We don't need more time, we have plenty of it already. What we need more of is focus, to make our plentiful time count, to make it mean something.

Here's a small & quite possibly useful: brain dump on how I've learned to focus more on what matters & how it's changed my life.

First off, some important things to keep top of mind.

- you have enough time
- you don't have enough focus
- figure out what you want to focus on
- focus on that
- become a master of time

In the 21st century focus is becoming exceedingly rare, & even if one had all the time in the world: if they didn't focus on what matters most to them, time may not feel very well spent in hindsight.

I've come to this realization lately, & been attempting to adopt it daily.

Here's what's worked best for me (& may work for you)

First in order to gain focus you will need to put the distractions away

This was nearly impossible for me at first & I'm still no angel, but the biggest step to saying no to tiktok was having a strong reason not to be on it

I answered this question in terms of where I want to be 1 year from now, setting goals for my:

- business
- health
- relationships
- mind

then i broke all of my goals down into tasks & highlighted all the things I could be doing on a daily basis to push me closer to each goal

turns out there is A LOT i have to get doing, & at first i thought "I have no time to waste!" but... after a week of trying to act each day & scraping by i realized it wasn't a time problem

its a focus problem!

Now having clearly defined tasks I can focus on what matters easier

After you have clearly defined what you want, its a lot harder to direct your focus to mindless tiktoks or other because most of your focus will lay on where you're aiming to go.

Still though, there will a monkey up in your head telling you to "just check social media quick"

this is inevitable, & I still have such a monkey in my head, so i needed another technique to be laser-focused at times in the day where I then can maximize my time to progress on goals.

I found a strategy called deep work in a book I was reading called - "deep work" ...

o i started to try some "deep work" sessions, i first did 25 minutes of concentration on ONE task at a time, my main focus was writing

the first 5 minutes was a little difficult, but after 10-15 minutes something weird happened, i became lost in my writing, i was "in the zone"

I was focused absolutely on the task at hand & time was lost in the milky way to me in those brief but highly productive 25 minutes.

now maybe this is a small exaggeration, its not always like this, but the only time I've felt this is when I'm dialed in; when I'm truly focused.

pairing deep work with strong goals for your future has been amazing for me, I've found that I do have enough time, I just lack a lot of focus.

There have been so many times I can recall not focusing on what matters & using 3-4 hours of my day unfocused.

if I'm focused? I need not much time at all

& now I'm just trying to solve the puzzle of how I can better apply this to my life outside of just my work habits

If you want to come with me for that shot of brain juice when I figure it out then follow me here & check your DM.

Now I've come up with a to-do list for my working habits & deep work that has transformed my focus levels too, & helped me remain focused & intentional about the work I'm tackling

you'll get it free in your welcome email if you signup for my newsletter (link in bio)

Ending recap, in case you scrolled past the entire thread:

- you have enough time
- you don't have enough focus
- figure out what you want to focus on
- focus on that
- become a master of time

--> remember that your time is still finite, you're not immortal <--

focus up✌️&❣️

Mastering Focus: Making Time Count

Today time is plentiful, & it will become more so as robots take over mundane tasks of life (driving)

but what's more scarce, & possibly more important than having time?

F O C U S

Here's a little brain dump on how I've learned to focus more & how it's changed my life.

I did this by defining what I really wanted from life in all areas

"What do I actually want out of life?" - Is now a question i ponder frequently, & you may find at first... it's a tough question.. like drive your brain mad type of tough

answer it anyways, sit with the uncomfy

So i started to try some "deep work" sessions, i first did 25 minutes of concentration on ONE task at a time, my main focus was writing

the first 5 minutes was a little difficult, but after 10-15 minutes something weird happened, i became lost in my writing, i was "in the zone"

if I'm focused? i need not much time at all

& now I'm just trying to solve the puzzle of how I can better apply this to my life outside of just my work habits

If you want to come with me for that shot of brain juice when I figure it out then follow me here & check your DM.

