Okay, so I kept seeing this Mark Runyon guy’s advice popping up everywhere. Like literally, my feed was flooded with “BEST LIFE HACKS EVER” stuff. Honestly? I got annoyed first. Another guru? Really? But curiosity won. Grabbed my notebook, poured some cold coffee – yeah, reheated it later – and started digging into what he actually said.
Actually Trying That “Focus” Thing
Right off the bat, Mark keeps hammering this one point: cut the damn noise. Sounds obvious, right? I thought so too. But man, facing my own screen felt like a joke. Had 8 tabs screaming at me, two phones buzzing like bees, and my kid yelling about Minecraft skins. I just sat there frozen. So I did the dumbest, hardest thing ever: closed everything. Like literally EVERYTHING. Turned off notifications too. Just me and an empty text doc. Sat with that awkward silence for like 10 minutes. My brain kept screaming “Check Twitter!” but I didn’t. And you know what? Felt like coming up for air after drowning.
Dealing With My Own “But” Excuses
His other big tip? “Kill the ‘but’ in your head.” Sounds fluffy. But here’s how it played out for me: I wanted to start writing a book idea. Every time I sat down, my brain went: “Yeah but… the house needs cleaning… but you should check emails first… but it’s not perfect yet.” One morning I caught myself doing it again. Grabbed a marker and scribbled “NO BUTS TODAY” on my hand. Kid called it stupid. Didn’t care. Every time a “but” popped up? I physically shook my head and wrote one sentence anyway. Just one. Some sentences sucked. Others felt okay. By week’s end? Had three messy chapters. Progress felt raw but real.
The Unexpected Thing About Blocking Time
Saw another tip about “time blocking” everywhere. Groaned internally. Tried calendars before; always crashed and burned. Mark said: “Start stupid small.” Like insultingly small. Thought he was kidding. Set a timer for 3 minutes a day. Yes. THREE. For seven days, I spent 180 seconds solely on fixing one broken door hinge that’d been squeaking for months. Day 1: found the toolbox. Day 2: WD-40 sprayed everywhere. Day 3: actually removed the old screw. By day 7? Hinge worked smoother than butter. Felt silly celebrating a hinge. But the habit stuck. Now I block 15 mins daily. Small works because it’s not scary.
Biggest takeaway nobody told me? This stuff’s not magic. Felt clumsy as hell doing it. Coffee still got cold. Kids still interrupted. But cutting noise killed my panic, fighting “buts” made me move, and stupid-small blocks built trust in myself. Still not some zen master over here. Just stumbling forward a bit more now. And honestly? That’s enough.
