u/Empty-Illustrator481

day 3 of deep work

- 6 hrs 5 mins of studying
- 50 minutes of workout

I'm trying to achieve 8 hrs of deep work everyday and work myself to 12 hrs

I’ve been trying to improve my focus and found about Pomodoro Technique. But I found that it’s rigid time of 25 minutes focus and 5 minute break isn’t helpful at all. I used to be able to focus for only 5 minutes before then I’d be sleepy. Now I can focus for 40 minutes or more. 

Pomodoro Technique should really start from as low as 1 minute then scale more and more as your focus increases.

What do you think? Also, are there other "focus" tips out there?

I’ve been struggling a lot in starting to study and other goals that I want to do. I would have everything set up — my laptop, the school pdf, my notebook, but my brain isn’t ready. I think that the reason for it is that I’ve scrolled too much in TikTok or YT Shorts before studying. My brain is fried at that point and I just stare at my desk.

What helped me is starting a timer when I’m going to study. I tried setting the timer at 30 minutes but I can’t even focus. So I reset the timer and set it to 5 minutes. Even then, I was having a hard time but I pushed through. I rested and scrolled again. 

I keep on using a timer when I’m studying and I try to beat the time that I’ve had before. 5 minutes became easier and I went to study for 15 minutes. Then it felt so fast to even learn something so I made it 30 minutes. I find that 60 - 120 minutes is a good range of studying. 90 minutes is the sweet spot.I also tried it with my other goals like reading, working out, writing, and it really helps me focus. 

I think that it's effective because I knew what to do within that time. I have a specific task to simply study within those minutes. I’m also free to just stop the timer if I don’t want to focus anymore. It’s more of the awareness of what I’m doing within those minutes. Unlike when I’m just scrolling through reels, I’m not even aware of the time passing. 

I just got this realization right now. A timer is effective because you’re aware of what you're doing within those times. Given that you actually do what you’re supposed to do within the time period. You’re aware when you’re not studying (not starting the time) and studying (starting the time). Things become binary and it's easier to digest this information.

day 1

I've been reading a lot lately. I'm focusing on reading and writing what I've read (active recall). I've done 1 hr 20 mins of writing today and did 1 hr 40 mins of reading yesterday.

Do you guys consider reading as learning? What's the difference? For me it is because you basically learn something new. The only difference is there's no test

How do you get better at running? 

I started running because it's a requirement of my org in school. I ran my first 6 km and I couldn’t walk for two days. I had to recover from it. I do calisthenics so I look athletic but I couldn’t run. Honestly, that hurts my ego at first but it does make sense. I’m not training for it, obviously I’m not good at it.

It’s been months and I’ve been running more often. I just finished a 5 km race with a 5:17/km pace. I’m happy but I still want to be faster. I noticed that I get bored while running. My brain wonders while I run. I don’t listen to music because I don’t want to have external motivators but I’m bored while running. I’m not sure if that’s even helping.

Right now, I really don’t have a plan for improving my running. I want to be faster. I want to be sub 25 in 5 km because it looks nice on paper.

Currently, I’m doing some stretches but I really don’t have a warm up plan. I just wing it. I’ve watched some videos about running form. I’m trying to follow it but I notice that my form breaks down while running. I also get self conscious. 

I stop during my runs. I run and walk, run and walk. I want my runs to be continuous. Also, I noticed that I do get out of breath while running. I exhale forcefully while running, like making a sound while I exhale since it helps. I don’t know why it helps. I also noticed that after running, I’m really not that tired and I feel like I could’ve ran more. Not sure if I didn’t push myself while running because I’m tired while running but after that, I’m still good at running.

WHAT I WANT TO ACHIEVE

• Sub 25 in 5km
• Continuous runs 
• Not out of breathe while running
• Proper posture (how should I deal with this? One by one? I really get self conscious)
• Proper landing

 

How do you achieve this? What should you prioritize when you’re trying to improve your runs? 

I’m transitioning from college to working and I’ve finished my internships. I don’t feel like I’m going to have friends at work, the atmosphere is serious and competitive. I’m not sure if it's the companies that I got my internships from but that’s my current thoughts. 

It’s easy for me to socialize during college, I made friends and acquaintances in my classroom, other batches, orgs, and even events. I can’t help but feel that I won’t be able to do the same now that I’ll be working. I’m in the tech industry so I’ll be facing the computer more than I’ll be facing a person. I’m also introverted but I do get loud once I’m comfortable with someone. I don’t mind approaching people as well, but I’d feel like it's superficial if I have to really put in the effort to meet someone. I want something that’s natural like in school.

How do you guys socialize now that you’re working? I do like my alone time but I still want to be around people and meet people just like in college. I’m not really that active online and I prefer to socialize in person. I’m also trying to use my social media less since it feels artificial.

