Lately, I’ve noticed it’s getting harder to find my flow state.
With each notification, endlessly updating feeds, and AI tools that shortcut thinking, deep work feels harder to access than it used to. I can feel my attention splintering. I notice the reflex to reach for my phone the moment something feels even mildly difficult.
And it makes me feel nervous—because I know focus is becoming more rare.
The world increasingly rewards speed. Quick takes. Fast iterations. Immediate responses. Tools that compress the thinking process. And in business (or at least on my X feed), there’s a tangible pressure to keep up; to adopt every new platform, learn every tool, follow every trend… or fall behind.
As an operator, prioritization and sequencing are always top of mind. I’m constantly asking: what is the biggest constraint in the business right now? The answer is rarely glamorous. It requires sustained thought and repetition. These problems don’t get solved between scroll breaks. Focus is not just a productivity tactic. It’s a strategic decision. Every expansion of attention is a tradeoff.
And when I really think about it, I don’t need to be at the frontier of every AI advancement to get to the next level of growth. That strategy is already clear. What threatens to pull me off course isn’t a lack of tools—it’s the tradeoff between endless experimentation and sustained focus. New technology can be as distracting as it is helpful.
It’s so important to define the journey you’re on. Without that, you absorb other people’s timelines, priorities, and definitions of success without realizing it. Sometimes you need deliberate blinders—not to shrink your perspective, but to protect it.
Personally, I care about building a big, long-lasting brand that inspires people to live in full color. I care about creating clothes I’m proud of. I care about building a team and creating opportunity for hardworking people. I care about building a tight knit circle of friends — and eventually starting a family.
I’m not shrinking my ambition. If anything, my goals are bigger than ever. But big goals contain short and long term games. The short game optimizes for immediacy and the long game optimizes for compounding. Both matter. But they don’t require the same level of attention at the same time.
My immediate goals don’t require me to be on the cutting edge of every tool at this exact moment.
The more I sit with this tension, the more I think the answer isn’t more experimentation or more consumption.
It’s discernment.
Filtering what requires my attention.
Being intentional about which inputs shape my thinking.
Defining success clearly enough that I’m not seduced by someone else’s scoreboard.
In a frenetic, rapidly changing world, protecting the focus required to build the life you actually want may be the most important strategic decision of all.
Happy Sunday,
Nas