TheFocus.Quest

Always Something to Do

Opening the computer before deciding what to do is a dangerous thing. Decide first; then take tools out.

When working on something physical, one gets the tools out only when the thing to be done has been decided:

  1. I decide to build a stool.
  2. I get the saw out to cut some wood.

Not the other way around. Getting the saw out just because, without prior decision, would be strange.

That is, however, what sometimes happens with the computer: it's a tool so versatile that it's tempting to open it to decide what to work on. Before I notice, hours went by an I jumped from one (very interesting) piece of content to the next, half-learned some random bits of technical skills, and had a few scattered conversations, with little real progress to show in the projects that I actually care about.

So: decide what to do first, with minimal use of the computer. Only when (if!) the computer is needed, open it, close distractions, and focus on the task.