Hey friends,

Wait... it's March? Where... are we? Who are you people...?

(90's Extra Credit: Can you name the the movie the gif is from?)

Thinking Too Hard 🤔

There's a funny thing that happens when you get close to the end of a big project. In the thick of the Wild Hunt Phase, focus comes easily due to the pressure of the clock. But you get to the end, and there's a... depressurization, you're coming back up from the depths, slowly shedding the nitrogen in your blood. There's no screaming priority list to tackle, no looming deadline. It can feel like a balloon deflating.

So how do you keep from getting the focus "bends"?

Just like the bends, adjusting too quickly can leave you feeling unsteady and disoriented. The only way I've found to maintain consistent focus when external pressure fades is to have an internal source of pressure. For me, it's two things:

1. A list of priorities, some deferred during the Wild Hunt, some aspirational, and some long-term goals. You need something to help you answer the question, "Now what?"
2. A method of tracking your focus.

I've shared the math of interruption before about how easy it is for your focus to be frittered away. If we borrow Can's math and say it takes 30 continuous minutes at a minimum for real focus work to happen, how much of your day is spent that way?

This is why I created my own Focus Timer. It's a very simple app that tracks the start and end of your focus time. It's meant to run in the background and will display your current "Focus Points" or the amount of 30 minute chunks you've collected, in the favicon so you can see the state of your timer without having to interact with it.

You don't need an app to do this, though. Timers work just as well. The main thing is to create SOME sort of time pressure for yourself, and in doing so, focus rises to the surface more easily.

Do you keep a list of internal priorities? Do you track your focus time? If you're having trouble focusing, give it a shot!

Interesting Web Bits 🍜

Web Stuff

• Turns out most of our apps are leaky. #1 culprit? setTimeout/setInterval.
• The three words to summarize the future of AI? "Nobody knows anything...". (Sounds about right.)
• One day, the web will be more than just rectangles!
• Scott Jehl and his team are working on lazy-loading for video and audio, soon to be available!
• WordPress 7 is just around the corner. Collaborative editing is nice, but I’m looking forward to some of the simplified usage around patterns and built-in responsive controls for native blocks.
• The Navigation API is now widely available for use! This looks much nicer than what we used to have to do…

Other Stuff

• The journey of one man teaching his dog to vibe code games. 🐶🎮
• I guess a lot of folks are building tunnels?

Weird, Watch, and Play

• 📺 The actual meaning to the opening lyrics of the Lion King are not what you thought they were! (Hattip to my sister for this life-changing video 😂)
• 📺 Why some movies feel more alive than others.
• 👽 Draw a horse and let it run freeeeee…
• 👽 Reasons to stay is a sweet and touching web project.