How to Find Focus • Hacker News Board

Re: How to Find Focus

#21

Post by rmasters » Fri, Dec 18, 2020, 6:44 PM UTC

highfrequency wrote: post #8

A counterargument: losing focus just means that you are encountering difficulty, boredom or frustration in your current project. Losing focus does not mean you should start exploring other options because you haven't found the best fit yet; other projects that seem shiny now will inevitably go through their own difficult periods. If you look for greener pastures whenever your organic focus starts to wane, you'll neve…

I agree that loss of focus can put someone in the danger zone of looking for other options without really resolving the underlying problem.

However, I think the article is implying that deep thinking about your values and interests when you step back can help keep you from switching focus for shallow reasons. Perhaps you re-engage with a renewed sense of purpose. However, if you do switch after deep thinking, you'll hopefully be more resistant to further randomization.

Re: How to Find Focus

#22

Post by FranklinMaillot » Fri, Dec 18, 2020, 6:47 PM UTC

JesseMReeves wrote: post #9

This reminded me of the following exercise, which I hopefully recite correctly. I’ve first heard it in a podcast with the monk Anselm Grün, who counsels burned out managers in Germany: Think about what you could do for hours as a child. What kept you so interested that time just passed by? Then examine what wish, image or interest underlies these activities. You will often find clear links to your current occupation.…

This is the idea developed in A Lazy Man's Guide to Success by Bill O'Hanlon. It's a very short book, I highly recommend it. It was eye-opening to me.

Re: How to Find Focus

#23

Post by corytheboyd » Fri, Dec 18, 2020, 7:47 PM UTC

I think the author has this really well put. They describe how they find confidence to execute their ideas in a sustainable way that works for them. This isn’t a manifesto or a telling of “the one true way” it’s just a humble succinct writing about what focus means to them. I love it.

Re: How to Find Focus

#24

Post by amateurdev » Fri, Dec 18, 2020, 7:59 PM UTC

JesseMReeves wrote: post #15

amateurdev wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is actually good advise! Could you link the podcast episode? I've had a hard time with some of my hobby projects, but now I think my approach could be very different. The ones I've completed have sort of fit the notion 'Im doing it because I want to do it', not because I have to do it.

He briefly discusses it in this episode of „Das philosophische Radio“: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/wdr-5-das-philosophisc... I went on listening to other interviews with him on Apple Podcasts where he touches this and other ideas, but eventually got one of his books that is specifically about burnout (“Vom Burnout zum Flow”) as an audiobook, where he describes such imagery exercises in detail. I also liked…

Welp, I don't know German at all sadly! The idea you mentioned in the original comment is certainly helpful though. Something to chew on, so thanks anyway :)

Re: How to Find Focus

#25

Post by fancy_pantser » Fri, Dec 18, 2020, 8:01 PM UTC

FranklinMaillot wrote: post #22

JesseMReeves wrote: post #9

This reminded me of the following exercise, which I hopefully recite correctly. I’ve first heard it in a podcast with the monk Anselm Grün, who counsels burned out managers in Germany: Think about what you could do for hours as a child. What kept you so interested that time just passed by? Then examine what wish, image or interest underlies these activities. You will often find clear links to your current occupation.…

This is the idea developed in A Lazy Man's Guide to Success by Bill O'Hanlon. It's a very short book, I highly recommend it. It was eye-opening to me.

Free copy of the book is distributed by the author online for anyone interested: http://www.billohanlon.com/LazyMan/files/lazy-man-e-book.pdf

Re: How to Find Focus

#26

Post by pacamara619 » Fri, Dec 18, 2020, 8:29 PM UTC

highfrequency wrote: post #8

A counterargument: losing focus just means that you are encountering difficulty, boredom or frustration in your current project. Losing focus does not mean you should start exploring other options because you haven't found the best fit yet; other projects that seem shiny now will inevitably go through their own difficult periods. If you look for greener pastures whenever your organic focus starts to wane, you'll neve…

This seems an awful lot of text for being basically identical to the advice I get from older relatives, ehich are detached from the current reality: "Just power through it."

Re: How to Find Focus

#27

Post by Privacy846 » Fri, Dec 18, 2020, 8:33 PM UTC

JesseMReeves wrote: post #9

This reminded me of the following exercise, which I hopefully recite correctly. I’ve first heard it in a podcast with the monk Anselm Grün, who counsels burned out managers in Germany: Think about what you could do for hours as a child. What kept you so interested that time just passed by? Then examine what wish, image or interest underlies these activities. You will often find clear links to your current occupation.…

Doesn’t a monk have better things to do than to counsel burnt out professionals?

Re: How to Find Focus

#28

Post by JesseMReeves » Fri, Dec 18, 2020, 8:38 PM UTC

Privacy846 wrote: post #27

JesseMReeves wrote: post #9

This reminded me of the following exercise, which I hopefully recite correctly. I’ve first heard it in a podcast with the monk Anselm Grün, who counsels burned out managers in Germany: Think about what you could do for hours as a child. What kept you so interested that time just passed by? Then examine what wish, image or interest underlies these activities. You will often find clear links to your current occupation.…

Doesn’t a monk have better things to do than to counsel burnt out professionals?

Look up “Seelsorge” (not sure whether “pastoral care” is the equivalent in English).

Re: How to Find Focus

#29

Post by maverickJ » Fri, Dec 18, 2020, 8:57 PM UTC

Very interesting article.

Focus, especially in our modern society, is a quality/trait that is quite difficult to re discover as adults.I say re discover because I "think" children have more focus than adults.

My hypothesis is that we lose focus as we get older due to the amount of interests and setbacks we get as we grow out of childhood.

What I am trying to say is that we should not find focus but choose our goal/interest and just focus on it.

An interesting article on focus and achieving personal goals is https://leveragethoughts.substack.com/p/set-your-personal-go...

Re: How to Find Focus

#30

Post by rigmarole » Fri, Dec 18, 2020, 8:59 PM UTC

amateurdev wrote: post #11

JesseMReeves wrote: post #9

This reminded me of the following exercise, which I hopefully recite correctly. I’ve first heard it in a podcast with the monk Anselm Grün, who counsels burned out managers in Germany: Think about what you could do for hours as a child. What kept you so interested that time just passed by? Then examine what wish, image or interest underlies these activities. You will often find clear links to your current occupation.…

This is actually good advise! Could you link the podcast episode? I've had a hard time with some of my hobby projects, but now I think my approach could be very different. The ones I've completed have sort of fit the notion 'Im doing it because I want to do it', not because I have to do it.

This sounds similar to exercises in the book "Play it Away" by Charlie Hoehn; a book on recovering from burnout via play. In that book you look back and create a "play history" to find common elements for your recovery approach.