Hey friends,

Hope you had a good weekend.

Here’s this week’s 1 Doodle · 1 Do · 1 Direction.

1 Doodle

We are living in a distracted world, and screens are everywhere, squeezing out our attention. We have them on our wrists, in our pockets, on the walls, and on our desks. This makes focusing difficult because we are always just seconds away from something that can distract us.

Comparing this situation to the past, there was a time when doing a job primarily involved physical activity. When office jobs started becoming the norm, people understood the need for a physical gym. This new situation required a new solution.

Now that we live in a highly distracted world, which is a shift that really accelerated after the year 2000, we need a focus gym. Just as we need a physical gym for our bodies, a focus gym is a place we can go to regulate our attention and improve our focus.

This week’s doodle shows the four steps to doing exactly that, using the analogy of building our focus like building a wall:

1. Go to a new place: Head to a new environment so your mind has no prior activities associated with it. Use this new place as your personal focus gym.

2. Read a physical book: Take a real, physical book with you, meaning no iPads or Kindles allowed!

3. Write a summary of it: Take action by writing down a summary of the chapter you read in your own words.

4. Rest without your phone: Disconnect completely and take a break, like going for a walk without your phone.

Treat this practice just like going to a regular gym. For example, I do it three times a week.

1 Do

Just try one Focus Gym session this week! 😊

1 Direction

In this Focus Gym practice, where you keep your phone or any other devices (like a laptop or smartwatch that takes calls) is incredibly important. I prefer to leave my phone at home. However, if you need it to navigate using maps, you can keep the phone in your car, just hide it away somewhere out of sight.

I would love to hear from you if you try this out! Let me know how this Focus Gym worked or didn't work for you.

That’s all for this week.

Warmly,

- Ehsan /a-🌞/

P.S. If this newsletter made you think of someone, feel free to forward it to them. They can read all past newsletters here and subscribe if they like.

P.P.S. I recently made a video on My $15 Pocket Note-Taking Setup. You can watch it here.

P.P.P.S. Feel free to reply and say hi. I always enjoy hearing from readers.

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