My Attempt at Deep Focus – The “Mateo 4 2” Challenge
Alright, so I got this idea in my head, kinda inspired by that whole “forty days and nights” thing, you know, from mateo 4 2. Not the fasting part, obviously, but the idea of really buckling down and focusing on one single thing, pushing through the distractions. Decided to try it with a coding problem that’s been bugging me.
So, I sat down. Cleared my desk. Told myself, “Okay, two solid hours. Just this code. Nothing else.” Opened up the editor, looked at the function I needed to refactor. Felt pretty good, ready to go.
First ten minutes? Smooth sailing. I was actually typing, figuring things out. Then, the usual stuff started creeping in.
- My phone buzzed. Just once. But my brain immediately went, “Who is it? Is it important?”
- I remembered I needed to check if that package I ordered had shipped.
- Suddenly felt the urge to look up reviews for a new coffee grinder. Why? No idea.
- Just general mental fuzziness, you know? Staring at the screen but not really seeing the code.
It reminded me of this project I worked on ages ago. We had this tight deadline, and everyone was supposed to be laser-focused. But half the team kept getting sidetracked by “urgent” emails that weren’t urgent, or tweaking minor UI elements instead of tackling the core logic bugs. We ended up in a mad rush, cutting corners, shipping something buggy. It was a mess. All because we couldn’t just stick to the main task.
Getting Back on Track (Sort Of)
Remembering that mess actually helped a bit. I was like, “Okay, don’t wanna repeat that.” So, I physically picked up my phone and put it in another room. Turned off notifications on my computer. Closed every single tab except the code editor and the documentation I absolutely needed.
It wasn’t magic. Still felt my mind wanting to wander. Had to consciously pull it back like, five or six times. Just kept telling myself, “Stick to the code. Just the code.” It felt like wrestling with myself.
Did I finish the whole refactor in those two hours? Nope. Not even close. But I did manage to untangle one particularly nasty part of it. Made some real progress, more than I had in the last few days of scattered attempts.
So yeah, that was my little experiment. It’s tough, man. Staying focused when everything is designed to grab your attention? It’s a real fight. But putting the phone away? That actually did something. Gonna have to try that more often. It’s not about perfection, I guess, just about making a dent.
