I love being in the zone.  Head down, totally immersed, no concept of time passing and any interruption a nuisance.  I’m focused, engaged.  It feels good.
I hate being outside the zone.  Looking around, bored, time at a stand-still, and praying for interruptions.  I’m going through the motions, distracted, uninterested.  It feels bad.
So what does it take to be in the zone?
It has very little to do with the actual task at hand and all to do with the meaning you associate with the task.  It has to do with your …

Many years ago while in the middle of a mid-life crisis (I had them often in my early twenties), I decided to make a list.   The List.  It was essentially a to-do list on steroids.  Nowadays they come with pictures and are called vision boards.  But back then, I didn’t quite have that terminology available to me, so it was just A To-Do List.
It did, however, have an interesting characteristic.  It had something from all facets of my life.  “Get MBA” and “Write the great Somali novel” were listed right …

I love timers.  Something about knowing there is a finite number of minutes left appeals to my fickle inner child.  So, what can you do with a timer?
Fight procrastination: The procrastinators 10+2 hack from 43 Folders recommends setting your timer on a 10 + 2 round.  You work for 10 minutes, goof off for 2 minutes.
Boost productivity: Set the timer for a 15 or 30 minutes to focus on a task and commit to it completely till the timer goes off.  You’re only committing for 15 minutes.  Totally doable.  This …