What’s your overall story?

I’m a university student, blogger, entrepreneur and self-proclaimed dance machine. I’ve written at ScottHYoung.com for over four years, exploring the question of what it takes to live the ideal life. In addition to the blog I sell several guides for productivity and learning, and run a rapid-learning tutoring program. I’m Canadian, but currently living in the south of France.

Favorite gadgets?

Basically zero gadgets. Some people can handle, and make productive use of, many different technologies. I find they complicate things.

Web apps or productivity apps?

Just a few apps in my productivity system. Just Google Calendar and a to-do list software, TadaList. Keeping things simple helps me ensure I stay focused on the things that matter, not organizing them.

You a coffee or tea person?

Tea sometimes, but lately mostly water. And, in both cases, that’s water from the tap.

Best books you’ve read recently?

Too many to remember, but from non-fiction I recently finished and enjoyed The Progress Paradox, which is about how the world has actually been getting better across almost every standard over the last few decades, but people aren’t getting happier. And in fiction I recently re-read The Count of Monte Cristo, a classic book and a great parable about hope and perseverance.

What’s your routine?

I spend about twenty minutes going through email and RSS, then I focus on the most important task for the day, typically.

What are your overall thoughts on focus?

Focus is essential. I don’t like how the simplicity movement have seemed to hijack it, in claiming it is necessary for having a zen-like, peaceful life. Of course, that’s completely true! But, that also means over-achieving go-getters often adopt the opposite advice of spreading themselves thin over several projects. The result is at best accomplishing less, and at worst becoming a stressed-out basket-case. In that sense, the simplicity writers have it dead on: maintaining a focused (and I think nearly obsessive) outlook on your current goals and projects is the best way to make sure they are accomplished.

If you weren’t doing what you’re doing now, what would you be doing?

No idea. I love what I’m doing too much, so it’s hard to imagine.

Any parting thoughts?

The power is in constraints. Constraining yourself to one project, one mission or one really important task for the day gives you power because it eliminates the distractions. My productivity went way up as soon as I stopped multi-tasking and multi-projecting and placed some constraints.

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What’s your story?

I was definitely driven to technology (and distraction!) from a young age. But somehow or another I’ve managed to do all right. I studied software engineering at a nearby college when I was in high school, earning a software engineering degree at 17. Then I went on to study philosophy and got a BA in that at 20. Prior to that I’d been working mostly at startups doing software work, so I decided to start a business. For six years we focused on productivity solutions for large businesses, but a couple years ago we changed gears to focus on a consumer internet application, AwayFind.

Somewhere along the way I got involved a lot in swing and blues dancing, running events like Ignite DC and Bootstrap Maryland, and generally attempting to find balance. It’s not always so easy to relax, but I’m happy with how things are going.

If you weren’t doing what you’re doing now, what would you be doing?

I’d likely be addressing distractions or communication challenges at a startup or large internet company. I believe our relationships with technology and the manner in which we digitally communicate will take on ever greater roles in who we become over the next century. This is my field and I’m sticking with it.

How did you come about discovering AwayFind?

Reading the Four Hour Workweek I found value in Tim’s approach to batching email, but saw AwayFind as a much better way of offering an auto-responder. However, over time it evolved into so much more than a tiny tool that relates to GTD and 4HWW.

Your take on society’s interaction with technology?

Technology has the potential to make our lives much better and more active, but usually it overwhelms us, creating an always-on mentality that challenges our ability to slow down and focus for any extended period. People that are reading this are probably technically proficient, but society as a whole could benefit a whole lot from education in both technology and the type of logical problem-solving it can foster.

Describe your work arrangements

Things are very organized, and I can work fine at home, at coffeehouses, or at other people’s offices. I prefer having multiple monitors, but otherwise it doesn’t matter where in the world I am.

Coffee or Tea person?

I really like both coffee and tea, and geek out on getting the right mixtures together. However, I try not to have more than one dose of caffeine per day, usually a cortado (espresso with a drop of milk) right after lunch.

Any favorite Gadgets for focus?

Devices help me to stay informed and plan less; for instance, portable internet via iPhone is a huge timesaver. Multiple monitors make it easier to create workspaces for specific tasks. As for focus, I’m not sure gadgets generally help!

