The final month of a Life of Focus is themed the Focused Mind. This final month of the course is about using the deep working principles and extra time available from our digital declutter to complete an ultralearning project.
The challenge is to pick a project that you’ve always wanted to do (that can be completed in a month) and apply deep working principles and practices from Scott’s book ultralearning and finish the project in one month.
The lessons this week centred on strategies to kick start our project. Scott took the lead this week with advice on planning, particularly that it isn’t a passive but an active process. Then followed with guidance to overcome the friction that is too often the death of side projects for people. Practical tactics to make your project successful included keeping a progress journal and actively seeking ways to reduce friction.
Cal finished off the week by describing the workshop method. It is a method where you create an environment that harnesses the power of identity as motivation. e.g. having a wood-working workshop, you think of yourself as a woodworker.
This week I managed 12 hours of deep work. I had a big job interview which hijacked many of my scheduled sessions for preparation. I have decided to pause the start of my side project this month as I will hopefully by starting my new job this week and I want to hit the ground sprinting.
Eoghan‘s Blog 