Hyperfocus

PUT YOUR PHONE OUT OF SIGHT When your mind is even slightly resisting a task, it will look for more novel things to focus on. Our smartphones are a great example—they provide an endless stream of bite-sized, delicious information for our brains to consume.

QUESTION WHETHER THIS BOOK IS WORTH CONSUMING AT ALL

Modifying your environment is one of the top ways to cultivate your focus.

MIND YOUR ENVIRONMENT Look up and around you: Where are you reading this book? How likely are you to be distracted or interrupted as you read, and is there a place you could go to avoid those distractions? Or are you reading in an environment where you don’t have much control, such as on the train or the subway?

Studies show we can work for an average of just forty seconds in front of a computer before we’re either distracted or interrupted. (Needless to say, we do our best work when we attend to a task for a lot longer than forty seconds.)

GRAB A PEN OR HIGHLIGHTER There are two ways to consume information: passively and actively.

Directing your attention toward 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.

(One of the most underrated skills: letting other people finish their sentences before starting yours.)

The second way that our attention is limited is that after focusing on something, we can hold only a small amount of information in our short-term memory.