
Macro-mind thinking - HNLurker2
https://consciouscompanymedia.com/personal-development/macro-mind-thinking/
======
thesunny
Switching context from, for example, focusing on a specific programming
problem to taking a macro view about what you should be doing next in business
can be challenging.

Over about ten years, I've come to a solution that works for me. My context is
that I'm working on a startup. It's my third and I've had success previous
ones (millions of dollars in annual revenue though not billions).

\- Every morning, I spend 25 minutes outside my office to plan my day which
includes asking questions about what I should be working on that brings value.
Because it's the first thing I'm doing, I start with a clear mind. Once I know
why and what I should be doing, it's pretty easy to get into focusing. The
reverse is harder to do.

\- Once a month, I take a day off outside the office to focus on strategy. I
stay in a hotel though I recognize not everybody has the budget for it. Took a
while to figure out this worked. I originally started with the idea of doing
it when I think I needed it. Problem is that when you feel under pressure to
complete something, is when you don't want to take the day to clear your mind
and strategize but is precisely the thing that helps the most.

\- Still trying to figure out the best for this, but 2-4 times a year I'll
spend 3-5 days on big picture strategy.

It took a long while to have the discipline to take the time to clear my mind
and strategize. The idea of I'll take it when I need it didn't work well but
scheduling it did.

Eventually, I realized that not wanting to spend time to clear my mind and
strategize is a signal that I should be doing precisely that. It's helped to
force me to take the time.

That said, I don't think it's necessary to force oneself to do this as a hard
rule. I do break the guidelines under situations, but when it becomes
extended, it's a sign to take the time.

------
rmah
In the text, the author writes "Don’t get me wrong. Focus is important, and
it’s worth developing this capacity". But titled the article "Stop Trying to
Focus". Am I the only one to be annoyed with this sort sort of click bait?

~~~
michaelcampbell
Especially after just having read "Deep Work" by Cal Newport.

------
whalesalad
How ironic that a post created to help you be more productive is riddled with
ads, social links, a subscribe bar, a register for an upcoming event bar,
etc...

It’s tough for me to ever take content from a website like this seriously.

~~~
antonvs
> It’s tough for me to ever take content from a website like this seriously.

No need to worry, the content itself is hard to take seriously.

> "Do nothing: This is the advanced practice, the double-black diamond
> approach to developing the macro-mind."

Ah yes, double-black diamond, can't go wrong with that now can you?

Why do people (a) post something like this here and (b) upvote it? It implies
a serious lack of critical thinking.

------
ljm
I didn’t care to read all of this because by BS sensor tingled and it can all
be summed up in a word: holism.

You can be intensely focussed with a holistic mindset in the exact same way
you can be intensely focussed with a diagnostic mindset. It’s not about being
closed or open minded (macro/micro mind being synonymous).

You can focus on the whole or you can drill down to one of the parts. The
focus in both cases is equal, you just have different objectives in mind.

You’re either looking at all of it, or looking at some of it.

------
wonjohnchoi
I think this article touches a topic that exists under many names in different
circumstances: micro vs macro, depth vs breadth, specialist vs generalist,
etc.

This topic surfaces in various situations and with different granularities in
life. Some examples:

\- should I just do B.S. in CS, or should I also do PhD to go deeper?

\- should I just focus on my interest in CS (study CS and develop career), or
also spend some time to expand my interests in other areas of life (friends,
fashion, tv shows/movies, video games, languages, poker, dancing, drinking,
politics, history, etc)

\- should I continue focusing on one component of the company I am currently
in, or should I try to understand everything?

\- should I continue seeking more success in life at the cost of some
sacrifices, or should I eventually stop and focus on being a good father?

\- should I mostly explore and be happy with myself (introvert)? should I also
explore and find joys with others (extrovert)?

These are some of questions I had to answer for myself. When I was younger, my
answers used to be very polarized to one side. As I gain more life
experiences, I realized that the answers for these kind of questions usually
lie somewhere in between. It's important to explore where one's fine balances
between extremes lie. I am happy that I found a set of balances that seem to
work for me.

------
DonHopkins
Isn't it now called "Adobe Thinking"?

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacroMind](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacroMind)

    
    
        MacroMind
    
        Industry:     Software
        Fate:         Merged with Paracomp
        Successors:   MacroMind-Paracomp (1991)
                      Macromedia (1992-2005)
                      Adobe (2005-present)
        Founded:      1984; 35 years ago in Chicago, Illinois, United States
        Founders:     Marc Canter
                      Jay Fenton
                      Mark Stephen Pierce
        Headquarters: San Francisco, California, United States
        Products:     MusicWorks, VideoWorks, Art Grabber / Body Shop,
                      Comic Works / Graphc Works, MazeWars+, Director, 
                      Three-D, MacroModel, Fireworks, Mouse Practice

------
rationalfaith
If this isn't fluff, then I don't know what is. The usual run of the mill, new
byte sized words and overcomplicating simple concepts that most of us
inherently do.

Of course, the author is a consultant in corporate "well being". Nothing bad
initially but when it's fluff.... nay!

------
rdiddly
A long time ago somebody told me and I sort of agree, that the smartest people
have no problem shifting between the two perspectives. I don't remember too
well, but he may have even gone so far as to define or distinguish smart
people by this criterion. (Not sure whether I agree with that part.)

------
haydn3
Man I really hate all the crap websites like this put on their page these
days. What's wrong with reading the article as the first thing you see?
Scroll-throughs and clickables and cookies oh my.

------
jbverschoor
Focus != perspective

Not in productivity. Not in photography

