Dave Kadavy

In my humble opinion, a set of people here have this "no focus problem." (depending on my form on the day - me included). One can see it more positively as Too Many Aptitudes problem, which gives it a significantly better viewpoint, as elaborated here [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1486708]. Actually, I think the previous #1 article [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5616786] reflects this by reaching #1 on HN!

You all are smart people. Else these essays/articles wouldn't exist!

But, as edw519 pointed out:

The single most important thing I do to "achieve laser focus
and concentration" is to work in such a way that I don't need
"laser focus and concentration" to get my work done.

This has to be done the night before.

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5550366]

David Kadavy wrote about his related approach here [http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/mind-management-intro] what was reposted a few days ago, as far as I remember. I really like this viewpoint. Take note of David's words, especially:

If you can’t meditate for 2 minutes, you have bigger problems than being “too busy.”

There is a significant difference between being dispersed and having a disease.

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edit: format

There are a bunch of distraction-free writing devices, from the BYOK to the Freewrite. They range for $100 - $500.

List here: https://kadavy.net/distraction-free-writing-devices/

To me, YAGNI.

Let me suggest two cheaper alternatives (battletested by me):

1. Fountain pen and a nice notebook with nice paper (Mnemosyne, or Rhodia)

2. A foldable Bluetooth butterfly keyboard ($43 on Amazon) paired to an old tablet (I have an old iPad Air 2) with Wifi turned off and no apps except a writing app. Google Docs works in offline mode! (this is what I use in cafes when I’m traveling). I recommend a Samsers keyboard. This is what I have:

https://a.co/d/3kIJZsv

I love good typography and I just can’t with these distraction free devices. The iPad Air 2 has a retina screen that displays beautiful typography.

Forget e-ink devices — they might sound like a good idea at first, but their refresh rate is slow enough to be annoying.

If you don’t need portability, an old DOS PC running Wordstar or WordPerfect is also distraction free. I used to write long articles for my school newsletter using nothing but Wordstar.

http://www.softwarebyrob.com/2010/08/18/why-free-plans-dont-work/

http://web.stonehill.edu/compsci/History_Math/math-read.htm

http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2007/06/rich-programmer-food.html

http://tom.preston-werner.com/2010/08/23/readme-driven-development.html

http://www.defmacro.org/ramblings/latex.html

http://encosia.com/2010/08/18/dont-let-jquerys-document-ready-slow-you-down/

http://symkat.com/35/ssh-tips-and-tricks-you-need/

http://pieratt.tumblr.com/post/977179815/in-praise-of-quitting-your-job

http://www.kadavy.net/blog/posts/design-for-hackers-why-you-dont-use-garamond-on-the-web/

http://alexisohanian.com/keep-calm-carry-on-what-you-didnt-know-about

I got really excited about something similar, in 2011, when I read this post about the DIY-MBA movement: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/i-started-a-diy-mba-group-youre-not-invited/

I haven't done it yet, but I am still contemplating the idea. One of the biggest problems that can arise with not actually attending a university in person is the lack of relationship and teamwork education. That can be partially mitigated via videoconferencing and online team projects, but it's not the same as being in an office and leading a group of individuals in person. One of these years I'm going to actually have time to do this....

I started a new podcast called "Love Your Work." I'm trying to make it free of posturing about "killing it" and such – just people who have defined success for themselves.

My first episode was an in-person interview with Jason Fried, and was a real honor. He just spews brilliance – very easy to interview: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/jason-fried-basecamp/

Another popular interview is with a neuroscience who studies insightful thinking: http://kadavy.net/blog/posts/love-your-work-episode-8-creating-aha-moments-with-neuroscientist-dr-john-kounios/

I read "I'm starting my own MBA reading club and you're not invited" [ http://www.kadavy.net/blog/posts/i-started-a-diy-mba-group-youre-not-invited/] and that's where I got the idea from. Do it locally, face-to-face discussion over a lunch every X weeks.

Invite local business owners to come and speak so you're building relationships between the group and the outside business community.

I hadn't considered a remote group, meet over Skype, or just via forum. If you're interested, shoot me an email and we'll go from there.