The Power of Focus

There once was a comedian who set a goal to write 1 joke every day.

That comedian is now Jerry Seinfeld: a top comedian of his era & the co-creator of the show you may know as "Seinfeld"

What can you learn from him? His technique for sticking with hard things

Working for me ☑️

This strategy is known as the "Don't-break-the-chain" technique or the "Seinfeld Strategy".

the secret seinfeld strategy first came to the eyes of the general public in 2007, when an article shared a conversation between an aspiring comic &  Seinfeld

Brad Isaac approached Seinfeld asking for tips to be a better comic

the response he got was simple, but it came with the explanation of the don't break the chain technique, which was the real secret sauce

(super powerful sauce incoming)

The jist of the response was this:

The way to become a better comic is to create better jokes -

& the way to create better jokes was to write every day.

-> & how do ensure that you write every day?

Dont. break. the. chain.

This technique is aimed to apply pressure to you every day, so you do the things you need most to do to make forward progress

1st: Get a big yearly calendar. (or use an app)

Every day you do the thing you need to do: mark that day with an X.

"After a few days, you'll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You'll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain." ...

"Don't break the chain," Seinfield adds

Simple enough right?

well yeah, it is pretty simple. but to follow through, that is where some pretty awesome results come from.

after using this for some time i quickly realized how much progress comes from daily effort

how much? well, all of it really.

this technique helped me & a ton of people to get that daily effort in, the rep of something hard, & as a result make progress on our goals

This technique is especially good for hard habits

Going to gym, writing, focused time, building stuff, learning things efficiently, etc.

as pictured above, I've been using it for the better part of 2023, & it really has been "the better part", because it's helped me show up in my hard habits so much more often.

now, how can you use it too? it's really simple...

First: figure out what habit you want to do daily, and align it with a longer-term goal ideally

ex: i want to write a book & also get fitter, so i set my X criteria as: 25 mins deep writing, 20 mins walk/ gym.

then: pick one of the below listed methods of using the technique

Physical applications

#1 Get a yearly calendar and hang it somewhere you see often, every day.

#2 Use a notebook or piece of paper and mark out boxes for each day of the year, then mark Xs as you earn them by the day.

Digital applications

#1 Get a "Don't break the chain" app on your phone, there's lots of them.

#2 Or use something like dontbreakthechain(dot)com, you can make an account and login wherever you have internet on any device.

The Seinfeld Strategy: Sticking with Hard Things

7 questions to ask yourself that will refocus your life (& help you live a better life)

most people are scared to go through these & will put them off.

#1. What do you want out of life?

#2. Why do I want what I want? ( Is it really a "want?" ) - avoid status wants they are empty prophecies.

#3. What are some things I can do every single day to move towards a life containing what I want? (Output Tasks)

#4. What don't I know yet? + #5. How can I find out more? (Filling the gaps)

#6. What am I curious about? + #7. Why don't I follow my curiosity more?

If you spend some time by yourself to introspect on these questions, you will very likely come out with more clarity.

Clarity is priceless (& you'll lose it a lot) - come back to these questions whenever & feel free to adjust your answers.

Your answers are not set in stone.

7 Questions for a Better Life

❌🚨 attention is broken 🚨❌


More time is spent analyzing retention tactics, adding hyper-edited bananas flying across your screen or emojis & less time is spent actually creating cool stuff.


refocus your attention ⤵ (+ some of my ongoing experiments)

First off I'm not saying that putting a focus on keeping someone engaged or watching your content is BAD

I'm more concerned with how it's a race to zero creative outputs from people who make things on the internet from a place of joy & curiosity

Also: Retention ≠ value derived

Analytics are great tools, but they are not a great servitude for creative output or valuable consumption

How long a video is watched (retention) does not equal how much thought or heart was put into it or how much value it gives the viewer

Why is this a race to zero?

