- Productive Knowledge Worker
- Posts
- From Tab Overload to Laser Focus
From Tab Overload to Laser Focus
Day 28 – How to Stop Drowning in Tools and Start Finishing What Matters
Selim Uysal
June 29, 2025
Hi friend,
Ever open one tab to test a new AI tool…
…only to find yourself 2 hours later with 12 tabs open and zero progress?
That’s not a tech problem.
It’s a focus problem.
In an age of infinite tools, the scarcest asset is clarity.
Let’s fix that.
🧠 Your Brain Has RAM Too
Every open tab drains your mental battery.
Every unfinished task slows your mental load time.
Every “just 5 minutes” detour eats the deep work you meant to do.
Want to think like an iPhone?
You need fewer apps open, and a system that closes the ones you don’t need.
“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”
🛠️ Install These 3 Mental Apps
1️⃣ The Curiosity Sandbox
Set one weekly block to explore new tools.
Play guilt-free. But only in that timebox.
Creativity thrives with boundaries.
2️⃣ The One-Tab Rule
Limit yourself to one open project, tool, or idea at a time.
Switching is lag. Focus is speed.
You don’t need more RAM. You need fewer apps open.
3️⃣ The Real Output Filter
No new tool unless it creates real output; a saved automation, a shipped post, a working system.
If it doesn’t serve the work, it’s noise.
🤖 Use AI as Your Second Brain — Not Your Distraction Engine
Let ChatGPT turn overload into clarity.
Try these prompts before diving in:
🧠 “I have 3 unfinished ideas and 12 tabs. Prioritize 1 for action and turn it into a 20-minute task.”
⚙️ “Summarize this tool comparison into a yes/no decision with pros & cons: [paste info]”
🎯 “Give me one automation idea I can actually implement in 10 minutes.”
Let AI declutter your head and speed you up.
🗑️ What I’m Eliminating Today
To practice what I preach, I’m reducing content sprawl.
Until now, I’ve been publishing every post across:
– 📨 My Beehiiv newsletter (productiveknowledgeworker.com)
– 📰 LinkedIn Newsletter
– ✍️ Typeshare
– 🐦 Twitter/X
Starting today, I’m cutting that list down.
From now on, I’ll only publish at productiveknowledgeworker.com,
and then repost directly to LinkedIn and X.
No more Typeshare.
No more publishing friction.
No more multitasking platforms.
Why?
Because every extra channel is a mental tab.
And the fewer tabs, the more clarity.
This isn’t about doing less.
It’s about doing better.
🍏 Finishing Steve Jobs’ Biography: A Personal Milestone
This week, I finished Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs.
It’s unforgettable.
Not just for the tech innovations or drama, but for the way Jobs obsessed over simplicity and clarity.
He believed focus wasn’t just a strength; it was survival.
“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are.”
Jobs had many flaws. But when it came to vision, he was uncompromising.
And that made all the difference.
🎯 Today’s Takeaway
Simplicity isn’t a lack of ideas.
It’s the discipline to ignore most of them.
The most productive knowledge workers don’t chase more tools.
They install fewer — and master them.
“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”
💬 Need help setting up just one automation that clears your brain?
Reply “one thing”, I’ll send you a 10-minute idea tailored to your workflow.
—
Thanks for reading!
Selim
📬 P.S. Want to grow your newsletter like a pro?
🎥 Catch the Newsletter Summit replay here:
🚀 Apply for Beehiiv’s Newsletter Accelerator