Conclusion

It’s a lot to process. As humans, our ability to focus is fleeting, and we have to consistently work to enable and maintain our focus. At the same time, we live with narcissistic tools and devices that constantly demand our attention regardless of whether they deserve it.

With applied effort, however, we can begin to turn the tide.

Your ability to focus is a skill, and it takes practice. The most important step in improving our ability to focus is to learn more about ourselves. What helps us concentrate? What breaks our concentration? What do we personally have immediate control over? Then take steps to lay a foundation that encourages focus and mitigates distractions.

Like most skills, your ability to focus can never be perfected—only improved. And as life ebbs and flows, external changes will affect what does and doesn’t work. So you need to stay mindful of how you can maintain and improve your focus.

It would be wonderful if changing ourselves was all it took, but that’s not the way it works. Much of our ability to focus is affected by forces outside of our control. Collaboration with teammates. Meetings. Our work environment. Our work hours. Shifting priorities. All of these and more play a roll, and we often don’t have the power or control to make changes. That doesn’t mean we should give up, though.

A lot of the widely accepted knowledge about productivity doesn’t hold up once we start to analyze it. This book probably can’t convince your company to move away from open floorplans or encourage naps during the day, but it can be a first step towards raising some important questions.

You won’t be able to implement all of the changes at once, and that probably wouldn’t be ideal even if you could. Instead, choose the tactics that can provide the most value, and start there. As time goes on and you’re more aware of your own productivity, iterate and make changes.

Or maybe approach it in groups. Focus first on nutrition, hydration, and sleep. Then move on to your physical environment. Follow that with how you organize your work and plan your days. Take some time to improve with your existing tools. Automate solutions to frequent distractions. Then start thinking about improving meetings so they’re less invasive.

The exact solution that will be right for you and your team is out there. None of this advice is meant to be prescriptive. Instead, it’s organized to be informative so you can make better decisions and foster productivity.

We want you to be able to spend more time coding and less time managing your process. More focus. Less overhead. And fewer distractions.