Focus techniques have been the only thing standing between me and complete mental collapse lately. Like I’m sitting here in my apartment [somewhere in the US – doesn’t matter which coast, it’s all the same mess], January 2026, heat blasting because it’s freezing outside, half-eaten Chipotle bowl from two days ago still on the side table, phone buzzing with notifications I’m pretending not to see. I gave myself literally seven days to stop being a productivity disaster or at least become slightly less of one.
This is not a polished before-and-after glow-up story. It’s more like “guy tries not to hate himself for seven days straight – mixed results”.
The Brutal Starting Point (aka Rock Bottom Looks Like This)
My typical day was opening seventeen tabs, answering three emails, watching one YouTube short that turns into forty-seven, then feeling guilty for four hours while doing nothing. According to some study I read, constant task-switching can tank productivity by up to 40%. That felt personal. Too personal.
So. Seven days. Go time.
Days 1–2: Pomodoro But I’m the Problem Child
Everyone says do Pomodoro. 25 on, 5 off. Sounds angelic.
My execution:
- Tried a fancy app → spent 22 minutes picking a new background theme instead of working
- Switched to phone timer → “break” became scrolling Zillow for houses I can’t afford
- Finally landed on this ugly $3 chicken-shaped kitchen timer from Target that clucks when time’s up
That stupid clucking chicken became the MVP. Something about how ridiculous it is made me actually respect the timer. By day 2 I was getting legit 25-minute chunks done. Not beautiful, but done.
[Insert Image Placeholder 1 – messy personal shot] A wonky selfie-style photo taken from above: bright red plastic chicken timer in the foreground, tilted, next to cold coffee, laptop with 38 tabs open, one rogue AirPod lying on a crumpled receipt. Afternoon sunlight making ugly shadows. Feels very “I’m trying okay???”
Days 3–4: Time Blocking + The “Eat The Frog But Make It Angsty” Rule
Stole the idea from Cal Newport’s Deep Work book — do the hardest thing first thing in the morning before your brain has time to negotiate.
My version was way less zen.
I wrote on a fluorescent pink Post-it in Sharpie: “NO EMAIL NO SLACK NO NOTHING UNTIL THE BIG THING IS DONE OR I’M CANCELING MY OWN BIRTHDAY”
Slapped it over my webcam so I’d see it every time I thought about opening Zoom “just to peek”.
Worked three out of four mornings.
The fourth morning I caved at 9:51 a.m., opened Gmail “only for one second”, and resurfaced at 11:40 after rage-replying to a thread that didn’t even need me. So yeah… progress not perfection.
Day 5: The Two-Minute Trick That Shouldn’t Work But Does
This one feels like cheating because it’s so stupidly simple.
Rule: When I’m avoiding something, I say out loud (yes I talk to myself now, don’t judge): “Just two minutes. If it still sucks you can quit guilt-free.”
Examples from last week that actually happened:
- “Just open the Google Sheet for two minutes” → finished the whole damn forecast
- “Just put workout clothes on for two minutes” → ended up doing a 20-minute walk (slow, swearing the whole time)
- “Just write one shitty sentence” → now you’re reading 1,200+ words
It’s basically lying to the laziest part of my brain and it… falls for it every time.
Day 6: Environment Tweaks Because I Was Desperate
My desk looked like a crime scene so I did emergency surgery:
- Turned second monitor completely off (huge dopamine reduction – who knew?)
- Put the one surviving plant I own directly in my eyeline
- Switched to brown noise instead of lo-fi beats
- Turned my chair so I’m facing the wall instead of the window (neighbor’s golden retriever is way more interesting than any spreadsheet)
![SOLVED] Monitor randomly goes black (2025) - Driver Easy](https://images.drivereasy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/cropped-black-screen.jpg)
SOLVED] Monitor randomly goes black (2025) – Driver Easy
Small changes. Stupidly big difference.
Day 7: What Actually Survived the Week
I did not turn into a machine.
I still checked Twitter too much. I still had one day where I achieved basically zero. I still ate cold takeout for dinner while watching Netflix with subtitles on because my brain was too tired to process sound.
But I also:
- Finished two client deliverables that were haunting me since November
- Wrote this entire post in about 3 focused Pomodoros instead of 3 weeks
- Went to sleep before 1 a.m. four nights out of seven (personal best)
The things I’m actually keeping:
- Clucking chicken timer (RIP my dignity)
- One scary task before lunch rule
- Two-minute lie-to-myself trick
- Second monitor stays off unless I really need it
Everything else was nice but didn’t give me that “holy crap I’m actually moving forward” hit.
Look… if you’re reading this while procrastinating on something that’s been eating you alive, just try the two-minute thing. Seriously. Set a timer right now. I’ll literally wait.
