831 - The Practice of Protected Focus

A few weeks ago, in Episode 827, I talked about attention, distraction, and intentionally subtracting the things that pull me away from what matters most.

But removing external distractions doesn’t solve everything.

I’ve discovered that some of my strongest distractions come from inside my own mind.

A new idea appears.

I remember something I need to do.

I suddenly want to build something in Notion.

And before I know it, I’ve abandoned the very thing I intentionally blocked time to accomplish.

In this episode, I share two simple practices that have dramatically changed how I protect my focused work:

Capture and Return

When an important idea or reminder comes to mind, I capture it quickly without acting on it.

This matters—but not now.

I don’t have to dishonor a good idea in order to honor my current commitment.