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The 7-day focus program

One short email a day for a week. Each day: one habit that research actually supports, why it works, and a ten-minute way to try it. No productivity theatre, no streaks to keep.

Send me the 7-day focus program: one short email a day for a week, then about one email a week with focus tips and news about Focus Mode and Focus Mode Pro. Focus Mode sees whether I open these emails and which links I click, on any device where I read them: the links I click choose what comes next (including up to three emails about Pro), and if I stop opening them, they stop. I can unsubscribe in one click from any email.

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The seven days

  1. Day 1: One precise goal for today

    A day without a written goal fills up with easy tasks. Write one result you can check tonight, and note what you did.

    Tracking progress toward a goal improves reaching it (138 randomised trials; Harkin et al., 2016).

  2. Day 2: An if-then rule to start

    Often, what's missing isn't motivation but a trigger. Decide in advance when and how you start: “If I finish my coffee, then I open the draft.”

    Implementation intentions have a medium-to-large effect on reaching goals (94 tests; Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006).

  3. Day 3: Batch your notifications

    An alert pulls your attention even if you ignore it. Check messages three times a day and keep one channel for emergencies.

    In a field experiment (n = 237), batching notifications three times a day made people more attentive (Fitz et al., 2019).

  4. Day 4: Lose the feed, keep the search

    The endless feed and the recommendations choose for you; search is your choice. Remove the home feed of the site that costs you the most.

    Removing the Facebook feed helped students stay on task in a 6-week field trial (Lyngs et al., 2020); other sites were not tested.

  5. Day 5: One task, one tab

    Switching tasks has a cost that repeats with every switch. One session, one task, only the tabs it needs.

    Students who multitask during a lecture score lower on comprehension (Sana et al., 2013).

  6. Day 6: Two lines before you stop

    Unfinished work keeps part of your attention. Write where you are and what comes next before you switch or stop.

    A written “ready-to-resume” plan reduces attention residue and protects the next task (four studies; Leroy & Glomb, 2018).

  7. Day 7: Sleep enough for focus to hold

    Of the whole week, this is among the best-established effects on attention, and no extension can replace it.

    Six hours a night for two weeks impaired attention as much as up to two nights without sleep, unnoticed by the sleepers (Van Dongen et al., 2003).