Besides AwayFind, any favorite web apps?

Basecamp and Wave are workflow tools that are essential for collaboration. But for personal focus, the paid version of RescueTime is particularly helpful as it blocks distracting websites.

Besides 4hww and Getting Things Done, list your favorite book

Once you understand the general philosophy behind productivity systems, books on that subject don’t really matter. Productivity is basically just “Get stuff out of your head and into a tool, do one thing at a time.” What matters is getting your head around the motivation and psychology that drives you. So on those topics, I suppose Driven to Distraction (about ADHD) and Drive (about intrinsic motivation) are excellent resources. The latter is more relevant to most people, and is both practical and fascinating.

What’s your purpose?

Impact. I want to change the way more people use technology. Right now it’s usually an obstacle to productivity and finding contentment—I want it to become a vehicle instead.

Describe your routine

Bed by midnight, hopefully. When I get up, I go for a run, eat breakfast, and then work on the most important things. Email comes before lunch. Meetings come after lunch. I wrote a detailed account of my day at WebWorkerDaily.

Overall thoughts on getting focused?

Stay away from email before lunch. Listen to your body’s natural energy levels and try to structure your day around that. Do one thing at a time. Don’t hesitate even though it seems like a real pain to get started on the hardest task of the day. Use AwayFind and you’ll become more handsome, well-liked, and productive.

What’s your story?

My story, and I’m sticking to it, is that I write about the end of an era and the revolutionary beginning of another. I talk about ideas that spread, treating people with respect and doing work that matters. My purpose is to leverage the opportunity and the audience I have to create the most impact and community good I can find.

In your speech at the St. Regis, you spoke about Twitter and how there’s a lot of noise, but the challenge is uncovering the signal. How do you personally use Twitter?

I don’t use Twitter. I’m not able to do it well and continue to do the rest of my life. I think that being picky about your inputs and outputs, while seeking out challenges you have the resources to complete… these are difficult decisions but important ones.

You also spoke of Lulu for self publishing books. Why didn’t you go this route? Where do you think the publishing industry is heading?

My point is that there is no barrier to publishing a book any longer. You don’t need anyone’s permission. On the other hand, if one of the four biggest publishers in the US offers to pay for the chance to distribute and promote your book as a lead title, why not take it? My publisher offers me resources that would be difficult to risk on my own, and in exchange, they keep most of the upside. Since my goal is to spread ideas, not maximize income, it makes sense.

Stephen King has a writing routine he lives by. He writes first thing in the morning for 3-4 hours, then puts the pen down and enjoys the day. What is your writing routine like?

I enjoy the day first, and write whenever writing helps me enjoy the day more!

Any other competing titles to Linchpin?

The original title was the Chef, the Cook and the Bottlewasher. It’s self explanatory but a little limiting.

How do you prevent yourself from getting distracted by social media?

I’ve had ADD my whole life, and so my real job is that I’m a professional at not getting distracted. The rest of my life is easy compared to the hard work of not getting waylaid by inbound interruptions.

Describe your office arrangements

I do my thinking in my head (it’s easier that way) so wherever I am, that’s my office.

Any underrated Linchpins in your life?

Most of my readers. I couldn’t do it without them.

Coffee or tea person?

No caffeine for the last ten years. I only have two speeds, and the third speed, on caffeine, is not a pretty one.

Favorite Gadgets that help you get focused?

Big pads. Different ones all the time. Grease pencils.

Any favorite web or mobile apps for getting focused?

At Squidoo we use Basecamp a lot. It’s not fun, but it works.

Parting thoughts?

Ship. If you’re not shipping, it’s because of fear. Become more afraid of not shipping than shipping. Ship. Fail. Learn. Ship.

What Behance product has made you more focused?

The Action Method in general as a way of thinking has completely changed the way I go through my day. I start with big goals, and find a way to break them down so that they’re not so daunting. When I arrive in the morning, I try to get a handle on what the day will hold by looking at my Action Steps in AMO, reading through new emails, and checking my notes from the day before. Then, I use our Action Pad to make a comprehensive list of exactly what I have to get done that day, and I start working through those. I try not to add too much to the list as the day goes on, but focus on getting done what I listed in the morning.

What’s the behance environment like?

