How to Use Your Environment to Become More Focused
Where you do a specific task matters.
It matters where in your home you eat. Where you do your work. Where you relax and watch TV. Where you sleep.
These choices matter because of the mental associations built between the space and the task. They walk the thin line between distraction and focus — between procrastination and productivity. The process by which you utilize these mental associations is called zoning.
And it is the very key to unlocking that focus.
I learned about zoning from habit expert James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits.
Zoning, Explained
The concept of zoning is simple.
You dedicate a specific location or space in your home to do a specific task. By doing the same activity in the same place over time, you build stronger mental associations between that space and the task. In the end, you start associating a specific space with a specific task — and vice versa.
The location thus becomes a cue that activates a specific habit.
- By scrolling on your phone as you are sitting at your desk, the desk becomes a cue to relax (or, at least, to do other things than working)
- By both working and procrastinating as you are sitting at your desk, the desk becomes a confusing cue to opposing goals and motivations
- By only working as you are sitting at your desk, the desk only becomes a cue to work
The cues elicited by the space should be compatible with one another, in order to maximize specificity. When there are conflicting cues, the mental hurdles between a task and its location increase. On the other hand, they lessen when there is a clear course of action associated with the location.
In turn, these cues increase focus.
Focus is increased when the cues align towards a specific task or habit.
Instead of being distracted by reminders of other, contradictory tasks, you focus in on the associated task. This way, you become more inclined to do that specific task in the specific space you are inhabiting.
This is a passive — but effective — way of increasing focus. Although the habit must be built over time and consistent effort, the focus required to do the task itself will become stronger and stronger. In the end, you will work on muscle memory.
You will develop greater focus.
How to Do Zoning
The process of zoning is simple:
Step 1: Select an area
This can be anything from an entire room to an isolated piece of furniture — whatever works to fulfill any given task.
Step 2: Allocate certain tasks to this area
Make sure that the tasks you wish to build associations for are compatible with one another. The cues ought not to clash, lest focus will be reduced.
Step 3: Set specific restrictions to this area
What you do not do is just as important as what you do. Make it so that there are certain things you are not allowed to do within the defined area — so that they do not interfere with the tasks you want to associate it with.
Step 4: Keep that commitment
None of this matters if you fail to implement them. Commit to your plan, and keep up day after day to uphold your boundaries.
Suggested Applications
These are examples of what seems to work for most people:
Bed: Sleeping. (No phone, no food, and no work.)
Desk: Working or studying. (No entertainment and no food.)
Kitchen: Eating and relaxing. (No work.)
Couch: Doing leisure activities. (No work.)
This is only a suggested application. Do what works for you.
Summary
Zoning builds mental associations between an area and a task. It creates an increased sense of focus toward that task by activating a desired cue.
Step 1: Select an area
Step 2: Define what to do within this area
Step 3: Define what not to do within this area
Step 4: Keep your commitment
