do one thing at a time

I’m able to do that. Actually, not sure I don’t like myself this way…

I got motivated to “do one thing at a time” by that unpleasant feeling of scattered focus: of being pulled in lots of directions at once, trying to do them all at once, and getting nowhere on any of them. Maybe if I did one thing at a time, I would return to that pleasant and productive state of focus that I love so much.

Practically every time I sat down, I would find myself doing multiple things: reading stuff in a web browser, writing email, writing a program, writing a different program, etc., hopping between them every few seconds. This gets really unpleasant really fast, and of course it doesn’t get much work done.

Here are some things I did, to get myself working on one thing at a time. They all worked:

• Close all the windows on my computer (or reboot!). Now open just one window, for the one thing I want to do. Ahhh, so much better.

• Pair programming. The need to constantly coordinate with another person forces you to define one tiny task at a time, or you’ll get too far out of sync. Pair programming leads fairly effortlessly into that methodical, slow-and-steady-wins-the-race style of work. Two hares become one tortoise when they pair.

• One-hour check-ins. I and a friend call each other once an hour. We spend a few minutes helping each other brainstorm for a tiny goal to complete by the next hour. I usually pick a goal that I can finish in 5 minutes. Sometimes 30 seconds. That short bit of focus, combined with the rule that I can guiltlessly goof off for the other 55 minutes, is usually enough to give me momentum to have a productive, focused hour.

Despite these successes, I am marking this goal Not Worth It.

I would not have chosen this goal if I naturally worked methodically and did things step by step. The above techniques really worked, but after a while, I found myself in an even more-frazzled state than before. I found myself unable to think, desperately needing some “down time” or “vege-out time”. This new frazzlement felt horrible, like some weird coma where my mind can no longer even control my thoughts, like my mind was eclipsed by this retarded, goal-churning idiot.

Lesson learned I am not a methodical person. Looking back on times when I was happily focused, I was working on “one thing”, but it also involved lots of hopping around. For example, I wrote programs by working simultaneously on many little pieces, adding little bits here and there, keeping many mental threads alive simultaneously. I also wrote papers and manuals (and a book) this way: not by chugging through a list systematically, but by having a phrase or sentence pop into mind, a vague idea, and writing the whole piece out of sequence, adding little bits here and there, occasionally getting inspired and blasting out a huge bunch of text. But not in sequence, and not in neat little work units.

My style is to work in an “organic” way: to weave many things together simultaneously so they form a whole. While I can usefully oppose it in short bursts, I think I’m much wiser to work all-out in my natural style and just accept the problems it creates (mostly due to its unpredictability). I had even worse problems with schedule and punctuality when I was being disciplined and organized than when I was working “organically”.

Is there a state of mind when you are processing so many things that you can’t do the things that you normally do to process??

I realize I haven’t been writing at all – not posting here or doing morning pages – despite so many things happening. I feel like my brain is so full of what is going on I can’t get perspective on it.

From “Rules to Live Like a Zen Monk.”
http://zenhabits.net/2008/03/12-essential-rules-to-live-more-like-a-zen-monk/

I don’t exactly aspire to that, but elements of these rules might help keep me more calm, starting with the first one.

I noticed myself trying to accomplish about 3 to four tasks at the same time last evening, alternating between each, not effectively doing any! So I’ll start with being mindful of doing one thing at a time. People who do this have always had a kind of elegance, it seems. Maybe it’s just that they’re just not tearing around the room in a frenzy!

I found it too boring to do one thing at a time.
Becoming focus is good, but i like to be multi tasking and do many thing in one time. It is more challenging and keep myself motivated.

Focus. From this instant forth I am improving my ability to focus on the task at hand. I find it easier to quickly recognise distraction and dithering and get back on the rails.

I find it really hard to do something without having ideas of other things I could do popping in my head all the time. And it’s really hard not to stop what I’m doing because I’ve just had another idea. The only thing that I can do without having ideas about other things I could do is being with someone else. Which is good.

So, I’m really trying to have the discipline to decide what I want to do next, and for how long, and then to do it without stopping. I feel a bit numb.

It certainly has a lot to do with the internet and the way it accustomed us to react very clickly to everything. It has to do with my job too. Not having anything to do, 6 or 8 hours de day, in an office, sure doesn’t help for concentration. And it also has to do with the fact that I like and do many thing so, well, I guess everyting is not that bad. But I’m getting tired.

Do one thing at a time.

When you’re working, don’t check you e-mails (well OK, but at least, do not answer them before you’re done with the job).
When you start something, end it before starting anything else.
When you’re doing something and you think about something else you should do, don’t do it straight away. Keep it somewhere in your mind, or write it down, it’s OK if you do it later.
When you’ve got three things to do, three places to go, on the same evening, choose one, forget about the others, and do the one you chose completely.
When you’re speaking to someone, don’t check your e-mail, phone, or write down something at the same moment.

Your life should be much better.

As I am writing this I am “watching” television. In about 5 minutes I will have to restart the program because I have absolutely no idea what’s happened so far. I want to learn to do one thing at a time to quiet my brain and to live without constant background noise.

Let’s see, I was just writing an email to someone who called me a week ago and who I haven’t called back, and needed a URL. So I got into Safari to find the web page. I noticed a monologue from an acting class lying out, and put it away in a folder. Oh, the web page. Then I thought, “Enough thrashing, already! I’ll post ‘do one thing at a time’ on 43things to commit to it.” So I searched for that, and found someone else’s entry, and added a comment. To do that, I needed to find another URL, on Amazon. Almost got derailed by weird books that Amazon is saying I should look at. Finished the comment. Oh, that email. I still haven’t found the first URL.

Ok, that’s it. My project for today is to take each small thing I do to completion without getting derailed by something else.