
Ask HN: How do you focus if you work online? - josephjrobison
I have to work on the internet all day because I do independent digital consulting. But the internet is also the most distracting device in history.<p>What are you strategies for staying focused beyond the usual suspects of browser-blocking plugins, Pomodoro, etc?
======
suprjami
Separate browser profiles on separate Linux desktop workspaces. My "work"
workspace has my work email, work calendar, work websites, work terminals,
work files. This is the place where work gets done, no browsing for fun here.
The other workspace has a personal Firefox profile where I can check my own
email or look at Facebook. This is the place where work doesn't get done. Set
yourself times when you're allowed into the personal workspace, maybe over
your lunch hour and a 15 minute break in the morning and afternoon. The rest
of the time, do work.

~~~
e19293001
VirtuaWin[0] makes virtual desktop in windows possible.

[0] [http://virtuawin.sourceforge.net/](http://virtuawin.sourceforge.net/)

------
josho
Go outside and get some fresh air, if that isn't possible step away from your
workstation until you are ready to work.

You'll come back to your desk feeling refreshed and ready to focus.

This practice becomes even better when just prior to returning to your desk
you devise a plan of action for when you sit down. That way you won't be
tempted to sit back down at your desk and check email or see what's new on YC.

~~~
josephjrobison
Definitely agree - after going on a short walk I always wonder why I don't do
it for 5 minutes every hour.

------
stuxnet79
Whenever I need to do work that the boss needs to see asap, somehow I fail to
get distracted by all the usual suspects (e.g. HN). But whenever work is light
or I'm stuck on a bug or something then yes, it is a problem. Look at when and
why you lose focus, and try to fix your issues on a case by case basis. Focus
and attention is a reservoir that is depleted slowly. The more you structure
your habits, to avoid distractions in the first place (to a point where
focusing doesn't require force of will) the better you will get at this. But
it is never ever perfect so don't beat yourself up if you slip.

~~~
josephjrobison
Totally agree that the laser-like focus kicks in when you have a definitive
deadline due, with a boss or colleague waiting on you. Have learned as well
that focus is a reservoir like you said, and that task switching is
cognitively draining.

------
mindslight
A bit tangential, but develop an awareness of how ambient light affects your
concentration on different tasks. Brightness positively kills my desire to
focus on intellectual problems.

------
xyzzy4
You have to work on something that provides so much value to you that you
become obsessed with it.

------
vincentbarr
What I've learned:

Accountability. This can mean sharing with a colleague what you intend to
complete at the start of your day, and then sharing what you actually
completed at the close of the day. It can also mean finding a location where
you feel the risk of your distractions being observed when you begin to
indulge them (e.g. sit next to the CEO of your company; manage your work on a
large, external monitor that's within your team's line of sight).

Sleep. The poorer my sleep habits, the easier it becomes to focus on and
become excited by the _wrong_ things. What's tricky is that you may actually
feel more energized or alert when sleep-deprived, but this is perhaps due to
the extra releases of dopamine that help fuel you through the day, a mechanism
that was once useful in hunter-gatherer days when survival depended on
persisting through fatigue to complete a successful hunt.

Nutrition. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I require all three if I wish to
maintain consistent performance.

------
Mz
Eat right. Exercise. Good sleep hygiene. Etc.

I have a medical condition. So looking to my physical health has long played
an important role in being able to focus. When I can't focus, it often means I
am dehydrated, hungry, running a fever or something like that. I strongly
suspect that when other people complain they just can't concentrate, it
suggests they have some kind of minor health issue, such as an unrecognized
allergy or poor sleep quality for some reason.

When I was in really poor health and had a corporate job, I took a break every
hour on the hour to have a snack, a drink and a bathroom break and try to get
myself pulled together enough to focus. I need less of that these days, but I
still have days when an afternoon break and snack and drink and some caffeine
can help get me going again when I am flagging.

------
hnuser123
I once worked in an environment where such distractions are tightly monitored
by management (they use some sort of tools to track what you browse, plus it's
an open office space where everyone can see what you do). This helped me a lot
in being more focused and stricter to myself. I guess regardless of what tools
you use to block distractions, it's all down to your strong will to resist it.
It helps much more if your task is what you love to do.

------
staunch
The hard part is getting started. Productivity is all about momentum. Blocking
reddit or whatever is distracting you the most can help you from falling in
the procrastination loop.

Start working on something small at first. Tweak a color or whatever to get
started.

------
ljk
\- minimize unnecessary windows

\- install browser plugins that block certain sites for some time. e.g.
leechblock on Firefox can block certain sites for X minutes every X minutes,
similar to the tomato method

\- discipline

------
tinkeredlife
Procrastinate until you have to do your work.

~~~
josephjrobison
That's the current M.O.

------
eecks
Grow up? Sorry to be harsh but I used to be distracted by the internet in
college. Now I can take it or leave it and just focus on my work.

Maybe I feel I have exhausted the internet - social networks don't hold my
attention any longer, digg/reddit sites just annoy me now because the user
bases seem so immature.

~~~
sp332
That's jaded, not mature.

~~~
eecks
Yeah - I didn't mean to imply I was mature.

