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Showing 115 tag results for “focus”

All(115) +1s(40) PhilosophersNotes(5) Authors(5) Quotes(65)

+1s (40)

Parkinson’s Law + 80/20 Principle
#377

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= Productivity Magic

Continuing our theme of how to Optimize our productivity, let’s talk about an Idea from Tm Ferris. In The 4-Hour Workweek, Tim combines two concepts to create some magic. I just so happened to be a micro-case study in the power of this approach today and thought it would be a good ti...

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+1 inspired by Note: The 80/20 Principle

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Creativity & Productivity

focus Hustle productivity time management

#377

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What to Do When You’re Flowing
#376

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Stay in the Zone - Keep Hammering

Lanny Bassham won a gold medal in rifle shooting. We’ve talked about him and his wisdom from With Winning in Mind a number of times. ...

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+1 inspired by Note: With Winning in Mind

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Peak Performance & Productivity

compound focus Practice productivity

#376

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How to Get Rid of Your ADD
#373

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Hint: Get Rid of Your Other ADD (Addiction to Digital Devices)

In our last +1, we talked about single-mindedly focusing. Today we’ll talk about its opposite: “continuous partial attention.” First, note: As we’ve discussed, having the ability to shine the spotlight of our attention is pretty much the secret sauce of awesome. And… Yet...

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+1 inspired by Note: The Art of Connection

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Mindfulness & Productivity

focus productivity technology

#373

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Single-Mindedly One Touching
#372

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What’s Important? Start. Finish. (Repeat.)

Here’s another Big Idea from Brian Tracy that you’ll find echoed among all the great productivity gurus. I love how Brian puts it so here we go: “Once you have thought through your work and decided on your most valuable task, you must discipline yourself to start it immediately and st...

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+1 inspired by Note: Focal Point

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Productivity & Willpower

focus productivity technology time management

#372

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Fear & Expectations
#363

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How to Move from Fear to Excitement

Quick pop quiz: Are you afraid of something these days? Pause for a moment and identify one thing that’s kinda (or really) stressing you out. Might be work, relationships, finances. Whatever. Got it? All right. Now, I can *guarantee* you that any fear you may have is tied to a N...

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+1 inspired by Note: Fear

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Conquering Anxiety & Peak Performance

conquering-anxiety courage focus Mental Toughness Mind optimism Peak Performance

#363

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Warren Buffett on Goal Setting
#329

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Three Steps to Clarity

In Born for This, Chris Guillebeau tells us that, according to legend, Warren Buffet once gave a struggling friend a three steps process for setting goals. Here’s the quick look. 1. Start by writing down 25 things you’d like to do in your life. 2. Circle the Top 5 goals.

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+1 inspired by Note: Born for This

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Goals & Purpose

10000 Hours big-picture focus journal-exercise Mind Vision

#329

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A Wealth of Information
#322

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Creates a Poverty of Attention

Herbert Simon won the Nobel Prize in Economics. He was one of the early thought leaders in the field of “attention economics.” In 1971, he told us: “What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of...

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+1 inspired by Note: The Art of Connection

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Mindfulness & Productivity

focus Mind Practice productivity technology

#322

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Expecto Patronum!
#315

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How to Deal with the Dementors in Your Life

Continuing our Harry Potter theme, let’s explore how to deal with dementors in your life. Recall that dementors are big, ugly, wraith-like creatures that feed on and suck all the happiness out of you. And, if they’re feeling really feisty, they’ll give you a kiss that sucks your ...

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+1 inspired by Note: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

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Confidence & Conquering Depression

focus Happiness Hope optimism soul Spirit tool

#315

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Carpe Momentum
#296

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Execute the Task at Hand & High Five Mr. Mo

In our last couple +1s we created some momentum with Newton’s First Law. 🤓 Here’s another angle on the same idea. This is from Harvey Dorfman, who was one of the world’s top mental training coaches. He earned World Series rings as the mental training coach for the Oakland A’s ...

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+1 inspired by Note: Coaching the Mental Game

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Conquering Procrastination & Productivity

action baby steps Conquering Procrastination focus Mind productivity tool

#296

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Newton's First Law: Fine Print
#295

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Eliminate Distractions to Stay in Motion

In our last +1 we talked about Isaac Newton and his First Law of Motion. Recall the basics: An object at rest will stay at rest. An object in motion will stay in motion. Today I’d like to look at the fine print of that Law. Let’s dust it off and read the whole thing again. *un...

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+1 inspired by Note: Deep Work

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Creativity & Productivity

creativity focus Mind productivity technology time management

#295

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How to Add 11 Years to Your Life
#291

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Count How Many Times You Check Your Phone Today

Quick quiz today: Do you know how often the average American checks his or her smartphone? * Enter Jeopardy music here * Well… What’s your guess? How about every six and a half minutes. That’s 150 (!!!) times per day. Second part of the quiz: How often do YOU c...

