NOVEMBER 2, 2022 • VOL. 20 ISSUE 44

Hi John,

Do you struggle with distraction?

You’re not alone. In a recent survey, 60% of respondents said they can only focus on a task for about 20 minutes before getting distracted.

More on that survey to come later. For now, you can learn more about the relationship between focus and productivity in today’s Q&A.

You can also save on a 2023 public course when you buy before December 31. Details below.

Finally, we’ve updated the Getting Things Done^® course. Learn more about the changes on our website.

It seems to me that focus and productivity are different concepts that often get conflated. When people think of productivity, they seem to think of doing more, faster. When people think of focus, they seem to think of doing less, more deliberately. Doing more faster, in my view, simply means being more efficiently frenzied, and it appears a lot of people are chasing this ideal. Doing less with focus, however, seems to be truly valuable. It appears GTD as a theory and practice favors increased productivity—efficient frenzy. How do you see it? Where does focus fit into the GTD equation, and can GTD help with doing less, not more?

Signed,
Getting Things Philosophical

I understand your question and the potential discrepancy between focus and productivity. In fact, they are not opposites but rather two
sides of the same coin. If you observe someone that is highly productive, about anything, you’ll see that they’re highly focused on what they’re doing. The problem you mention arises from the unfortunate legacy of “productivity.”

Due to an increased cost in goods and services, we have raised the registration fees for our 2023 virtual and in-person public courses. But if you register for a 2023 course by December 31, you can secure these courses at 2022 rates—a savings of up to $200.