War on Focus
The real battle isn’t emails or time management. It’s protecting our focus, starting the moment we wake up. This post is about reclaiming that space, rethinking how we begin the day, and leading with intention in a world that constantly pulls us away from it.
This reflection was sparked by Microsoft’s WorkLab article on the "infinite workday", which explores the growing challenge of blurred boundaries between work and life. If we want to lead well in a distracted world, we need to first lead ourselves.
Most of us sleep with or wake up next to our phones. That’s a reality I’m not proud of. I’ve gotten into the habit of checking mine first thing because that’s when I apply my eye hydration mask. Yes, guys use those too. But the moment I unlock my screen, I slip into work and social feeds and lose the clarity that mornings offer.
This only lasts about 15 minutes. My timer goes off, and I shift into the next part of my routine: creating. But by then, I’ve already distracted myself with to-do lists or tasks that scatter my focus. I rarely get back the mental energy I had right when I woke up.
This week, I’ve committed to doing something different. I’m keeping my phone out of reach and using that first 15 minutes to just lie in bed and think. About anything. Even if it’s work-related or a personal obligation, I want to see what my mind surfaces. I often wake up with good ideas, only to lose them in the noise. I want to hold onto them.
There will always be emails waiting. Enough of them to keep anyone busy until retirement. I’ve seen what inbox overload does. It creates stress, confusion, and anxiety unless you double down on prioritization and time blocking. The real battle isn’t technical skill or subject matter expertise. It’s not confidence or navigating ambiguity. It’s the war for focus.
This fight plays out every workday. It’s why we wake up early or stay online late. We’re trying to work when others won’t interrupt us. But when even leaders feel this way, it leaves teams stranded. Not because they can’t adapt, but because everyone is juggling too much. Few have the space to master or own anything fully.
That’s where tools and mindset come in. Being an agent boss means designing ways to protect your focus and output. I’m still figuring out how that works beyond the standard productivity habits. But I know one thing. Reclaiming time starts during the workday, not after.
I enjoy evening quiet hours. But they’re not the solution. They delay the root problem. The goal isn’t to steal time at home to catch up. It’s to win the workday. I block time each night for the next day. I don’t check email before I sleep. That can wait. Deadlines matter, but no one dies if a message waits until morning.
My workday starts around 8:30 a.m. and ends near 4:30 p.m. Before that, I rise at 5, go for a run, then read or write. These habits matter more than any optimization tip. If I skip them, I lose the mental edge I need.
Foundational tasks like doing proper privacy reviews drive real impact. They protect companies in ways that matter. That’s what I focus on. I bring my tools, share them with my team, and aim for consistent output. That consistency reduces risk. It helps us scale evaluations and burn down backlogs.
We can’t control when people work or how chaos creeps in. But we can lead through it. We can choose high-impact over busywork. That mindset, the one that embraces agency, focus, and intentional tools, is how we outlast flattening organizations and stay in the top tier of operators. This is how we lead. The war on focus starts with us.
We'll need to be barracks emperors if we have any chance at winning this war.