For every success of attention captured using over-the-top editing or retention-based editing:

There is someone who turns their head while creating something true to themselves & chooses to optimize for views & retention, this ends up muddling their true creative output.

More eyeballs, more views, more ATTENTION: creating content suddenly become a new game that the only way to win is to capture more eyeballs

before people know they are creating for some ulterior partially useless metric that has no relation to their own motivations.

The race to zero ensues here when everyone is cutting themselves more and more out of the picture for what matters in their content & everyone begins to only focus on the views, the click-through rates, the retention, etc

We lose the juice, the creative flow & we lose the FUN

Not only do we lose the fun, but we also lose a lot of the direct value people are giving in barebones mediums because anything not over edited & published is viewed as naked, under-produced content (or so we think)

when in reality more editing ≠ more value

Example below ⬇

This guy posts 1 video a day and talks about things he finds valuable for personal development, No custom thumbnails (just a clip from the video) & just him talking (no editing either!!)

& guess what? people still click, and people still watch! (I DID!)

So: here's how I'm experimenting with a different way of playing this attention game... (ill go more in-depth in a sec)

Barebones video editing
Simple thumbnails (BW with text, that's is)
Heavy Focus on FUN creation (more writing! less editing!)

Barebones video editing.

I'm cutting back my video editing to taking less than 15 minutes per video.

Simple cuts & trims, adding in an outro, & the same 10 sec music riser of a soundtrack I enjoy to start the vid.

this opens up me more time for writing + things i get lost in.

Simple thumbnails

thumbnail creation is something I don't really want to spend nearly as much time on as I do: & I think there's a simpler way for my content to play this game of clicks

Especially since my vids are idea based

See New thumbs on top, old on bottom.

Heavy Focus on fun creation

when you turn creating things into a task you must do to earn a reward, for me its writing, then the task loses its fun edge

its now strictly biz & suddenly enough you're lost in the retention mechanism.

I'll be taking more time now to THINK & enjoy

I'll be doing this mostly as a byproduct of the prior experiments, as this frees up a lot of time & mental bandwidth for the ideas I want to ponder & think about more. then I can create more thoughtful & true things for myself.

This is where my fire comes from, not retention.

Finally I ask you, as a creator & consumer (we're all both)

To think about where your attention is drawn & where you lead others:

Are these areas the areas you want to improve on or do they bring you value in your life? Or are you caught in a hamster wheel?

one last quote from a cool dude on Twitter before you go

"Focus on what you want to see more of" - @visakanv

The Broken Attention Economy

We're in a race to zero for your attention 🏁

More time is spent analyzing retention tactics, adding hyper-edited bananas flying across your screen

& less time is spent just documenting or creating.

Here's why it matters & how I'm experimenting to find a better race:

The Race to Zero: Attention vs. Creativity

how to *actually* live in a friked world

step 1: stop trying.

step 2: if you're going to optimize for anything, optimize for freedom & not money.

freedom is a balanced life path to *enough* money eventually anyways.


step 3: figure out what you want out of life by asking yourself.

With no aim or dream, you will end up chipping away at someone else's.

step 4: savor the slivers of happiness & joy you find in your day, they are sacred.

step 5: formulate answers to the following questions

Do you spend more time working than you do living?
Is your form of living really just a form of work?

Do your answers to the above align with What you want out of life?

step 6: realize that you cannot mess up existing, as you exist right here & now without trying to.

& also realize: this entire thread is me, a 23-year-old kid in my mom's basement, just trying to figure out life like the rest of us: while aiming for freedom above all.

How to Live in a F*cked World

growing up the north star to living a "good life" is by default set to money

although money can bring you things that are worthwhile more stability in your life etc

I think there is a better north star for life, & it's the one I'm optimizing for.

Freedom.

Optimize for FREEDOM.

