hand grinding coffee beans is a great way to get the body moving without needing to think.
4. Plan daily tasks
   While water is boiling I scan my bullet tasks for anything I didn’t complete, and move them to today. So far this feels like a big accomplishment.

6:00am

1. Sit down at desk
   It doesn’t matter which task I’m working on, starting at my desk makes the routine stick. Sometimes it’s on my computer, other times it’s just pencil and paper.
2. Close all communication
   I clear out my open apps / calendars / Noun Project work from my computer because now isn’t the time for any of that.
3. Turn on some sick beats 
   Here’s what I’m loving right now. I try to pair it with the type of work I’m doing, but also spend less than a minute selecting.

7:30am

1. Stop working
   This is by far the hardest part.
2. Jump in quick shower
3. Eat breakfast
   Generally a hardboiled egg and banana.
4. Prep a salad for lunch
   Lately it’s been spinach, beets, sunflower seeds, raisins, avocado, and croutons.

8:30am

1. Head into work
   braving the nasty traffic.

11:00pm–ish

1. Get a reminder to go to bed
2. Drink a glass of water
3. Try to sleep as early as possible
   I keep failing at this, and it shows in my next morning.

Hows It Going So Far?

It’s working out quite nice. I’ve made lots of progress on a slew of projects. I’m feeling more productive and accomplished. The biggest downfall is after 5:00–ish I start to crash hard. I’m working on making sure I’m properly fueled with food and going to bed earlier.

Most of this sounds obvious. I wasn’t being consistent until I started formalizing my strategy. This process will evolve and grow with me, and I will continue to share. I’ll keep you posted.