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What does our focus have to do with productivity and enjoying a greater quality of life?
Chris Bailey
Named “A productivity mastermind” by Fast Company, Chris Bailey ran a year-long productivity project where he conducted intensive research, as well as dozens of productivity experiments on himself, to discover how to become as productive as possible. Chris has written hundreds of articles on the subject, and has garnered coverage in media as diverse as The New York Times, The Huffington Post, New York magazine, Harvard Business Review, TED, Fast Company, and Lifehacker. The author of international bestseller The Productivity Project, his new book Hyper Focus was just released and has garnered glowing support from Adam Grant, David Allen, Publishers Weekly, and more.
In today’s conversation, we dive into the subject of focus and how to become as productive as possible. The statistics will surprise you! Chris’ research proves that the common approaches to productivity often have the opposite effect of lowering our effectiveness. Listen in as he dispels the common myths about multi-tasking, and describes the impact of attention residue, our novelty biases, the benefits of boredom, and how to use laziness to your advantage.
Want to know the verdict on messy desks vs organized desks as it relates to productivity? Chris shares the research and explains when a messy environment works best and when organization and a clean workspace is the order of the day.
Key Takeaways
- When we’re working in front of a computer, on average, we work for just forty seconds before we’re either interrupted or distracted.
- The state of our attention determines the state of our lives.
- These moments of distraction build up over months and years until we lack purpose and don’t have the drive behind what we’re doing.
- We can’t actively focus on more than one thing at one time. According to studies, our work takes 50% longer when we rapidly switch between tasks.
- When it comes to our attention, stimulation is the enemy of focus and productivity.
- Meaning isn’t something that we find it’s something that we notice.
- Focusing 100% of the time is one of the worst things we can do for our quality of life and our productivity. It’s when our mind is at rest that we connect ideas together.
- Find work that’s naturally motivating for you. Something you don’t have to force yourself to be interested in or focused on.
- Studies show that the single biggest predictor of fear and anxiety in our lives is how much time we spend watching TV talk shows.
- Productivity is a side-effect of managing your attention well.
Books 
Hyper Focus: How To Be More Productive In A World Of Distraction
Connect With Chris Bailey
https://alifeofproductivity.com
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