I love these tips. As an independent consultant, I've struggled with the sense that I might miss an inquiry requiring a rapid response, but in the last year+ that I've avoided phone-based email I've only had one small project that I wasn't able to respond to in time. I could still do (much) better at focusing; when on my computer I tend to notice when I get a message and engage too soon.
I've also started having the conversation about communication norms explicitly with clients up-front: "Part of the value that I bring and how I keep my rates reasonable is that you are only paying for focused, productive time on your project. You don't pay for my lunch break, bathroom break, or when I have to take a break to let the plumber in and show her which sink needs unclogging. The corollary of that is that it may take me a little longer to respond, as I may be in meetings with other clients or otherwise unable to respond immediately. If you want to reserve specific time as "on-call" where I commit to being completely available to you, we can talk about that as an add-on." So far no one's opted for the add-on, and it's made me feel more confident managing my schedule better, rather than grappling with guilt over my "slow responses."
Hey Jacob, this a great strategy! I think that conveys respect both for your own time and focus and for your clients all at once. Thanks for sharing this; I'm guessing it'll provide ideas for others who peruse these comments.
This was fascinating, David. As a classical pianist who grew up practicing for 4+ hours a day, I've been shocked to see my attention span shrink over the past 10 years.
Some of the things I've been doing to keep it from falling to that scary 47-second average:
- I never check email on my phone.
- I have a rule: input before output (or create before consume). That means no email or social media in the morning before writing.
- I use Readwise to save articles to read later, in the evening. Half the time, I find I'm not that interested to read them after all.
- Batching random info searches. Instead of looking things up as soon as I think them ("does whole cream break a fast?"), I keep a scratch pad at my desk and write down the questions I'm curious to know and schedule a time to look them up.
- I've had success using an app like Focusmate to have the accountability of someone sitting on the other side of the screen while I work on a specific task.
Renita, thanks for this thoughtful and funny and insightful comment. I have that same Readwise habit! At this point, I often save articles basically knowing that I'm going to forget about them, but because it satisfies some urge I have just to put them somewhere so that I can move on. ...Your "break a fast" note made me smile. That's really funny, but also very true. I'm also moving toward batching everything. And I'm interested to hear that you've tried Focusmate. I haven't tried it, but I'm intrigued. So you find it helpful? ...the one point we differ on: some days now I only check email on my phone (still batched), because I can't respond to many there and if I do it has to be brief. It's an experiment...jury is still out.
Batching, saving for later, it’s all about impulse control, isn’t it! Re focus mate, it’s quite fascinating how powerful just knowing you’re “accountable” to someone can be. And even if they don’t know you’re there: Look at the popularity of “study with me” videos on YouTube …
Thanks for this post—I wanted to watch the event in real time but wasn’t able to, so I really appreciate the link and the summary.
Re your point about turning off notifications, I strongly agree with this approach. The only ones I get in real time are for space station passes, for the obvious reason.
I turned off all my notifications on my email and teams a while ago and now I genuinely don't know how people work with them on. Especially when they pop up in a window and/or make a noise. Absolutely maddening!
Thank for these takeaways, I find I have to continually remind myself that just because something wants my attention, doesn't mean it should get it! With the possible exceptions of my husband and toddler!
Caroline, I totally agree with you. The last time I had a normal job, I was on the group slack for like an hour and decided I would never get anything done again if I stayed on there. I understand that it was a crucial tool for some people, but it would've been a disaster for me. ...Also, I like that you qualified your husband and toddler as "possible" exceptions;)
Just wanted to jump in to say that it's 1 week later and I still find the statistics around the number of interruptions to be staggering, whether it's the average of 77 times checking email, or that one employee who switched apps over 1,000 times throughout the day. Also, it was a really helpful way to end the talk to list all your switches. It was like a lightning round of practical implications.
Hey Matt, I'm just reading Cal's new book so I can chat with him, and he mentions a different study that reports an email check every six minutes. So sounds like about the same ballpark potentially for a day. And thanks for that feedback on the end of the Q&A! I hadn't done that before, so really helpful to know how it went over.
Heart rate. I wonder what’s the relationship between managing attention and managing our body‘s activation. 🤔
I have a post trauma disorder, where your body’s activation can quickly go to extreme stress levels (fight/flight) or to the other end (shutdown). In the trauma program I was shown how to find/use a calming imaginative scene. They measured our vital signs weekly, so I did experiments.
Week 1: Imagine trauma scene. Measure heart rate. 20 seconds to imagine my botanical gardens tropical house scene. Measure again. High low. Week 2: The reverse order. Low high.
I love these tips. As an independent consultant, I've struggled with the sense that I might miss an inquiry requiring a rapid response, but in the last year+ that I've avoided phone-based email I've only had one small project that I wasn't able to respond to in time. I could still do (much) better at focusing; when on my computer I tend to notice when I get a message and engage too soon.
