The Power of Focus Blocks: Becoming More Productive

It’s time to be realistic about how much you think you can achieve in a single working day. I used to think I could do everything within 8 hours — I now see how wrong I was.

No doubt you regularly hear the chime of a new email arriving in your inbox, or a text coming through, or someone phoning asking to speak with you. How can you possibly focus with all these distractions? The answer: you can’t, no one can.

Stopping the Distractions

I struggled to focus at work while every device I had was scrambling for my attention before I realised just how inefficient my working day was. I would be doing work whenever I could find the time. I would respond to an email, jump over to a design program and begin work, only for another email to come through. I’d stop, read the email, think about my response, write a response, read the proof, send it off and return to my original work. I’d repeat this cycle again until the next distraction — which didn’t take long, either a phone call, email, or text would demand my attention and I’d stop what I was doing.

I realised this ‘routine’ wasn’t working for me at all, so I decided to change it.

I discovered a book series from 99u that shared other creatives’ work routines and how they manage their distractions. I also found an extremely insightful course on lynda.com from Dave Crenshaw which revolutionised the way in which I managed my day-to-day.

This new routine wasn’t adopted overnight, it took time, but I persevered and stuck to it ever since. It has helped me in so many ways, from scheduling my work, to measuring how long it takes me to complete specific activities.

I wanted to share with you a technique I employ into my daily routine to help me remain sane during the working hours; the focus block.

My Focus Block

I learnt about focus blocks from reading 99u’s book on ‘Managing Your Day To Day.’ In the book, Cal Newport says “The idea of a focus block is to block-off a substantial chunk of time, most days of the week, for applying sustained focus to your most important tasks”[1]. This approach towards work made me stop and think about how I could utilise this technique in my work day.

Whenever I have design work to complete, I schedule the time into hour chunks in my calendar. These are labeled as ‘Focus Block’ sessions. During these chunks, I focus purely on the activity I have scheduled, no other activity will be conducted during this time, I will focus all my efforts on this scheduled task. My colleagues are aware that I am unavailable during this time period and will either email me not expecting a response until after the session, or wait to talk to me until the hour is over.

It has taken time, but I’ve learnt I can’t cram everything into a single day, it’s just not possible. Some things can be done tomorrow. I always had the thought process of “I need to do it now because I can do it now”. I thought of myself as an organised person for a long time, I never thought I needed to change the way I worked, until I stopped and actually thought about the way I work and how unproductive it was.

My Tips

Here are some tips I can provide to help you integrate focus blocks into your work routine.

• Respect the block. Focusing on a single activity for the hour, whatever distractions come through; emails, colleague requests, phone calls etc. can wait. It’s called a ‘block’ for a reason.
• Make it essential. Make the focus blocks an essential part of your routine. An immovable event.
• Turn off notifications. How many notifications come through on your phone are actually worth responding to immediately? Be honest. Notifications can wait. If someone is waiting at your desk to talk to you, tell them you will be available after the block to schedule a meeting or chat.
• Use your calendar. Put the block in your calendar and stick to it. When you schedule an event you must honour that time to the session.
• Share your calendar. Once you begin to respect your calendar, other people will become aware of it too. Eventually they will check your availability before making requests. It won’t happen immediately, but providing you respect your schedule, they will too. If someone wishes to meet with you, simply defer them to your pre-existing event in your calendar; “Sorry, I have something scheduled for that time, I will be available afterwards though.”
• Isolate yourself. The world we live in demands our attention to the point of constant distraction. You have to be strong in this situation, turn off your phone, walk away from your computer, if possible, to remain focused. If it helps, go to a different location such as the library or a meeting room to conduct your work. This is probably the hardest tip to adopt, we are so attached to our phones that being without them for 10 minutes is a struggle, let alone a full hour.
• Don’t overdo it. You’re not a machine, you cannot work solidly for 8+ hours straight. Your body has a limited amount of energy each day, limit your focus blocks to begin with, try half an hour at first, and gradually add more time as it becomes a routine.
• Keep it to the morning. Schedule your focus block in the morning when your energy is at its highest.
• Remain consistent. If you’ve been immersed in distraction for years, you need to train yourself to resist the temptation before these focus blocks begin to feel instinctive. The focus blocks will not come easy, you will likely struggle to begin with, but with persistence, you will help make the blocks part of your daily work habit.

You’re Only Human

Focus Blocks go against the grain of others’ expectations and the pressures they put on you. It takes willpower to switch off the distractions, even for an hour. It feels uncomfortable, and sometimes people get upset. But it’s better to disappoint a few people over small things, than to surrender your dreams for an empty inbox.

We’re not like computers, we aren’t meant to operate continuously for long periods of time. Our bodies follow what are known as ultradian rhythms; ninety-minute periods at the end of which we reach the limits of our capacity to work at the highest level. It’s possible to push ourselves past those ninety minutes with the help of coffee or sugar, but when we do we’re overriding our physiological need for the intermittent rest and renewal.

This new routine will not come easy for most, it certainly didn’t for me. You will need to be strong willed and resist the temptation of distractions. Understand your capabilities and think about your work. The battle between focus and distraction is a serious problem, not just for the success of your business, but also your own sanity. Focus blocks may not help revolutionise the way you work but they might help you become more productive and allow you to find enjoyment in your work again.

For those of you struggling with productivity, I highly recommend giving focus block session a go. Start small, 1–2 focus blocks a week, and see how it goes. If you find value in it, I cannot recommend Dave Crenshaw’s course on Time Management from lynda.com highly enough [2]. Give it a go and let me know your thoughts.

Credits

[1] Manage Your Day-To-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus & Sharpen Your Creative Mind — 99u, Edited by Jocelyn K. Glei. Sourced article written by Cal Newport.

[2] Time Management Fundamentals — By Dave Crenshaw. Lynda.com