On Focus
Through most of my career as an entrepreneur, my mornings have always been devoted to checking email. This has always seemed like a good way to dive into the day. But recently, I’ve come to the conclusion that this behavior is actually quite poor for productivity. Not because there’s anything wrong with checking email - it certainly needs to be done at some point (or many points) each day. No, the reason why I prefer to do things differently now is that I think a morning email-check starts you off at the wrong level of detail.
Email tends to be very zoomed in. Little notes, FYIs, and requests related to stuff you’ve already done, or may do in the future. But one of the biggest impediments to productivity is getting too caught up in the details, and thus missing out on the big picture.
There are always an infinite number of details, and you can run yourself ragged trying to keep up with them all. It’s easy to do so, because all of these details tend to be so demanding. They sit on a todo list looking terribly not-done, or worse yet, they come in attached to subtly demanding emails from your coworkers, clients, or partners.
The start of the day is a perfect time to look at the big picture. You’re rested, and your head is clear, since it’s been 12 hours or so since you last thought about work. The whole day is ahead of you, full of promise and potential. Now’s the time to ask: what is the absolute most valuable way I could spend the next eight hours?
I’ve been amazed at the insights this produces. I’m more productive - not from doing more work, but from working on things that matter more. Humans tend to get caught up in the details so easily. Once caught up, we rarely stop to question the comparative value of this here vs. anything else you could be doing with your time and energy. But the opportunity cost of that energy may be huge. Morning is a great time to stop and think about this; it’s the one time of day that you’re not already wrapped up in something.
Not surprisingly, I’m not the first to have this insight. Getting Things Done recommends setting aside two hours each week to look at the “50,000 foot view”, or the really big picture. This is one of those “But I don’t have time for that!” → “You don’t have time not to” things. My complaint with the specific method suggested by GTD - doing this review late on a Friday - is that you don’t want to think about the big picture much then. The events of the week are still fresh in your brain, demanding your attention. I find it much more effective to think about this at a time when I’m more distant from the details.