Most people at the Behance office have pretty clean desks – there’s always an abundance of coffee cups floating around, but on the whole the office is tidy.

Coffee or tea person?

Personally, I’m a coffee person, and could not start my morning without it. I wouldn’t say that coffee itself helps me be more productive, but I love the morning ritual that it provides, and the associations I have with getting in early in the morning, with a hot cup of coffee and settling down to get it all done.

Favorite productivity gadget?

Smartphones. I use an iPhone, and completely rely on it to have access to my email at all times, and my action steps via the Action Method Iphone app.

Today, cell phones are more than just distractions, they’ve become completely intertwined with daily life. Not everyone uses their phone in the same way, but being able to catch up on the news and read through emails and upcoming tasks as I get myself to work helps me to frame the course of my day and prepare me to be productive and calm.

Any favorite web productivity app?

Behance has developed a fantastic project management system called Action Method Online; everyone in the office uses it, and it helps break tasks, ideas, and projects down into smaller pieces called “Action Steps.” These steps can be delegated to one another, or just personal tasks and reminders for yourself. We offer monthly and yearly subscriptions, with discounts for non-profits and corporate teams.

What drives Behance?

I think everyone at Behance would agree that our enthusiasm for our mission drives us. The creative community is an essential source of inspiration and beauty in society, and we want to help grow the livelihood of these people by providing an organized forum, and opportunities for them to be able to do what they love and make a living from it, and keep their inspiration and vision intact along the way.

Overall thoughts on the concept of Focus

Something that will automatically help focus is simply getting to a place where you can be excited about and committed to what you’re spending your time doing. We all can’t afford to be working on personal projects constantly, but our work should sync with our passions, and finding ways to be excited about what you spend your hours on will help to change focus from something you have to work at to being something that comes naturally. Of course, even in a project you love, it’s important to be disciplined about hours spent, next steps, and staying organized.

What’s your story?

I grew up on the east coast. After college, I knew I didn’t like the east coast, so I drove west looking for an interesting place to live. When I hit the Pacific, it was hot so I turned right and ended up in Alaska. There I met my wife and founded a custom web app consultancy (which I grew and sold in 2005). I then build/sold a web app (in the recruiting space), and sold that to a company in Seattle (which required a move south). A little over a year ago, I founded a company called RescueTime (time management software). We got funding for it from some amazing investors and now we have a great business that will be profitable this year.

On the discovery of Rescuetime

It came from a very personal desire to know what the hell was going on with my time. I felt furiously busy every day, but as a guy who felt like he was supposed to be building software I found that I was spending VERY little time in the tools that helped me do that. Where was it all going? I tried logging my time in a spreadsheet, but it didn’t seem to help (turns out when you shift focus on your computer dozens of times per hour, manual logging is a pretty ridiculous solution).

What surprises people most when they see their personal rescuetime stats?

There are two big surprises. One of them is communication– it’s BREATHTAKING how much time you spend sending communicating via IM, email, and social networks (Twitter was a painful example for me). Another is what I call “drive by meetings“. The time chewed up by people “swinging by” your office/desk to “chat”. I had one guy say, “I have an hour and a half of meeting time today and I had NO SCHEDULED MEETINGS!”. Another surprise is what I call “the long tail of information porn“. All those little sites that you spend 2-3 minutes at in a day add up. For me, for example, 30% or so of my activity is outside of my top 10 applications and sites. Think about that for a second. Try to make a list of the software and sites you use in descending order of how much you use them. It’s hard to come up with 10– and scary when you see that 2h 30m of an 8 hour day gets chewed up outside of this list.

How does seeing productivity analytics help you focus?

Well, seeing it is a first step. It’s just like a program like Quicken, Mint, or Quickbooks. Once you see how you spend your time, you tend to spend it more mindfully. Also, we think it’s a critical tool for measuring effectiveness of other time management systems/software. Think about how many tools/techniques we try to make ourselves more productive– ultimately they all purport to give us one thing– more productive time and more focus.

RescueTime can also provide some tools to nudge yourself when you hit certain thresholds. Like “nudge me when I spend more than 1h on social networks”, or “let me know when I’ve spent 5 hours on productive stuff so I can go home”.

