Day 1469 Record Keeping
Day 1440 Fixed Meditation (10 min, vipassana)
Day 1315 Writing (2 13 min Pomodoro)
Day 854 Rowing (15 min/2600 m)
Day 595 Mobility/Stretching (10 min, hip stretch & back smash)
Day 245 Social Media (PAUSED)
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Good sleep. Had a bunch of errands that took all day yesterday, hence the lack of recording.

Testing Cal Newport's Advice

I'm starting to test out some of the protocols Cal Newport advises in his book Deep Work, and today it was really good. The two things I focused on were removing distractions and writing down a detailed to-do list.

Today I tried this by blocking Reddit and Facebook for the duration of work. I also used his method of making a plan right before starting. It's amazing what a difference these small things make.

His writing really underscores the severe problems I have with focusing and working, and what I need to change. I often feel like I don't have enough hours in the day, even though I've been working the entire time. His point is that we often get into this fractured mental state where we just aimlessly check email in front of a computer, and this takes up most of our day.

Rigorously finding where to cut these distractions is the key to work that actually matters. I think he's really on the money.