Regaining Focus in Your Free Time

QUESTION

Dear Joey, I find myself looking for ways to reconnect to what I perceive to be the “way I used to be” in terms of creativity. I'm a writer and a musician (and before that I was a performer), and sometime within the last year or so I noticed that my attention when engaging in creative pursuits has dropped.

I can still do it, don't get me wrong—but I find myself unable to tap into that more interesting flow-state. I've gotten myself the materials I need (a desk and a chair that are comfortable, nice pens that I like writing with, a whole stack of Baronfig Confidants) and I have the ideas swimming in my head, but the world seems too loud and too distracting.

I'm wondering if you have thoughts about how to retrain one's brain away from the hustle-bustle and back towards the free, fun open space of creativity?

—Drew

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ANSWER

Dear Drew, you aren’t alone. In the last few years I’ve found myself also having trouble focusing, particularly in my free time. At work, however, this isn’t an issue; probably because what’s on my plate has to get done. Here’s my thinking:

Parkinson’s Law states “Work expands or contracts to fill the time allotted.” It makes sense, then, that what we do in the office comes out easier (there’s a set number of tasks and a limited time to do them) versus what we do at home (where we’re free to choose what we want to do and for how long).

Basically, we have too many options at home—watching, reading, talking, playing, surfing (the web variety), writing, practicing, chilling, and so on. There are so many options it starts to feel like we don’t have enough time to do what we want; which, let’s face it, is all of them. This makes personal time restless and unsatisfying.

A few years back, I came up with a solution: the Free Time Menu.

The Free Time Menu (FTM) is a simple system that supplies a menu of things to do during personal time. It covers Creating AND Consuming, and the variety of ways in which they can be performed. If used correctly, it reduces options and simplifies decision making.

Here’s what’s on my FTM at the moment:

Create

• Research || Brainstorm: My upcoming book

• Write: My upcoming book

• Practice: Code → Trumpet

Consume

• Read: Zero to One → The Ghost Brigades

• Play: Elden Ring → Cyberpunk 2077

• Watch: Russian Doll

Here are the rules:

1. Choose an activity from the menu above.

2. Set a timer for 1 hour and limit yourself to only that activity.

3. Reassess after the hour is up; either switch activities or do another hour.

In addition, your FTM can only be updated at the beginning of a weekend (once per week), or when a piece of media is completed.

Here’s a link to my current Free Time Menu. I’ve been using this format for ~5 years now, and it’s dramatically improved the quality of my personal time. I hope it helps you as well.

—Joey

Notes:

|| stands for “or”: I use this when two categories are potentially interchangeable.

→ stands for “then”: This allows me to set contingencies. For example, I make myself first read nonfiction (to learn) before I read fiction (for fun).

My "Free Time Menu" in action. Click the image to view as a document.