Money grants a certain level of freedom: yes, this is absolutely true

but

As a north star: Optimizing for freedom is better than money

This brings you: more money in the long run AND most notably: a better overall life. (who wouldn't want that)

Freedom allows you to control what you work on.

If you control what you work on then you can work on what you love.

If you love it you will do it for a long time.

If you do it for a long time you will get really good at it.

Money will come as a result.

-Sam Zell

On another note it only takes anyone 2 minutes of watching the Kardashians to realize how money does not = happiness.

often times it actually means more drudgery: When you're sad people look at you & think "how could you be sad look at all the nice things you have"

⬇

If money is earned through doing work one enjoys, work that comes from optimizing for freedom, then money is not the end all be all, it is a byproduct of someone's freedom.

On top of all of this optimizing for freedom offers more benefits too than you may think:

https://twitter.com/p_millerd/status/1667551119176790016

Different people will optimize for different things: money is the auto start most are put onto

But realizing you can pick up your boots (or socks, or sandals (or both)) & choose to optimize your life around something more important to YOU than money, this is a very surreal feel

when someone creates something beautiful it often comes from this place of optimizing for not only money, but something greater than that

People exercise creativity for the sake of it, making new discoveries about the world & themselves,

Practically too: someone optimizing to live a better more free life is more likely to achieve it than someone focused, head down at making more money at all costs

Freedom optimizersss also tend to have more time & energy in relationships & friendships (they know what they want)

At the end of the day having a north star that is really just what YOU want out of life is probably the most important.

& Deeming freedom that thing is a great start to answer the deep dark questions most won't bother to ask all their lives.

Optimize for Freedom, Not Money

converging my business mind with my creative mind is a single thing

email

boring. old. electronic - mail.

Was feeling low the other day about income past 2 months but then realized what I've been growing towards is such a better outcome long term.

The long term being...

A more creative & desirable way to make a living (& scale it) on the internet.

For me, this means having a routine of focusing on writing & learning each day, & remain in control of my time so I may spend it working on the things that fuel my soul + be with people I love.

Funny enough: email is what solves a lot of my internal "Stressors" or blockers that have stopped me from being able to pursue this in the most ideal way.

Not that it will be any easier, but having clarity is helpful (very)

on top of this, I'm turning my weekly emails into a book of sorts, one day my mind just clicked with many things, prior to: i was lost, then in a moment: i was no longer.

realizing these things last night on a moment of introspection i tweeted the below tweet

https://twitter.com/jackfriks/status/1667027252242968576

if you want to join me on my ride, & possibly expand the freedom in your life or make it better:

then join 300+ readers by clicking below
frikit.net/subscribe

Converging Business and Creativity for Long-Term Success

The games society promotes currently are all about money

Making more, spending more & having a bunch locked away

Because of this most are heavily focused on more money rather than more freedom money can provide

- or what levels of freedom one can reach without money altogether

The money game persists one to work on things to make more money to get more of it

However, I believe this is NOT the most profitable route in terms of earning more money or overall life enjoyment

Freedom is more profitable in both areas over the long term.

& long term games are king...

Here's Naval on the subject,

 & next, I'll tell you how freedom plays into a better long-term game than money. (+ leads to more money)

https://twitter.com/naval/status/1109704032204009473?lang=en

Long-term Freedom

"Freedom allows you to control what you work on

If you control what you work on then you can work on what you love

If you love it you'll do it for a long time

If you do it for a long time you will get really good at it

Money will come as a result" -Sam Zell

If you have a day job I'm not telling you to quit it or make an impulse decision

I'm telling anyone reading this why they might want to consider (very seriously) optimizing their lives for FREEDOM first, & cash second.

freedom aimed is playing the game of life in a better way

getting control of what you work on is also only half the battle here, after which you'll have to figure out how to figure out what you work on for a long time.

My answer is: Explore your genuine curiosities

Here's a thread on that


https://twitter.com/jackfriks/status/1655298105850613762