One small, concrete step a day. No app to install, no 5 a.m. alarm. By day seven you will know where your attention goes, and what actually brings it back.
Each day builds on the one before: first you see where your focus leaks, then you plug the biggest leak, then you practise focused work in blocks that grow a little at a time. Tick off each day as you go — your progress stays on this device.
Miss a day? Do it tomorrow. The challenge is seven steps, not seven consecutive days.
You cannot fix attention you cannot see. Most people underestimate how often they switch away from their work, because each switch feels tiny.
TodayKeep a tally on paper today: one mark every time you switch away from what you meant to be doing — phone, email, a new tab. No judgement, just count.
See what your number costs youRemoving a temptation beats resisting it a hundred times a day. Subtraction works faster than motivation.
TodayPick the biggest culprit from yesterday's tally and remove it for one work block: phone in another room, notifications off, or the app logged out.
Why distraction is designed inFocus is a muscle. Start with a weight you can actually lift, and finish it.
TodayChoose one task, close everything else, and do one full 25-minute Pomodoro on it. When it rings, take a real 5-minute break away from the screen.
Open the Pomodoro timerDeciding what to do is a task in itself. Doing it the evening before means the morning starts with action, not deliberation.
TodayBefore you finish today, write down tomorrow's single most important task and its very first concrete step. Leave it on your desk.
What "eat the frog" meansOnce one block feels manageable, the next step is stamina — and taking the break properly is half of it.
TodayDo two focus blocks on your most important task, with a real break between them. Use 25 or 50 minutes, whichever feels right.
Find your intervalShallow work expands into every gap you leave it. Giving it a fixed window keeps it from eating your focus time.
TodayCheck email and messages only at two fixed times today — for example 11:30 and 16:30. Outside those windows, they stay closed.
Deep vs shallow workA week of experiments only sticks if you decide what to keep. Small, kept changes beat a perfect plan you abandon.
TodayLook back at the week. Which day helped most? Pick the one or two practices you will keep, and put them in next week's calendar.
Building focus that lastsAll seven done. Keep the one or two that helped most. ✓