Switches and dimmers

“Treat attention as an on/off switch, not a dimmer.”
–David Brooks

A friend mentioned this quote yesterday when I told them I would be taking a few months off work to write my next book. I have the tendency to do too much. I have a lot of things to get done, and never enough time to do it all. I’m interested to see where a couple months of pure focus (I’m talking airplane mode until noon) will take me. 

This is a big achievement. The thought of taking time off to write would have been unthinkable to me  a few years ago. Frankly, I wouldn’t have been able to afford it. Financially, it would have been too difficult. Personally, I would have been distracted by the idea of missed opportunities. Two months is about all I can muster, 

Where else can I incorporate switches instead of dimmers? How can I be fully present with one thing, and turn the rest off—even for an hour? How might work and life improve?