Think Different: Think Focused

Computers are full of shiny things that beg for our attention - new emails popping up, Google searches itching to be executed, chat windows popping up as people sign on and off messaging clients, or simply just colorful icons, backgrounds, desktop images pulling your attention this way and that. This can lead to distractions when trying to focus yourself on the task at hand (or contribute to the Unseemly Raptor column not being finished at midnight).

You could close all of your applications, set your desktop image to a boring color, and work to block out everything sitting in the dock…but there are instances where you might want your applications out of sight but still running, whether it’s because you want to be able to switch focus back and forth without continually opening and closing things, you have data crunching in the background, or you want to have other applications open but less prominent. In this case, you may just want to Think.

Think is an application from Freeverse with one simple goal: block out any distractions that may be running in the background so that you can focus on one thing at a time. This one-trick app does its work by painting a layer over all of the applications not at the focus of attention.

The layer can be any color you choose, and you can set the opacity so that you can see as much or as little of the other applications you have open as you’d like.

I’ve found Think to be especially useful when I’m working with several applications at once. Normally, when switching back and forth it takes some time to refocus and get down to work after each context switch. With everything else blocked out, it’s easier to jump in, do what needs to be done, and switch out to the next application without constantly needing to evaluate everything else on the screen every time you make the change.

True, this could be done by opening one application, quitting it, opening another application, quitting it, opening the first again…but that process takes a lot of time as you wait for each application to load repeatedly. By using Think, you can switch back and forth as rapidly as you do normally, but it’s still easier to snap your focus onto the task at hand and move on without all of the visual clutter in the background.

Before installing Think, I had no idea how distracting it was to have so much information laid out in front of me all the time. I thought that I was pretty good at focusing my attention on single tasks and getting them done, but was surprised at how much more efficient I could be with only one thing truly in front of me at a time. Since Think is a freeware application, it’s no cost to try out this alternative work method, and you might be surprised by how much a difference such a small change to your workflow can make. Happy Thinking!