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Dominic Barajas
Dominic Barajas

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Getting through app wanderlust and how I regain my focus.

I've been on the job hunt since August. Still, it's not a long time. However, I have been making sure to balance my search with learning, practicing, and taking a breath whenever I can. Whether that be working out, playing some video games, or playing D&D with my friends,

but the biggest thing that gets me pumped up is working on a new project. Building the bones of it and reaching the MVP (minimum viable product) point.

Although I have been experiencing application wanderlust lately. So many ideas fill my head, I start and build, but then move on to the next one. Moving on without getting to that MVP point.

The past was definitely a struggle for me without having a clear goal in mind or letting my mind wander too far off course. The old bad habits would creep back in, and my productivity would suffer. As I worked towards refocusing my mind, I crafted ways for it to get back on track. As everyone's circumstances are different, I can't say for sure if these tips will all help if you're feeling lost. We hope that this checklist of my Limitless Focus Power can provide you with some valuable advice.

See the bullet list at the bottom!

When I wake up in the morning, I ensure I have a cup of black cold brew right away. After that, do the joint movement and full-body stretch routine I learned while doing Parkour. Doing these two things should not take longer than 10 minutes.

Afterward, I will stand at my desk, put on a YouTube study mix or hip-hop mix, and begin to work on a project for an hour. Moving my phone and any other distractions out of sight so I won't see them.

Once the hour is up. I'll do a quick stretch. Once that is done, I get my whiteboard or notebook. I will then spend 30 minutes planning my schedule for the week. Since I am currently seeking employment, my days are pretty packed with study and projects. After that, I will have a whole setup to keep my time focused for the week.

My next step is to work out or do some sort of physical activity for an hour in order to keep my energy level up and help my body cope with stress. Then I will wash up and have breakfast.

Then I'm back behind my computer. I will pick a project and focus on either getting it to MVP or building a newer feature on top of it to make it more robust. I'll be concentrating on that project the whole week.

Afterwards, I will take a ten-minute break every 45 minutes to make sure I'm checking things like posture. Getting some water, or bothering my girlfriend, or throwing the ball to my dog.

My focus this week is on developing an application for exercising. With my old parkour experience, I am building an application that enables you to customize your workout based on what you want. In addition to the workout being tailored to each person's skill level, some instruction will be given on parkour movements.

I so far have built a bit of the front end with some navigation links. I have tested out my embedded YouTube videos that demonstrate the movements. That is courtesy of the amazing Apex School of Movement. My next step is to create the functionality that creates the workout for you based on what type you are looking for.

pseudo code

const buildWorkoutFunction = () = > {
    const uppperBodyArray = upperBody
    const lowerBodyArray = lowerBody

    if (buttonPush === upperBodyButtonBeginer) {
       return beginerUpperBodyWorkout    } else if (buttonPush === upperBodyButtonIntermediate) {
     return intermediateUpperBodyWorkout
    }  else if (buttonPush === upperBodyButtonAdvanced) {
     return advanceUpperBodyWorkout
    }  else if (buttonPush == lowerBodyButtonBeginner) {
     return beginnerLowerBodyWorkout
    }  else if (buttonPush == lowerBodyButtonIntermediate) {
     return intermediateLowerBodyWorkout
    } else if (buttonPush == lowerBodyButtonAdvanced) {
     return advancedLowerBodyWorkout
    } 
}

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then some functions that manage all the workouts to build based on what compliments each other and would make sense from my extensive parkour training background.

Currently, to get it to MVP I’m going to have two buttons. An upper body and a lower body. When it is clicked it will generate a workout list to use. That list will have your sets and reps. It will also have descriptions of the movements as well as links to the embedded videos demonstrating the movements. This should have me focused all week and possibly into the following if I am really grove ing on getting the other more ambitious functionality out of it.

So now back focused on a new project my ritual completed yesterday I feel like I can keep this Thomas the tank engine going for another week and keep distractions at a minimum.

  • wake up as early as you can. 6-8am
  • grab some caffeinated beverage (cold brew for me)
  • stretch and wake up with a bit of light joint movement for 10 min
  • immediately get behind your computer and start working on something for 1 hour
  • take a 10 min break to loosen up and check your posture.
  • spend the next 30 minutes planning the week.
  • take an hour to work out or do any physical activity
  • clean off and grab some brain fuel.
  • Then focus on one project for the week.

I do this to get back into the productive groove and keep my practice flowing. I would love to hear how you all refocus.

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