- Disconnecting is one of the most powerful ways to spark new and innovative ideas
- My morning meditation may have helped - I find I'm able to write more words when I take part in this ritual (40% more)
- constant connectivity is one of the worst disruptions to our focus and productivity
- attention is all around us. Once you see it, you can't unsee it.
- I accumulated more devices. I had never been so busy while accomplishing so little.
- UNFOCUS so that we can genuinely relax and recharge
- learning how to unfocus
- I went from viewing multitasking as a stimulating work hack to regarding it as a trap of continuous interruptions.
- by focusing deeply on just one important thing at a time - hyper focusing - we become the most productive version of ourselves.
- Put your phone out of sight
- Start seeing your smartphone for what it really is: a productivity black hole that sits in your pocket
- It's never healthy to be dependent on something - addictive, shiny rectangular devices included
- Modifying your environment is one of the top ways to cultivate your focus.
- Take time to weigh the value of your routine consumption. "Pitches" for your time and attention
- Recharge your attention... do something relatively mindless ... dishes, people watching, or cleaning the house... (and NOT stuff it with stuff / podcast / news / series etc)
- (time to defrag the brain)
- throughout the day, how frequently do you choose what to focus on? In other words, roughly how much of your time do you spend deliberately and with intention, deciding in advance what you want to do and when you'll do it
- attention is our most limited and constrained resource. the more we can manage our attention with intention, the more focused, productive, and creative we become.
- bombarding us with alerts, notifications, beeps and buzzes
- How our mind refuses to shut off when were lying in bed at night
- How incredible ideas and insights come to us while our mind is wandering in the shower, but the same insight don't strike when we need them the most. (at the desk)
- bouncing around a loop of the same five smartphone apps, checking for updates again and again
- How we are unable to stop worrying about certain things
- Focusing on this book (any book) is probably more productive than focussing on your smartphone the wall, or music in the background
- Directing your attention towards the most important object of your choosing - and then sustaining that attention - is the most consequential decision we will make throughout the day. We are what we pay attention to
- Distracting work - stimulating, unproductive tasks - black hole for productivity
- Finite limit to how many things we can focus on ... realistically we can, at most, do one or two of these things well at the same time
- When reading ... you have almost no attentional space remaining for other tasks
- Are you devoting a third of your attention to thinking about the smartphone by your side? Is part of your ming planning what you'll do after completing this chapter or distracted by something youre worried about? Are these concerns or anxieties popping out of nowhere
- (bandwidth is really limited)
- Directing your mental gaze to what is currently occupying your attentional space can be an odd exercise, as we rarely notice what has taken hold of our attention but spend most of our time totally immersed in what were experiencing
- mindfulness is - noticing what your mind is full of - negative self-talk. ... don't take all of your thoughts too seriously... "All thoughts want to be taken seriously, but few warrant it."
- Simply noticing what is occupying our attentional space has been shown to make us more productive
- We perform significantly better on every task when were aware that our mind is wandering.
- thoughts, tasks, projects, daydreams, conference calls, and other objects of attention continually passing through.
- When you leave your phone on the table during a conversation you're bound to be distracted by the possibility of incoming messages
- The costs of overloading our attention can be pretty severe (burnout / stress)
- We have to work with intention as much as possible. we have more to do than time within which to do it.
- At any one time, your attentional space should hold at most two key things that you are processing: what you intent to accomplish and what you're currently doing
- by being mindful of your intention, you can be confident that what you're immersed in is what you're actually aiming to get done
- The best way to avoid this overload is to be more selective with what you permit into your attentional space. on the drive home, shut off the radio... process the day.
- making small changes like these allows you to keep your attention on your intention
- Simplifying our attentional space lets us maintain enough room to work and live intentionally throughout the day... lets us spend more time on what's important and meaningful
- When your attentional space is overwhelmed, you, in turn, feel overwhelmed. When your attentional space is clear, you also feel clear. The tidier you keep your attentional space, the more clearly you think.
- The devices we own... are infinitely more stimulating than the other productive and meaningful things we could be focusing on
- overly focused on efficiency... productivity means accomplishing what we intend to do
- if we intend to have a relaxing day and manage to do absolutely nothing, were again perfectly productive.
- Being busy doesn't make us productive
- productivity is not about cramming more into our days but about doing the right thing in each moment
- Consider taking a break before starting something else so more of your attentional residue can dissipate (defragmentation). as far as your productivity is concerned, the best time to take a break is after you've finished a big task
- The most important aspect of hyper focus is that only one productive or meaningful task consumes your attentional space. (Pomodoro, task list, top-three of the day items)
- youre fucussing on a single task, you have some attentional space to spare - enough that you are also able to keep your iriginal intention in mind.
