Most mornings start the same way. The laptop opens, there are no appointments yet, so you ease in: a few minutes on LinkedIn, the news, a blog post somebody shared. Then email, which is the task list other people wrote for you. By ten o'clock the day is reactive, and the one piece of work that would have moved your business forward is still sitting there.
The Focus Map is a conversation your AI has with you to find that one piece of work, and then to start it with you.
What it does
It runs like a short coaching session. Your AI asks what's on your mind and what keeps showing up. It asks what the real challenge is underneath, and it pushes back when your first answer is a symptom. Then it asks the uncomfortable question: if you're saying yes to this, what are you saying no to?
When one priority survives that pressure, the wizard names one specific move you can start today. Not a project plan, one piece of work small enough to begin in the chat and real enough that finishing it changes your week. It asks you to picture it finished, and then it offers to start it with you right there.
Everything else you mentioned goes on the map: a short checklist with your one move at the top and the rest parked underneath, so you can leave those things alone without losing them.
Who it's for
Anyone whose day gets eaten by other people's priorities: owners, salespeople, managers, HR, marketing, anyone who works from an inbox. It works whether you're new to AI or you've tried plenty of things and your attention is scattered. You can arrive with a clear priority or a pile of half-finished ideas.
What you get
Takeaway Pick the one thing before you open email.
- One move you can start today, with the first version done if you say yes to starting it.
- A Focus Map: your one move on top, everything else parked as a checklist, and the fuller picture folded away underneath.
- Your own words back. The map is built from what you said, not from a template.
How to run it
Copy the line in the Run it box below and paste it into a new chat in Claude or ChatGPT. Free plans work. Nothing to install and nothing to connect.
What to expect
About 15 to 25 minutes, plus the first move if you start it. One question at a time, and it will push on your answers. Say yes when it offers to start the move, and you'll leave with something finished, not just a plan.
Evan Van Dyke wrote the Focus Map from a doc he has kept pinned in his browser for about ten years: focus on one thing that will build momentum, block the time, picture it done, get it done. The wizard turns those four lines into a conversation.
