How do you stay focused while remaining open to the world?

Interesting point. For me, it's about having focused blocks of hard work where I don't allow any distractions. After that, I allow myself to be a little more relaxed. My most productive hours are the first 4 hours of the morning, so those hours are sacrosanct. They're spent doing the most important thing that day (normally coding). I don't have my phone near me, I don't open any tabs that I don't need for building and I only take a couple of 5 min breaks. After that's done, I still work pretty hard, but allow myself to occasionally check Twitter, WhatsApp, email etc. What about you?

It depends... maybe on the sort of thing you want to solve. Speaking about art or creative processes, I need my mind wandering elsewhere.

A a founder who has to do everything from coding to marketing, it's very hard. I usually swing between two extremes. Some days I do 90% coding, 10% social media. Some days are the other way around. If someone has mastered the ability how to switch between the two smoothly, I'd love to learn :)

Have your target customer profile up on the wall. Look at them every day and for every decision you make. Have people in your company assigned to voice opposition in case you are straying.

I'd say timeblocking for sure, and stacking your most important tasks at first. If you "eat the frog" you don't want to eat right away first thing every day, I think you're primed to having that on your mind the rest of the day. For example I used to look for memes to use in marketing first thing but that set my mind in the wrong direction more than not. For me, I work on my business, then my 9-5, after that is a walk and then gym, then the rest few hours can be anything - which is usually the time where my friends are off work so I can say yes to life because I have completed everything I wanted to complete already before they finished work :) Hope this helps but yes awesome question

Segmenting time is the best way to control all of those thoughts coming in Andre. Thanks for the question

Adderall

Sometimes i have real difficulties to stay focused, especially when i almost can't hear anything. I had to do an emergency hearing aid repair and now i am almost death for the next couple of days. It is slightly annoying that my physical health has such a huge influence on my work these days.

As someone deeply involved in various tech sectors, I find that setting boundaries and prioritizing tasks based on their impact can help strike a balance between focus and remaining open to new opportunities. Embracing the chaos while maintaining a structured approach can lead to innovative solutions and unexpected collaborations. Remember, it's all about channeling those 60,000 daily thoughts in the right direction!

Rather than separating life into strictly isolated buckets, I try to harmonize and integrate different areas so nothing gets completely blocked out. Family, intellectual growth, and physical health - all get woven together.

I have focus settings on my iPhone during the day, in the evening I turn it off