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+1 inspired by Note: Irresistible

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Neuroscience & Productivity

focus Mind neuroscience productivity technology time management

#291

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“It’ll Only Take a Minute”
#289

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Yah, Right.

Here’s another gem from our Procrastination-Fighting SuperResearcher, Tim Pychyl. He tells us that one of the most dangerous things we can tell ourselves when we’re trying to get important stuff done is, “It’ll only take a minute.” “I’m just going to update my Facebook acco...

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+1 inspired by Note: Solving the Procrastination Puzzle

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Conquering Procrastination & Productivity

Conquering Procrastination Discipline focus Mind productivity time management tool

#289

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Genius Dress Code
#286

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Save Your Brain Cells for Stuff That Matters

In his classic book on Creativity, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi walks us through the science of what makes extraordinary creators so extraordinary. Of course, one of the key facets of being a truly great creator is the willingness and ability to FOCUS your attention, eliminating distraction...

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+1 inspired by Note: Creativity

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Creativity & Willpower

commitment creativity focus Inspiration Mind productivity Systems willpower

#286

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First Things First
#275

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Second Things? Not at All

One of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is “First Things First.” He also wrote a whole book by the same name. But you know where he got that phrase? Peter Drucker. It was Drucker who said “Put first things first.” And you know what he said we sh...

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+1 inspired by Note: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

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Goals & Productivity

Discipline Excellence focus goals Mind productivity

#275

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WIG vs. Whirlwind
#271

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Which One Wins?

Continuing our Productivity 101 theme, here’s another gem from the 4DX guys. Recall that the first discipline of e...

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+1 inspired by Note: The 4 Disciplines of Execution

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Productivity & Purpose

big-picture focus Mind Motivation productivity purpose time management

#271

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PhilosophersNotes (5)

Barking Up the Wrong Tree

The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong

by Eric Barker

Eric Barker is the creator of the blog Barking Up the Wrong Tree, which “presents science-based answers and expert insight on how to be awesome at life.” This is a REALLY engaging, well-written, compelling book. Eric takes us on a fun adventure through the science of what *really* works. And, as the sub-title suggests: How most of what you *think* works, is either a LOT more nuanced than you may have been led to believe or is just plain wrong. Big Ideas we explore include why valedictorians don’t typically top the success charts, how to get more willpower, why managing your energy is so key, the power of mentors (and how to get one), and the #1 thing to remember for success.

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Leadership & Positive Psychology

Energy focus Mentors positive-psychology willpower

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Fully Engaged

Using the Practicing Mind in Daily Life

by Thomas M. Sterner

Thomas Sterner wrote the great book The Practicing Mind (see Notes). This is a follow-up practical guide to applying the concepts in that book to our daily lives. It’s a great little book packed with wisdom and zero fluff. Having the ability to do be fully (!) engaged in this moment is the ultimate super power. Big Ideas we explore include: how to be fully engaged, the #1 goal of meditation, how to get in total control of your life, goal poison, premeditated procedures, and the powerful question: “And then what?”

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Meditation & Productivity

focus Modern Classic

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Focus

The Hidden Driver of Excellence

by Daniel Goleman

Daniel Goleman is a former New York Times science writer and author of the uber-bestselling book Emotional Intelligence. In Focus, we look at the underlying neuroscience of attention. We need to start by realizing that the strength (or weakness) of our attention is at the core of E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. we do. Everything! Which is why Goleman calls it “the hidden driver of excellence.” Big Ideas we explore include rumination vs. reflection, the three foci of willpower, smart practice and hitting the mental gym.

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Attention focus Mind Modern Classic

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Smarter Faster Better

The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business

by Charles Duhigg

Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer Prize-winning NY Times journalist (and Harvard MBA) who wrote the best-selling book The Power of Habit in which he walked us through the science of building better habits. In this book, he walks us through the science of being productive so we can be smarter, faster and better at everything we do. It’s a great book packed with fascinating stories and practical applications. Big Ideas we explore include the 2 keys to motivation, how to build your focus, the best way to set goals (think: Stretch + SMART), why disfluency helps learning and how productivity is all about choices.

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Business & Productivity

focus Mind Modern Classic Motivation

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Deep Work

Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

by Cal Newport

Deep Work. It’s the key to how you get So Good They Can’t Ignore You—which, of course, is the title of another one of Cal’s great books. Big Ideas include Deep Work vs. Shallow Work, how to give your neurons a workout, cleaning up attention residue, the four rules of deep work, finding the routine that works for you and learning how to shut down completely.

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Creativity & Productivity

Deep Work Flow focus Mastery Mind Modern Classic

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Authors (5)

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