Give your take on society as a whole and their interaction with technology

I think there are two major forces at work that are killing our productivity:

First, we’re dopamine junkies. Just like rats in a Skinner Box, we’re constantly being trained for certain behaviors. Feeling busy feels good. Opening email or IMs is just a variable reinforcement system– a random percentage of communication is rewarding (“This makes me feel important” or “This makes me feel loved” or “this is funny”), which makes us want to click on more stuff. And the fine folks at all of the social networks and “info porn” sites (news sites, largely) are optimizing for addictiveness. They are sitting in analytics apps doing multi-variate testing to maximize how much time you spend on their sites and how many times you visit them in a week. We’re pretty ill-equipped to deal with this sort of systematic attack.

Second, technology is systematically reducing the incremental cost of communication. 20 years ago, for me to communicate with you I’d have to pick up the phone and press 7 numbers or walk down the hall and knock on your door (risking that you wouldn’t be there). Now I have several 1-click interruption options. And the email is easier with cc fields and reply-all buttons to make sure to spread the wealth. Not surprisingly, we’re all buried in communication and interruptions.

Describe your working arrangements. Simple? Zen’d out? Messy?

Simple. 2 big monitors (Mac OS X with a Windows 7 Virtual Machine). One notepad for meetings. I’m zealous about Zero Inbox and a modified GTD style of productivity. I think one of the real challenges with getting busy is that your to-do list gets too long. The only way to deal with it is to say “no”… That is, “no, I’m not going to respond to that email” or “no I’m not going to READ that email” or “no, I’m not going to do that” or “no, I’m not going to have coffee with you– but I will have lunch, ’cause a guy’s gotta eat!”. And, of course, “No, you can’t interrupt me”!

Coffee or Tea person?

I like both. My wife roasts coffee at home, but I’m not really snobby about it. I drink a few cups a day but I take a week or two off any time I feel addicted. I don’t want to be that guy who can’t function without his coffee.

Any favorite Gadgets for productivity?

I punted the iPhone because it failed to reliably make phone calls. I have a Droid (love it), but use it for phone calls mostly. It doesn’t really help my productivity except that I always call parents/friends when I’m driving (with a headset of course– it’s the law!) and I try to take care of my “info porn” needs on the bus and when waiting for a meeting to spin up. Basically, I’ll just check my RSS reader or Twitter on these occasions so that when I sit back down to work, there’s nothing new to see.

The best thing I ever did for my productivity was to punt IM. 4 people can IM me now (versus dozens of IM friends that I had previously) and it’s understood that I ignore IM 95% of the time. If you want to interrupt me, call or come over, but do it only when you think your question issue is worth derailing whatever I’m working on. An IM is the ultimate disregard of people’s focus and flow (unless it’s a scheduled chat or a super-time-sensitive issue).

Besides RescueTime, what’s your favorite app for getting focused?

I’m a huge fan of to-do lists. I think they should be public and stack ranked. So if you want me to do something, you can say, “Hey, here’s something I think you should do. Probably not as important as your 1-3, but maybe more important than #4″. Public ordered to-do lists are a great defense, too. “Oh, you want me to do that ASAP? Would you like me to do that before and after these three OTHER ASAP tasks?” RememberTheMilk is one of my favorites here, but there are lots of them. Software geeks use these all the time (BugTrackers).

We all love 4hww and GTD, including me, but do you have any other good productivity books you’ve read?

I love both of those books, but I generally don’t read productivity books. I think they can be “aspirational non-fiction”. Just like most of the readers of “Success” magazine aren’t all that successful, I think most people who read productivity books aren’t that productive. I don’t think we need more techniques. If you work on stuff that you care about, have a good to do list, make sure people respect your flow, and are realistic about what you can do (by processing your inboxes quickly and saying no to most things) I think you’ll be more productive than 99% of the planet.

What’s your purpose?

Hrm. I love to build/design stuff. My biggest motivators are happy customers who talk about RescueTime. I suppose I’d like to be rich, too– but I’ve done okay in the past just building what I’m interested in.

Give us some insight into your daily routine

As a founder of a smallish software company, I have a pretty varied schedule. I get up around 7. Check/process any email (20m) over coffee and then I start working. Using designing in Photoshop, hacking CSS, or writing stuff. We have a regular 15m team meeting (in person or video conference) at 11am. I’ll usually grab lunch afterwords. My lunch docket can get full, because I religiously refuse “coffee dates” with other folks in favor of lunch. I have a pretty firm cut-off time for work of about 6pm (work/life balance for the self-employed is hard!).

