J.D. Moyer

sci-fi author, beatmaker

Tag: deep focus

How To Prevent Stress Spirals

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On November 6

In Mental Health, Metaprogramming

Supercell by Kelly DeLay

Supercell by Kelly DeLay

Rough week, in a first-world-problems sort of way. Upgraded my Macbook Pro to a 1T internal SSD. Restoring from my SuperDuper backup didn’t work, so I had to install macOs Sierra and migrate. That meant no more support for my old M-Audio Firewire 1814 audio interface. No problem, I’ll order a Focusrite 18i20, a great piece of gear with great reviews, and documented to fully support Sierra. Got it Fedexed, unboxed the beautiful thing, spent half a day unplugging and replugging my rack (and lots of dusting). Seemed to work, except no audio AT ALL from Cubase. Okay, maybe it’s time to make the leap to Cubase 8.5. Paid for it, downloaded the 9GB installer, installed Steinberg’s latest. Tried to activate. ELicenser crashed. Tried the 35 troubleshooting steps I found on the Cubase forum. No go. I’m out about a grand so far on this “upgrade”, and no audio.

And those are just a few of my 99 problems.

Anxiety is the modern scourge. Humans in 2016 have complex lives: more information, more complex decisions, more decisions. We have it good, better than ever, global poverty plummeting, most of us with access to enough food, basic healthcare, shelter. One’s chance of dying a violent death is lower than ever. But we’re plagued with anxiety because our minds are racing, decisions are hard, and everything feels like it needs doing at once.

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Deep Focus in Consciousness — Keeping the Big Picture and the Details in Focus, Simultaneously

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On February 13

In Metaprogramming

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Deep focus is a photography technique that can be metaphorically applied to consciousness. It means working on the details (which is what all work consists of), while keeping the larger purpose or perspective in mind. It means being zoomed in and zoomed out at the same time.

With deep focus, we’re more effective, and less anxious.

We’re more effective if we can compose the notes while also paying attention to the groove.

We’re more effective if we use a tool correctly, while also considering if we’re using the right tool for the job (and switching if needed).

We’re more effective if we serve not only one person, but also their organization, and the mission that is meant to guide their organization.

Don’t pigeonhole yourself as either a “details” person or a “big picture” person. To be effective (at anything), you need to be both. You need to have the capacity to deal with the immediate minutiae as well as the ability to see the larger, broader, slower forces at play.

I’m naturally a details person, and my tendency is to jump right in and start working before carefully evaluating the situation or problem. After wasting probably thousands of hours of work, I now try to ask myself a few questions before I get in too deep, including:

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