Alright, let’s talk about this Brandon Neely thing I messed around with recently. Heard the name tossed around, maybe on some forum or a chat, don’t quite recall. Didn’t really know what it was about, just that it was supposed to be some way of tackling work, or maybe organizing thoughts, something like that.
Getting Started
So, I decided to just dive in and try it out. Didn’t have a fancy manual or anything. Just based on the scraps of info I gathered. The core idea seemed to be about really zoning in on one specific thing, almost like putting blinders on.
Here’s what I did:
- First, I picked one task. Just one. Not five, not ten. Just the most annoying one on my plate that day.
- Then, I physically cleared my desk. Moved all the other papers, closed unrelated browser tabs, even put my phone on silent and tucked it away in a drawer. Felt kinda weird, honestly.
- I set a simple timer. Didn’t use any special app, just the basic one on my computer. Set it for like, 45 minutes.
- For those 45 minutes, I told myself: only this task. No checking email, no “quick look” at the news, nothing. Just grind on that one thing.
How It Went
Man, the first attempt was rough. My brain kept wanting to jump somewhere else. Kept thinking about emails I needed to send, or that other project that was looming. Had to consciously pull my focus back, again and again. It wasn’t relaxing, not at first.
But I stuck with it for that block. When the timer went off, I took a proper break. Got up, walked around, didn’t think about work at all for maybe 10 minutes.
Then I repeated the process. Picked the same task if it wasn’t finished, or the next single item. Another 45 minutes. Clear desk, phone away, pure focus (or trying to be).
The Outcome
Did this for a couple of days. The interesting part? I actually started making real headway on things I’d been putting off. That annoying task? Got it done by the end of the first day. The focus, even though forced initially, seemed to cut through the usual procrastination.
It wasn’t magic. It didn’t suddenly give me more hours in the day. But it felt like the hours I did spend working were more… solid? Less fragmented. I wasn’t necessarily faster, but I felt like I was finishing things more reliably instead of having ten things half-done.
So, yeah. This Brandon Neely approach, or whatever you wanna call the technique I tried based on that name, it kinda worked for me. It’s simple, maybe even sounds dumb, just focusing on one thing. But in practice? It forced me to actually do the work instead of just thinking about all the work I had to do. Still use it sometimes when I feel overwhelmed or find myself jumping between too many things.
