Radical Focus

Radical focus seeks the time, place and tools to work without distraction. Some of us can find it at those times of day when no one else is awake, when the phone does not ring, and email and other message sources are quiet. Night owls can find it, some before and at the crack of dawn, others after all go to sleep. It can be found during the day, but one must construct artificial walls, configuring and honoring the Do Not Disturb signs physically and virtually.

We may find radical focus on a blank sheet of paper, a clean desk, the removal of physical clutter mirrored in the removal of mental clutter. Perhaps I am especially inspired to write in these terms sitting in a hotel room, in the quiet of an early morning, my last of a visit to Las Vegas. Here, curiously, there is radical focus in a different way. The floors of the casinos focus immerse one’s senses in the cues and attractions of gambling. Low ambient light, no view of any outside world, no clocks, and a sea of flashing lights. The “streets” of shops in one luxury mall after offer the same. The Forum at Caesar’s goes one step further, creating a scene worthy of The Truman Show, its vaulted ceiling with trump l’oeil sky of permanent twilight blue and clouds.

Radical focus can be found on the computer and tablet screen, but the tools to do it may be hidden. Keystrokes, unheralded, may reveal an almost magic removal of visual clutter that can enable radical focus. For Windows users the clicks and keys that “show the desktop” minimize all open Windows, removing the distraction of multiple overlapping applications. For Windows 7 and 8 users, the keystroke combination WINDOWS KEY and D does the same.

This quiet morning brings the inspiration of full screen writing. It is the closest experience on screen to a blank piece of paper, and seems a refreshing return to focused writing. On an iPad, writing in Docs To Go, the Settings tool offers a Full Screen Option.  In Word 2013, one can hide the ribbon, but the choice in earlier versions to support full screen, blank page editing seems to have disappeared. Still, with ribbon and ruler hidden, the distractions are reduced, but not as radically as I seek. An option to hide the Status Bar also seems to have disappeared. The Windows option to AutoHide the Task Bar removes a distracting element.

The most radical blank page I have found recently is the Word Press option for “Distraction Free Writing Mode.” Add the full screen option in the browser, and no distraction from the text appears on the screen. Visual and mental clarity arrive.

It seems a shame that I took 30 minutes trying to find the same experience, unsuccessfully, in Microsoft Word 2013.