The full catalog
Protocols for focus
762 entries pulled from 62 stacks. Items are ordered by how many tracked people are on record about them, including discussion, use and recommendations.
Filter counts cover the full catalog. Type, goal and cost filters apply to items only.
Items
63 entries
Reset- Protocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.01
Deliberate cold exposure
Cold showers or ice baths used deliberately, usually a few minutes at a time
On record from 25 of 62 tracked people: 19 do it, 6 have discussed it - ProtocolFREE, no cost02
Morning sunlight exposure
Bright outdoor light soon after waking, 5-30 minutes and no sunglasses
On record from 10 of 62 tracked people: 6 do it, 3 recommend it, 1 has discussed it - ProtocolFREE, no cost03
Environment design
Change the room instead of relying on willpower
On record from 7 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it, 5 recommend it - ProtocolFREE, no cost04
Time blocking
Give every hour of the workday a job before the day starts
On record from 7 of 62 tracked people: 5 do it, 2 recommend it - ProtocolFREE, no cost05
Deep work blocks
Long, scheduled, distraction-free sessions on one cognitively hard task
On record from 6 of 62 tracked people: 5 do it, 1 recommends it - ProtocolFREE, no cost06
Circle of competence
Work only inside the area you can genuinely evaluate, and know exactly where its edge is
On record from 3 of 62 tracked people: 2 recommend it, 1 has discussed it - ProtocolFREE, no cost07
Deliberate wandering
Unplanned, inefficient exploration kept on purpose as the counterweight to efficiency
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 2 recommend it - ProtocolFREE, no cost08
Digital declutter
A 30-day break from optional tech, then reintroduce deliberately
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 2 recommend it - ProtocolFREE, no cost09
Hard thinking before lunch
Book the mentally demanding work for the morning and stop making big calls late in the day
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it - ProtocolFREE, no cost10
Non-sleep deep rest (NSDR)
10-20 minute guided body-scan rest, sometimes called yoga nidra
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it, 1 has discussed it - ProtocolFREE, no cost11
Physiological sigh
Two inhales through the nose, one long exhale; heart rate drops within seconds
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it, 1 recommends it - ProtocolFREE, no cost12
Pomodoro technique
Work in timed sprints, usually 25 minutes on and 5 minutes off
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it, 1 has discussed it - ProtocolFREE, no cost13
Shipping creative work
Publishing on a schedule rather than waiting for the work to feel ready
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it, 1 recommends it - Protocol$$$Expensive: Several hundred dollars and up.14
Transcendental Meditation
Silent mantra repetition, about 20 minutes twice a day, taught in a paid course
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it - ProtocolFREE, no cost15
Vision setting
Write down a specific picture of who you are becoming, then filter decisions through it
On record from 2 of 62 tracked people: 2 do it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
20-slot punch card rule
Imagine a lifetime card with only 20 punches: every big decision has to earn one
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
3x5 notecard planning
Write the next day's three to five most important tasks on a single index card
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
5 Second Rule countdown
Count 5-4-3-2-1 out loud and move before hesitation talks you out of it
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
A few high-quality decisions a day
Aim for three well-made decisions rather than a hundred rushed ones
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - Protocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Analog and digital desks
Two work surfaces, with nothing electronic allowed on the first one
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Anti-to-do list
A short written list of behaviors to avoid, kept beside the ordinary to-do list
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Aspirational hourly rate
Setting a personal hourly price far above what you earn, then honoring it
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Attention management
Pick what deserves your focus instead of counting the minutes
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Automatic rules
Decide the behavior once, as a rule, so it is not decided in the moment
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Backward planning
Start from the fixed deadline, list what has to happen before it, then work back
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Blank sheet method
Write what you already know before reading, then add each session in a new color
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Box breathing
Inhale, hold, exhale, hold, each for a count of four, repeated for a few minutes
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - Protocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Bulletproof Coffee
Coffee blended with grass-fed butter and C8 MCT oil, drunk in place of breakfast
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Challenge network
A named group whose job is to attack your work, not encourage it
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
CODE method
Capture, organize, distill, express: four steps from reading to output
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Cookie jar
A mental store of past wins to draw on when you want to quit
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - Protocol$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Dance training
Choreography and movement classes as conditioning and coordination work
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Day one, week one mentality
Show up every day as prepared as you were on the first day of the job
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Decision journal
Record the reasoning before the outcome is known, then read it back later
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - Protocol$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
HRV biofeedback training
Paced breathing against a live heart rate variability readout, a few minutes a day
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Intermediate packets
Finish one small reusable piece per work session, not the whole project
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Inversion
Ask what would guarantee failure, then avoid those things
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Killing the ANTs
Writing down automatic negative thoughts and putting each one on trial
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Maker days and manager days
Whole days given to creative work or to other people, never both
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Microburst
Set a timer for ten minutes, then stop when it goes off
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Monk Mode
Shutting out the world for months to finish one large piece of work
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - Protocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Notecard system
Reading with a pen, then moving the best passages onto 4x6 index cards by theme
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
One Page Miracle
One sheet naming what you want in relationships, work, money and health
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
PARA method
Sort every note and file into projects, areas, resources or archives
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Personal Quarterly Offsite
Companies do this every quarter; the same session run for one person
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Positive framing
State the outcome you want instead of the one you are trying to avoid
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Pre-Mortem
Name what will derail this before you start, not in the postmortem
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Progressive muscle relaxation
Tensing and releasing muscle groups in order to find and drop held tension
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Progressive summarization
Compress a note in layers, adding one only when you open it again
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Rereading your notebooks
Opening old notebooks to today's date in previous years, as a writing prompt
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Second-order thinking
Keep asking and then what until the picture of the consequences stops changing
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Silent meditation retreat
Ten residential days of silence and long sitting, no reading or phone
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Six-page narrative memo
A written memo read silently at the start of the meeting, in place of slides
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Specific knowledge
Building the kind of skill nobody knows how to teach, by following real curiosity
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - Protocol$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Table tennis
Ping pong played as a brain workout, part aerobic and part fast decision-making
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
The 1-2-3 Method
One essential task, two urgent ones, three maintenance items, then stop
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
The 40% rule
The idea that when your mind says you are done, you are at about 40 percent
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
The 85 percent rule
Working at about 85 percent effort so relaxation and form do the rest
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
The Golden Circle
Explain why, then how, then what, in that order
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
The smallest viable audience
Naming the fewest people you need to serve well, then building only for them
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Twelve favorite problems
Hold a dozen open questions in mind and test what you read against them
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Visualization
Rehearsing a performance in your head before you do it for real
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
WHY discovery exercise
Ask a close friend why you are friends, then listen for what they say about themselves
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 recommends it
Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed.