Live Uncomfortably

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If you had no TV in your house, what would you do? If you had only healthy foods in your cabinet and refrigerator, what would you eat?

Steve Jobs wears the same outfit - a black mock turtle neck and jeans - pretty much everyday. Do you think he spends a lot of his time in the mirror every morning trying to figure out what to wear. Of course not. He’s got more important things on his mind - like creating simple, user-friendly computers.

There are a lot of things out there to distract us from our desired goals. There are more outlets for entertainment and diversion than ever before. And, those outlets are getting better and better at giving us exactly what we want, so it’s easier to steal our attention away from the most important tasks.

Control The Environment

It is much easier to control your environment than your behavior. If Steve Jobs had a ton of outfits in his closet, he’d probably spend a lot of time searching for the perfect match. But he doesn’t, he’s limited his choices.

There will be always be little distractions and obstacles that we have to overcome with will power, but you’ll make it a lot easier on yourself by avoiding them all together. An alcoholic should definitely not hang out in bars for example.

Rather than trying to discipline myself, I’m making it more difficult to get distracted. If the options don’t exist (or they’re harder to find), it’ll be much easier to stick to what’s important.

My Work Space

Here is a picture of my current workspace.

It’s the most minimalist work space I’ve ever had. There’s not a lot to distract me from focusing on the computer.

My Computer Desktop

Here’s a screen grab of my current desktop.

I’ve eliminated all folders besides my two most important projects at the moment. I’ve also limited what applications I can easily open. Now, I typically only open programs I really need at the moment. There’s no mindless wandering.

These simple actions have significantly reduced the amount of ‘wasted time’ I’ve had in front of my computer this week.

Here are some great ways to cut work distractions, making you more efficient, and giving you more time to get to all the important things you want in life.

- Un-clutter your desktop
- Un-clutter your computer desktop
- No RSS Feed
- No Bookmarks
- Only 1 tab at a time while browsing.
- Check email 1 time a day (I’m not there yet)

Stop worrying about your behavior. Worry about your environment, where it’s possible, and the rest will fall into place.