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.
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{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree about getting rid of your TV. During my first year of marriage, we had no TV.
It was wonderful. We actually paid attention to eachother, and I got the best grades that year.
Stephen — That’s funny you mention that. My wife and I did the same thing. It was great… for a while. However, when company came over you tended to want to kick-back, relax and watch a game (Superbowl, Olympics, etc.) For this reason we picked up a TV.
Yeah, we got a TV when it was cheaper to get Cable, Phone, and Internet together. Eventually, however, we’ll probably ditch the cable since we can get pretty much anything through netflix ‘instantly’ on our wii.
A life lived without commercials is wonderful.
For company, however, we have a large selection of board and word-puzzle games that gets everyone involved.
Completely agree on living life without commercials! Good idea regarding board/word-puzzle games. Here’s another item you might find interesting:
Great coffee table for having company over: http://reviews.costco.com/2070/11496905/reviews.htm
We just got one and are enjoying it.
I too have a stack of board games for company. I have a projector that’s hooked up to a few game consoles and to a DVD player, as well, and a bunch of Arcade cabinets, which typically entertains at least the male guests. But most of the time, people don’t want to stay inside when they’re visiting me up here, so the lack of a TV or cable has never been an issue with visitors.
Haha, I bet, Lukas. I couldn’t imagine wanting to hang out inside up there.
What do you think of a chapter/post on something like, “17 Things to Do With Friends and Guests other than Watching T.V.”
Listing out board games, activities, etc.
“Sell your TV” – soooo true!!
Human brain is not made to multitask and the distraction of a TV makes the brain switch focus back and forth between work and TV and so forth. Each time needing extra mental resources to pickup where it left off. How can one become creative or solve problems when they are distracted from solid productive state.
Since moving to Silicon Valley (CA) last year from Sydney, Australia my wife and I decided not to get a TV due to this reason. Time is better spent reading a good book and/or exploring the beauty of our world then watching TV. As Jim Rohn said “Leaders are Readers”.
Ernest
Ernest — Thanks for your input. Appreciate it. Yea, I’ve tried unplugging from the T.V. for the past month. It’s been great.
There’s actually a concept called mirror neurons where our neurons mirror our environment. So if you’re reading and the T.V. is blaring–one doesn’t get the full positive effects from reading.
How’s the transition been from Sydney? And are you sifting through the SV buzz?
True. TV makes you tuned to nothing!
The comments about books are priceless. I was in a dead-end job several years ago, and devoured “you can do it” books by the pile. What did I learn from them? I learned that I spent a whole lot of time reading instead of taking initiative to change.
I find that books like “The Tipping Point,” and “Made to Stick” cause me to stop reading and tear into my projects with new insights. Of course, even books like these can be problematic if you make a habit of reading without extracting useful thoughts or actions…
I really enjoyed this post, Lukas.
Good advice here, I really enjoyed the interview. I’m a freelance web designer/developer who also lives out in the boonies, in a very small town in southern Spain. I love nature and I spend most of my free time outdoors; hiking, camping, mountain biking, flying kites on the beach, etc. That said, I love my TV! I’m not really into watching TV shows, but I do love films and I’m a gamer too. I wouldn’t trade one for the other, I like them equally. I think it’s possible to enjoy both electronic entertainment and the natural world. One doesn’t have to be so extreme as to throw out the TV. If it’s sunny and nice, go outside and play. If it’s rainy and cold, watch a flick or play some games! Balance in all things I suppose…
Also, I completely agree about productivity apps. One can spend so much time “optimizing their work flow” and organizing that they get no real work done! I often suffer from this, but I’ve found the best way to get work done is to use the tools you’ve got on hand and focus on each individual task completely. Oh, and of course, stop browsing the web. Shit… I’m procrastinating again, back to work!
@Chip Definitely agree with you there. I, too, went through the process of devouring motivation books; I actually found some of them great, whereas the others simply re-hashed ideas. Still, the motivation that you get from reading those books is valuable, when paired with action. It’s potential energy; with action, it’s kinetic energy. With only action, you’re simply being inefficient. I try not to mistake motion with productivity.
@Nathan — I admit that I sit down to watch a movie a couple times a week with the wife. Still, I don’t make a habit of watching T.V. shows.
@Chip: Yeah, I do enjoy books which, for lack of a better term, popularize science, and provide insight I would otherwise not have had from fields I don’t usually follow. Examples for such books are “Free”, “Talent is Overrated” or even “Death from the Skies” (which is not terribly inspiring, incidentally). I think “The Tipping Point” and “Made to Stick” would fit right in, though I haven’t read either of the two.
While some of the ideas in these books may be suspect, and perhaps a bit more “popular” than “scientific”, they often provide insight I would otherwise not have had, they influence how I do things, or give me new ideas. So I guess you could say that they are inspiring in that way, even though their main goal is probably not to inspire, but to educate and entertain.
I’ll also add that I try to read such books when I can’t do anything else. I listened to the audiobook version of “Free” while on a day-long hiking trip, for example.
@Lukas Good to see you! This post blew up on Hacker News out of nowhere last night. Your insight is really interesting on this subject, and people are really loving it.
Re: the books, I’m with you. Even though the title is How to Get Focused (of the website–not necessarily the book), I’ve made it a goal to write about stories, not just how-to’s and systems.
Let me know if you come across any fascinating stories in the field of productivity, focus or entrepreneurship.
Ciao,
I agree. But was this subject really worth an article? I mean, who hasn’t figured out that you need focus for being good at what you’re doing? Apps and e-mails interrupting your work – it’s a no go.
But Lukas, I love you for your courage, leaving the city for the mountains is so right and cool
Peo, I think most people have figured out that they need focus; they just don’t understand how to get there.
I have a TV, but I only use it to watch DVDs and play PS3 games. I do not have the aerial plugged in, because TV is mostly idle trash and advertisements drive me berserk.
Jonathan — That’s definitely a good move. The average human is targeted by around 4,000 are targeted through emails, T.V., advertisements, IM’s, phone calls, etc. per day. It’s definitely wise to cut this down.
This is my first time to visit your blog and I would say you share nice information. You definitely do research and write very well. Keep it up!
Pacquiao — Thank you so much. I really appreciate the feedback. If you have any ideas, or thoughts for future chapters, please let me know.
Good interview, congratulations. I have a TV too, but only for watch some movies.
I live in a small town in Brazil, and I spent all my free time playing tennis or watching movies. I usually read some books and science fiction is my top pick. I love real science too, and Carl Sagan really inspired me.
I completely agree about productivity apps. You have to focus on what really matters now. If you forget a task an hour after know that, probably it is not important. A productivity app will help you create a lot more unimportant things, giving you a false sense of productivity.
Luis — Awesome stuff, man. I’m all for movies on a weekend; and yea, productivity apps definitely will waste time if not, (i) thought out, and (ii) simple. Even simpler than 37 Signals styles apps.
where are can s/w engineer work?
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