- Choose a productive or meaningful object of attention
- eliminate as many distractions internal and external as you can
- focus on that chosen object of attention
- continually draw your focus back
- being present in a conversation with your partner
- The TV behind our partner at the pub is usually more enticing than focusing on the conversation
- enjoying a meal with our family
- Mental resistance we have to unappealing tasks
- to overcome - just commit a timebox (pomodoro)
- keep one important, complex object of attention in your awareness as you work
- The rule of 3: At the start of each day, choose the three things you want to have accomplished by days end
- Instead of just considering the immediate consequences of an activity, also consider the second- and third-order consequences (i.e. mid- to longterm: Eg eat a cake. Do a sports session)
- You shouldnt be too hard on yourself when you do notice your brain drifting off or doing something else weird. ... An opportunity to assess how youre feeling ... we are more likely to catch our minds wandering when we reward ourselves for doing so.
- The important thins is that youre regularly checking whats occupying your attentional space. Set an hourly timer on your phone. This will easily be the most productive interruption you receive throughout the day.
- Setting specific intentions can double or triple your odds of success
- tennis players made plans on how they want to respond with the problems that might come up in the game
- pre-planning: when you see the dessert menu, treat yourself to a decaf coffee instead
- (Like I go to canteen dont bother with anything - straight to salad buffet)
- Once you become AWARE of how frequently you interrupt yourself, its hard to go back to working the same way again
- a cue to lighten up a bit and embrace whatever fun derailed my productivity - fretting over things you simply cant control is a waste of time, energy and attention
- By removing every object of attention thats potentially more stimulating and attactive than what you intend to do, you give your brain no choice but to work on that task
- Your coworkers need you a lot less than you think they do
- because you are investing your time, attention, and energy into just one task, you can slow down and work more purposefully
- Try to become more deliberate about when you check your messages - regain control of your attention
- Technology should exist for our convenience, not for the convenience of anyone who wants to interrupt us
- This shift in attitude has enabled me to use my phone with intention rather than on autopilot mode
- Resist the urge when youre waiting in line at the grocery store, walking or in the bathroom. Use these small breaks to reflect on what youre doing, to recharge
- Never attend a meeting without an agenda. I ask for the objective. Push back on any meeting without an agenda - your time is too valuable
- Question every recurring meeting on your calendar.
- If you find it difficult to become immersed in your work throughout the day, its worth questioning whether your tasks are difficult and complex enough
- your work no longer expands to fit the time you have available. Able to accomplish a full days work in just a few hours when they focus on only their most consequential tasks
- Becoming a better custodian of your attential space
- There is, however, one practice that has been proven in study after study to increase working memory capacity: meditation
- involves continually returning your focus to a single object of attention - as soon as you notice your mind has wandered from it
- your mind will wander constantly
- you heighten your executive functioning: how much control you have over your attention
- headspace and insight timer
- it doesnt matter how long i meditate, as long as I do so each day
- when you practice being with your breath, you practice being with your life.
- begin to practice mindfulness by choosing one daily task that doesnt consume your complete attention - sipping your morning coffe, wlaking through the office, taking a showe and intentionally be with that experience for a minute or two
- simply be with the circumstances of the present moment and notice as much as you can about what youre seeing, hearing, and feeling
- Whether at work or at home, the quality of your attention determines the quality of your life
- The resistance we feel toward complex and productive tasks is usually concentrated at the beginning of then we start these tasks
- while it might take weeks to summon the energy and stamina needed to clean the garage or bedroom closet, once we do it for even just a minute, we could keep going for hours
- Even setting a mental deadline of five minutes will likely be enough to get you started
- Notice when you "dont have time" for something. You always have time - you just spend it on other things
- Our mind primarily wanders to the negative when we're thinking about the past
- Cutting yourself off from distractions naturally turns your attention inward, as your thoughts become more interesting than anything in your external environment.
- A primary reson many of us feel burned out is that we never give our attention a rest.
- You are what you choose to focus on
- The importance of meta-awareness and continually checking whats consuming your attentional space
Remember the disk fragmenter from old windows - your brain needs this - time to defragment, optimize, sort - create faster lookups, digest and create connections etc
- Getting enough sleep can increase the size of attentional space by 60%, and taking frequent breaks can have the same effect
- In fact, taking a break is one of the most productive things you can do.
- Enjoy consuming things that other people tend to underappreciate or shy away from.
- Double down on developing the skills and knowledge that YOU find entertaining.
- Every time you stop consuming trash, you make room for something useful to add value to your life.
- Notice what you consume on autopilot mode
- After you begin a book, movie, or TV series, assess along the way whether you should pursue it to the end
- Deciding whether something merits your attention takes an extra step, but its a decision that will save hours cyou can then devote to something better
- From a point in the future looking backwards: Would you want to see yourself lying like a blob on the couch watching netflix or mindlessly tapping on your tablet? Or would you rather watch a video of yourself poring over a hundred pages of a book?
- Work out without music or a podcast
- I view drinking alcohol as a way by which we borrow energy and happiness from the following day.
