Well, it’s been a minute since I posted here, and although I was very busy at the end of the spring semester (I’m a full-time college professor and mother of two teenagers), I honestly can’t say that I don’t have the time to write, because I spend an inordinate amount of time WASTING my time. Although I successfully quit and deleted Facebook and Instagram in 2019, and haven’t looked at Twitter/X in over a year (I NEVER got into Tik Tok), I’m still hopelessly addicted to doomscrolling on Reddit. After getting into Cal Newport’s books and videos and exploring the concept of Deep Work, I’ve decided to work on improving my ability to focus.
Here are some tips adapted from several sources. I will be putting this into practice over the next month (includuing going cold turkey from reading Reddit) and will check back in on how it’s working for me.
- Improve the QUALITY and reduce the quantity of information you consume (instead of getting your news from social media sites):
- Daily: Have one daily or even weekly “news roundup” source such as a newsletter, news podcast, or physical newspaper (daily or weekly)
- Monthly: Read 3-5 long-form magazine articles (New Yorker, etc.)
- Yearly: Read books about topics that interest you
2. Increase your comfort level with boredom:
- Practice driving, walking, running errands, and doing chores with your phone or without external stimulation (listening to music and podcasts).
3. Cultivate your ability to pay attention
- Use a timer or stopwatch to practice interval training (increasing the amount of time you are able to focus on a single target)
4. Create specific environments and rituals to help you get into deep work focus mode (a place to write, to read, to work difficult tasks).
6. Practice being an intellectual (seek out nuance and uncertainty)
- Pair primary and secondary sources (More on this soon! I’m thinking of making a video about this concept).
ELA Source 
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