Hello, fellow tinkerer 👋 -

Happy Wednesday. I saw this Year Progress bar on Threads this week and thought, "That can't be right..." But it is.

1) Reflection:

I've been thinking a lot about things that "grab my attention." I'm frequently the victim of Shiny Object Syndrome. I see something new, and I want to try it right that moment (hence, I never run out of ideas for this newsletter 😆).

But I also recognize that distraction comes at a cost. I have bigger projects I want to work on. When I spend time on small things, it takes away from bigger things.

If you're also a person who loves trying new things and knows that constantly trying new things can be problematic... reply back and let me know if anything helps you curb the constant curiosity!

2) Tip:

I recently listened to an episode of the Ezra Klein show entitled "Tired? Distracted? Burned-Out? Listen to this." (here on Apple Podcasts) In the episode, Klein interviews Gloria Mark, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, and author of the book "Attention Span." This episode really got my wheels turning about what grabs my attention — and how distractions are stealing my time.

I'm embarking on a little 30-day challenge to try to reduce distractions in my life, starting with my phone. I already have most notifications silenced or turned off completely, but there's more I can do. I'm sure I'll write about it after this experiment is complete.

I love Slack, but it can also be super distracting. Here are some ways you can manage your Slack notifications.

3) Product:

To track my efforts on this 30-day self-imposed challenge, I'm using this free checklist from Austin Kleon. If you're not familiar with Kleon, he's the author of a few books, including Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative, which is a favorite of mine. I'm due for a re-read, but interrupting my current reading list and adding this in would be yet another example of how I want to do things right now rather than wait.

Want more ideas?

→ If you work with audio or video files at all, I wrote a tutorial about setting up automation using tools like Dropbox, your project management tool, and email/Slack. (video included!)

→ I also wrote about working ON your business versus working IN your business — especially important when you consider distractions.

→ Fellow freelancer Tina Donati created this crewneck that says "I Write Stuff" and I love it. In case you're constantly asked, "So... what do you do for a living?"

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That's it for this issue of Tinkering! See you again in two weeks.

Cheers,
Anna

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