Is there anyone that has the same issue? How do you guys solve it? Are you guys making friends at work? I still think it's super competitive because of my experience. How are you making friends now that you’re working? Do you make friends outside work? How?

I feel like I have to make a plan and go out of my comfort zone or else I’ll be living my life going to work then going home. And I’ll be doing that until I die. That’s just sad and I don’t want that. I want to meet people and befriend people but I don’t know how. I’m used to going to school and going home after activities like orgs and events. I don’t think it's the same in the workplace.

Also, how do you guys maintain friendships? I’m honestly low maintenance, I like meeting my friends in person and that's just once in a blue moon. Or when we go to school, activities, etc. 

I would like to have a light social activity in the morning but I really want to focus on my goals. So I prefer a social activity in the evening after work. Does anyone have a similar setup? Does anyone know how to achieve this?

I’m transitioning from college to working and I’ve finished my internships. I don’t feel like I’m going to have friends at work, the atmosphere is serious and competitive. I’m not sure if it's the companies that I got my internships from but that’s my current thoughts. 

It’s easy for me to socialize during college, I made friends and acquaintances in my classroom, other batches, orgs, and even events. I can’t help but feel that I won’t be able to do the same now that I’ll be working. I’m in the tech industry so I’ll be facing the computer more than I’ll be facing a person. I’m also introverted but I do get loud once I’m comfortable with someone. I don’t mind approaching people as well, but I’d feel like it's superficial if I have to really put in the effort to meet someone. I want something that’s natural like in school.

How do you guys socialize now that you’re working? I do like my alone time but I still want to be around people and meet people just like in college. I’m not really that active online and I prefer to socialize in person. I’m also trying to use my social media less since it feels artificial.

Is there anyone that has the same issue? How do you guys solve it? Are you guys making friends at work? I still think it's super competitive because of my experience. How are you making friends now that you’re working? Do you make friends outside work? How?

I feel like I have to make a plan and go out of my comfort zone or else I’ll be living my life going to work then going home. And I’ll be doing that until I die. That’s just sad and I don’t want that. I want to meet people and befriend people but I don’t know how. I’m used to going to school and going home after activities like orgs and events. I don’t think it's the same in the workplace.

Also, how do you guys maintain friendships? I’m honestly low maintenance, I like meeting my friends in person and that's just once in a blue moon. Or when we go to school, activities, etc. 

I would like to have a light social activity in the morning but I really want to focus on my goals. So I prefer a social activity in the evening after work. Does anyone have a similar setup? Does anyone know how to achieve this?

I know I could be great but I’m wasting myself. I don’t like it. I’m almost graduating and I could’ve had better grades if I gave a bit of effort. There are people out there that study on a daily basis. They’re striving for the top. I want to be like that. I wish I was like that. I’m not even stupid. My grades aren’t even bad. But it could’ve been so much better. I could’ve been amongst the top. I didn’t value that before. Maybe that's why I didn't care about my grades. As long as it's not that low.

It's so annoying. I wish I cared more. I could’ve been so much more. What is 30 minutes of studying anyway? I had 3 hours of TikTok, on a daily basis. What if I’ve spent 30 minutes of that studying? What could’ve been? What if I gave even a bit of effort. Consistent effort. Why was I consistent in scrolling on TikTok? Spending hours on it on a daily basis. If I spent those hours on things that matter, there would’ve been a difference. There must have been a difference. 

I would say that that’s my regret in my college years. I wish I could’ve given even a bit of effort in what I was doing. And I couldn’t change that anymore. You can’t change the past, only learn from it. Moving forward I want to give more effort. If I’m doing something, why not do my best? It doesn’t even sound cheesy to me. It sounds logical. If I’ll be spending 4 years of my life in college being a student, why can’t I make it the best 4 years of my life as a student, for me. It just makes sense. And I want to do this my whole life. I want to be on my best behavior. I don’t even need to be the best in the world. I just have to be the best for myself. Shoot for the stars and you might land on the moon. It's not even guaranteed. But you’ll never stumble on the stars simply by gazing. 

I don’t want this to be another feeling. I want to work on it. I’ll spend time and effort in my remaining school year. It’s good that I’m doing things for myself and following my interests. But I shouldn’t neglect the things that I’m supposed to do. I’m a student and I should be doing what a student does.

It feels heavy right now. I’ve spent years studying, I wish I could’ve spent it better. Anyway, I don’t want to feel this anymore. I’ll give more effort in what I’m doing. If I’m really not interested in the topic, I can still give a small amount of time to it so I won’t have any regrets. I don’t like regretting things. Who is to blame but me? It weakens my sense of self. I don’t like that.