And what to do about it as an engineer.
By Raido Kivikangur
Still working nonstop and getting nowhere? This guide cuts to the root cause and helps you rebuild your clarity.
Become the engineer who delivers deep work - not just fast responses. The one colleagues trust when the noise gets loud. And the one they count on when it really matters.
Let’s get your focus back.
The myth: “I’m working all the time, so I must be productive”
Most engineers think if they’re constantly doing, they must be making progress.
Emails answered? Code reviewed? Meetings attended? All checked off.
But here’s the truth: you can be busy every hour and still achieve nothing that truly matters.
We’ve been sold the idea that effort equals outcome. But that’s not how focus works. Your brain doesn’t care how many tabs you have open - it cares whether it ever gets to finish a thought.
And in today’s world of notifications, Slack or Teams pings, context switches, and constant interruptions, most engineers never do.
The result? You burn energy all day but finish feeling like you’ve built nothing.
And here’s the kicker: the more you push through distraction, the more depleted your brain gets. It’s not just about productivity. It’s about mental wear and tear.
The truth: Focus is a finite resource - and you’re burning it on junk
Focus isn’t endless. It’s fragile, expensive, and irreplaceable.
Every time you jump from one task to another, you pay a cost. You break your brain’s deep work mode. And once broken, it takes 23 minutes on average to restore.
You’re not struggling because you’re lazy. You’re struggling because you’re leaking attention like a cracked pipe.
You feel overwhelmed not because there’s too much to do - but because your brain never gets to finish what it started.
It’s not about working harder. It’s about protecting your flow. Your focus. Your cognitive edge.
Because when you protect that edge, everything changes. Your work gets faster, deeper, and more meaningful. You stop reacting and start creating.
And this isn’t about hacks. It’s about reclaiming control.
Four fixes to protect your focus (and get your edge back)
1. Build one sacred block a day
Choose 90 minutes every day to go deep: no meetings, no messages, no multitasking. Just one real chunk of focused creation.
This is where your highest-leverage work happens. Guard it fiercely.
It’s better to do 90 minutes of real work than 9 hours of noise.
Track it. Defend it. Repeat it.
I once coached an engineering lead who worked 12-hour days but still felt behind.
He said, “I never stop moving, but I never make real progress.”
We carved out one 90-minute block per morning - no meetings, no pings, just code.
Within two weeks, he finished a feature that had been dragging for months.
His manager noticed. His team followed his rhythm. His reputation changed.
All from one focused window.
2. Cut the notification drain
Turn off nonessential notifications. Mute group chats. Check email at set intervals.
Every ping is a tax on your best thinking. Reduce the noise. Reclaim the signal.
You don’t need to reply instantly. You need to think clearly.
Let the world wait. You’re building something better.
3. End the day with a clear restart plan
Before you stop working, write down the next step for tomorrow.
That way, you don’t waste mental bandwidth wondering where to begin - and your brain can start deep work faster.
It’s like saving a file before you shut your laptop. You’re building momentum before you even start.
Start with clarity. End with clarity.
4. Make focus visible
Track when you enter a flow state. What triggered it? What killed it?
Use a whiteboard, a sticky note, a simple log. Engineers love data - use it to optimize the most important system you’ve got: your attention.
Even noticing one pattern can unlock hours of clarity every week.
Your focus has fingerprints. Study them.
Bonus: Protect your energy like your codebase
Just like you’d never leave unreviewed code in production, don’t leave your focus exposed to noise.
Create rules. Protect the edges. Refactor your day for flow.
You don’t need more time. You need more clarity and less cognitive drag.
Your attention deserves the same discipline you give your technical work.
Build guardrails. Remove bugs. Optimize deeply.
From mental friction to momentum
Treat your focus like a premium material: allocate it sparingly, channel it wisely, and eliminate waste.
And when you do, you shift from surviving your schedule… to shaping your success.
You already optimize systems. Now optimize your own.
Want a tailored strategy to protect your focus and rebuild momentum?
Book a free 30-minute clarity call with me.
You’ll get a custom approach that fits your exact challenges, workflow, and engineering mindset.