In everything I do, there is one thing that can stop me completely from even trying: The fear of being disturbed.
I think that once I focus on a task, I can just take it, slice it up, and get it done very quickly. The problem is to get to the focused state.
If I get a message, or a notification every 5 minutes, it just will not be possible for me to get down to it. I will just completely lose the will to start if I know that 5 minutes from now, something else that will disturb me.
I notice that a lot of times where I end up procrastinating, it is because I was in a “disturb” mode, maybe waiting for an answer to a message for example.
I think it is the same for most people. If you have to get a problem solved, you need focus. It may not look the same for everyone. For example, a salesman will be focused when speaking with a potential customer, while a developer will be focused when working in the internals of their system. But you need this mode to really get the work done.
For me, it means working in a quiet room where I know nothing can happen around me (forget coffee shops, I’m too anxious about blocking the way to someone else or someone looking at me), no one around, no phone or slack, not notifications at all.
This is why we love working on our side projects in the morning or in the evening. We know we’re making the most progress at those times because of this exact reason: we get to focus.
Creating such an environment is not easy for everyone. You may not have the physical possibility to isolate, you don’t want to hurt people’s feelings by being on your own with your headphones.
Try it out anyway. You may love it so much that you’ll create a solution just to get this moment for yourself.
Focus