Focus Forward: Mastering the Art of Deep Concentration

📚 Quote of Today

☀️ Happy Sunday! To all 1,200+ of the awesome readers. With summer winding down slowly, make sure to catch some vitamin D 🏖

📖 Anyone reading any cool books, write back to us, let us know!

On with the newsletter…

⚡️Focus of Today

🗣 Dive Deep: Unlock Your Superhuman State of Focus

💭 Have you ever wished you could channel your inner superhero and conquer tasks with heightened creativity, speed, and precision? Welcome to the realm of deep focus, where time melts away and your productivity rockets.

🤟 Steven Kotler, an expert on flow, notes that deep focus, also known as "flow state," can propel our work efficiency to such heights that "in a day of flow, you achieve what would typically take a week." Backing this, a decade-long McKinsey study found executives in this state are a whopping five times more productive (source). Just think of the game-changer this could be in your daily life!

⏰ But how do we tap into this powerful state and make the most of our work hours? Here's a deeper dive:

Deep Focus Essentials:

1. Sound: Ditch those disruptive notifications. Curate a playlist of immersive classical tracks, calming lo-fi beats, or dramatic Hans Zimmer compositions. Invest in quality noise-cancelling headphones and let the world fade away. 🎧

2. Vision: Our surroundings play a pivotal role. Tuck that phone out of sight or activate "Do Not Disturb" mode during power hours. Adorn your workspace with inspiring art, and use smart lighting to toggle between alertness and relaxation. 👁️

3. Touch: Craft your optimum workspace. Studies indicate an ambient temperature of 70-73 F / 21-23 C as focus-friendly. Use top-notch tools, ergonomic accessories, or a standing desk. Consider nature elements like potted plants or wooden surfaces to instill a sense of calm. 🌿

4. Smell: Don't underestimate the power of scent. Use an aromatherapy diffuser with peppermint or lemon essential oils to sharpen cognition and elevate concentration levels. 🍋

5. Taste: Fuel your brain right. Stay hydrated and opt for snacks that nourish brain function. An interesting tip? Chewing gum can spike your alertness—science says so! 🥤

Laying the Foundation:

Getting into a deep focus groove is a journey. Start by taking baby steps, like distancing yourself from your phone and muting those incessant app pings. These small changes can lead to dramatic leaps in how intently you work.

📲 A small tip with phones. Even if your phone is nearby, you can’t see it, but you can reach it - a small portion of your mind is still occupied with it. We recommend having a designated area you leave your phone every time you want to do deep work.

Your Deep Focus Blueprint:

🎶 Sound: Envelop yourself in concentration-boosting tunes.

📴 Vision: Minimize distractions and create an inspiring visual ambiance.

🍃 Touch: Design a comfortable, nature-infused space.

🍋 Smell: Utilize aromas to enhance cognitive function.

🥤 Taste: Hydrate and munch on brain-friendly snacks.

Deep focus isn't just about a state of mind—it's a cultivated habit, an intentional lifestyle choice. With relentless distractions in today's digital age, mastering this focus is our newfound superpower. So, are you poised to activate yours?

'Til our next deep dive exploration... 🚀

📖 Content Feature

Gene Roddenberry, television screenwriter and creator of Star Trek, on the value of reading books:

"I consider reading the greatest bargain in the world. A shelf of books is a shelf of many lives and ideas and imaginations which the reader can enjoy whenever he wishes and as often as he wishes. Instead of experiencing just one life, the book-lover can experience hundreds or even thousands of lives. He can live any kind of adventure in the world. Books are his time machine into the past and also into the future. Books are his "transporter" by which he can beam instantly to any part of the universe and explore what he finds there. Books are an instrument by which he can become any person for a while—a man, a woman, a child, a general, a farmer, a detective, a king, a doctor, anyone.

Great books are especially valuable because a great book often contains within its covers the wisdom of a man or woman's whole lifetime. But the true lover of books enjoys all kinds of books, even some nonsense now and then, because enjoying nonsense from others can teach us to also laugh at ourselves. A person who does not learn to laugh at his own problems and weaknesses and foolishness can never be a truly educated or a truly happy person. Also, probably the same thing could be said of a person who does not enjoy learning and growing all his life."

With love,

— Amir and Erik

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