I've also started having the conversation about communication norms explicitly with clients up-front: "Part of the value that I bring and how I keep my rates reasonable is that you are only paying for focused, productive time on your project. You don't pay for my lunch break, bathroom break, or when I have to take a break to let the plumber in and show her which sink needs unclogging. The corollary of that is that it may take me a little longer to respond, as I may be in meetings with other clients or otherwise unable to respond immediately. If you want to reserve specific time as "on-call" where I commit to being completely available to you, we can talk about that as an add-on." So far no one's opted for the add-on, and it's made me feel more confident managing my schedule better, rather than grappling with guilt over my "slow responses."
Hey Jacob, this a great strategy! I think that conveys respect both for your own time and focus and for your clients all at once. Thanks for sharing this; I'm guessing it'll provide ideas for others who peruse these comments.
This was fascinating, David. As a classical pianist who grew up practicing for 4+ hours a day, I've been shocked to see my attention span shrink over the past 10 years.
Some of the things I've been doing to keep it from falling to that scary 47-second average:
- I never check email on my phone.
- I have a rule: input before output (or create before consume). That means no email or social media in the morning before writing.
- I use Readwise to save articles to read later, in the evening. Half the time, I find I'm not that interested to read them after all.
- Batching random info searches. Instead of looking things up as soon as I think them ("does whole cream break a fast?"), I keep a scratch pad at my desk and write down the questions I'm curious to know and schedule a time to look them up.
- I've had success using an app like Focusmate to have the accountability of someone sitting on the other side of the screen while I work on a specific task.
Renita, thanks for this thoughtful and funny and insightful comment. I have that same Readwise habit! At this point, I often save articles basically knowing that I'm going to forget about them, but because it satisfies some urge I have just to put them somewhere so that I can move on. ...Your "break a fast" note made me smile. That's really funny, but also very true. I'm also moving toward batching everything. And I'm interested to hear that you've tried Focusmate. I haven't tried it, but I'm intrigued. So you find it helpful? ...the one point we differ on: some days now I only check email on my phone (still batched), because I can't respond to many there and if I do it has to be brief. It's an experiment...jury is still out.
Batching, saving for later, it’s all about impulse control, isn’t it! Re focus mate, it’s quite fascinating how powerful just knowing you’re “accountable” to someone can be. And even if they don’t know you’re there: Look at the popularity of “study with me” videos on YouTube …
I loved your create before consume rule. Will try to practice it. Thanks.
seconded
Thanks for this post—I wanted to watch the event in real time but wasn’t able to, so I really appreciate the link and the summary.
Re your point about turning off notifications, I strongly agree with this approach. The only ones I get in real time are for space station passes, for the obvious reason.
haha...I love it. You are a distraction-prioritizer after my own heart.
I turned off all my notifications on my email and teams a while ago and now I genuinely don't know how people work with them on. Especially when they pop up in a window and/or make a noise. Absolutely maddening!
Thank for these takeaways, I find I have to continually remind myself that just because something wants my attention, doesn't mean it should get it! With the possible exceptions of my husband and toddler!
Caroline, I totally agree with you. The last time I had a normal job, I was on the group slack for like an hour and decided I would never get anything done again if I stayed on there. I understand that it was a crucial tool for some people, but it would've been a disaster for me. ...Also, I like that you qualified your husband and toddler as "possible" exceptions;)
Thanks for sharing. PS Range has really made me think differently about my career. It is a great resource.
Just wanted to jump in to say that it's 1 week later and I still find the statistics around the number of interruptions to be staggering, whether it's the average of 77 times checking email, or that one employee who switched apps over 1,000 times throughout the day. Also, it was a really helpful way to end the talk to list all your switches. It was like a lightning round of practical implications.
Hey Matt, I'm just reading Cal's new book so I can chat with him, and he mentions a different study that reports an email check every six minutes. So sounds like about the same ballpark potentially for a day. And thanks for that feedback on the end of the Q&A! I hadn't done that before, so really helpful to know how it went over.
He finally hooked you up with the advance copy! Love to hear that. From what I've heard of him talking about it on podcasts, I'm excited to read it.
Heart rate. I wonder what’s the relationship between managing attention and managing our body‘s activation. 🤔
I have a post trauma disorder, where your body’s activation can quickly go to extreme stress levels (fight/flight) or to the other end (shutdown). In the trauma program I was shown how to find/use a calming imaginative scene. They measured our vital signs weekly, so I did experiments.
Week 1: Imagine trauma scene. Measure heart rate. 20 seconds to imagine my botanical gardens tropical house scene. Measure again. High low. Week 2: The reverse order. Low high.