If you weren’t doing what you’re doing now, what would you be doing?

For work? Something geeky. Maybe a game or maybe a travel site of some kind. If I wasn’t working, I’d be traveling!

Overall thoughts on getting focused?

I think you’re spot on when you say that to be focused you need to eliminate distractions. No alerts for email, no interruptive IM, and an understanding with your peers that when you’re working, you’d like to stay that way unless there’s a time-sensitive issue. Meetings are a problem, too– keep them short and goal-focused. Meetings that are about making a decision are good. Meetings about “keeping people in the loop” are generally bad. Number one piece of focus advice I have is to do LESS. Got too much to do? Too many emails to read? Start saying no. Skim/archive “FYI” emails. You have to be absolutely ruthless about saying no.

Lukas Mathis is a fascinating character and major talent in the field of software and user interface design. Lukas shares such lessons through his blog, Ignore The Code. In the following interview, Lukas explains his philosophy on getting things done and gearing down to focus.

What’s your overall story?

I live in a small village in the Swiss alps. I work as a software engineer and user experience person. I create things. I write code and text. I draw stuff. When there’s snow, I go snowboarding, otherwise I go trail running, or hiking.

What are your living arrangements like?

I used to live in Zürich for close to a decade. Zürich is small by international standards, but large by Swiss standards. As a contrast program, I decided to move away from the city for a while, so I could spend more time working on my own projects.

Now, I live in a small village in the Swiss alps. I’m employed, but I work from home.

What are your favorite Gadgets for focus?

A gadget’s main function I use to get focused is its “off” button.

When I work, I work on an iMac that is pretty much running no software that allows other people to interrupt me. The sole two apps which allow outside influence are an email app that has only a work account and doesn’t check for new mail very often, and a Skype client which only has work contacts and is set to “away” most of the time.

Favorite web or mobile apps for getting focused?

I don’t use apps to get focused. Playing around with productivity apps is just another way to procrastinate. You become more productive by getting into the habit of doing actual work regularly, not by constantly thinking about how you can get more work done.

I don’t even use a to-do app. If something is important, I’ll remember it. If I have an idea I’m afraid I might forget, I set a reminder in my calendar on a date when I know I’ll have time to work on it. On that date, I’ll either work on it, discard it, or reschedule it.

Coffee or tea?

Tea. All kinds of tea, from Ricola to Hojicha.

Any books you’ve read lately that inspired you?

I don’t read inspiring books. I find that such books give me a temporary high, but they don’t give me the power to actually follow through. In fact, I suspect these books often serve as a substitute for actual success, rather than as a way of helping people achieve success. By reading inspiring books, you can experience success vicariously; they free you from having to achieve things yourself.

What’s your purpose? What drives you?

I like to create things that other people like, things that improve the lives of other people, or that change their minds and make them question their opinions.

What’s your routine?

On a normal workday, I get up between seven and eight in the morning. I eat breakfast and check my mail. Then, I go for a run and take a shower. I’ll work until noon. I usually cook my own food, about twice a week I eat out. In the afternoon, I usually work some more. At around five in the afternoon, I’ll do some rowing or boxing, shower again, eat something, and then I’ll play some videogames, read, or work on a personal project. If there’s snow, I might also spend the day on the slopes, and work in the afternoon. I try to go to bed at around eleven.

However, my days often end up not being normal workdays. I get a lot of visitors (mostly friends from the city who pity me for being up here all by myself), so if there’s snow, we go snowboarding for a few days, eat raclette, and play Wii. During summer, we often go hiking. I don’t have fixed working hours, so I can get away with randomly taking a few days off.

If you weren’t doing what you’re doing now, what would you be doing?

I think I would still be in the “create things that makes people happy and improve their lives” business. Maybe I’d be an architect, or an industrial designer.

Overall thoughts on getting focused?

There’s a really simple tip almost everybody can use to increase productivity tremendously. Not only is the tip free, it might even make you a bit of money. *And* it’ll make you smarter. It’s really easy, there’s only one step involved: Sell your TVs.