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How to Focus Book

You Won't Believe Who's Talking About Focus

The song, Forever Young, was somewhat audible as we stood on the fourth story of our $20 million yacht as it hummed along the sunny waters of Coronado, CA. We joked and reflected on the day–a day filled with helicopters, Ferrari’s and hanging around the beach-front mansion. In that moment, we felt like the masters of the universe. This feeling was partly driven from the fact that a year earlier I was flat out broke. A year earlier I was holding my wife on the floor of our apartment consoling her that it will be all right, “I think we’ll be able to make this month’s rent.”

Later that night, it all started coming together. My group of friends (some new, some old, yet all multi-millionaires), began to reflect upon life. I began to realize that the way we spoke and viewed life was nothing extraordinary; we were just like everyone else in the world. We were people, after all. Yet, we mastered a concept that is rarely covered in books and the media. A concept, which I’ll discuss shortly.

About four years prior to our gathering, I invested an entire summer reading almost a hundred books about the concept of success. Some of these books were almost twenty years old. They were handed down by my father and forgotten about as they sat buried in the garage. After reading them, I discovered that the principles in these books, were extremely powerful, yet lacked something. At that time, I couldn’t put my finger on what was missing. After four years of application and looking around at the wealthy figures that surrounded me, it was clear that there is an unspoken, but critical gap that separates actualized success from potential success. This book was written with that gap in mind. That gap is focus.

What is How to Get Focused?

How to Get Focused takes one through an organic framework of both philosophical concepts and actionable concepts that show you how to master focus. It is my thesis that the critical gap between success and failure is mastering the concept of focus–a concept that is supremely misunderstood. In order to do this, one must habitually train themselves to step into a state of flow through practicing short-term focus (concentration) and long-term focus (purpose).

5 Core Lessons of the Book:

  1. Sharpen your Focus
  2. Expand your Memory
  3. Reach Peak Productivity
  4. Learn Secrets of Social Media
  5. Enhance Brain Power

How to Focus and ConcentrateAn appendix of additional materials and interviews with bestselling authors and notable entrepreneurs is also provided for application of these principles. Interviews include figures such as Seth Godin, Tony Wright, Lukas Mathis and more.

What The Principles in this Book Taught Me

This book taught me specifically how to accomplish the following items:

  • Formed successful startup companies that have been featured in a variety of publications like Tech Crunch, Mashable, ReadWriteWeb, LifeHacker and more.
  • Experienced first liquidity event (selling business assets) before the age of 25.
  • Went from a labeled, “ADHD” failure to a Magna Cum Laude, triple emphasis, double major university graduate.
  • Leveraged specific principles to outsource and build businesses through establishing focused, purposeful processes that operate without lifting a finger.

How This Will Change Your Life Instantly

In your entire life, you may have never felt focused, or, maybe you’re just in a temporary rut. Whatever the case, know this: you’re not alone. The masters of the future will be those who focus better than others. It’s that simple.

Scientists find that focused people feel less frustration, pain and sadness. Yet, getting focused isn’t a one-time thing, it’s an all-the-time thing. What you’re doing right now is better than reading TMZ. Good job. That’s a start. But, you’ve got a lot to learn!

Who this book is for

  • Are you unable to sit still and get things done?
  • Do you start projects and never finish them?
  • Do you feel out of control in your life?
  • Are you unable to accomplish your goals?
  • Have you lost touch with your dreams?
  • Do you think that wealth and success are out of reach?
  • Are you too distracted to create?
  • Are you uncertain about what you want to do?
  • Are you confused about your purpose and your beliefs?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions or a combination of some, this book is for you. This book does not center simply around getting focused. It covers the core beliefs and items that are often the true culprit of losing focus in life.

After interviewing and researching the lives of the top entrepreneurs, artists, businessmen, writers and musicians, it is my thesis that their focus sets them apart.

I will be teaching you specific methods in getting focused, which will result in the following behaviors:

  • You will become more creative
  • Have peace of mind
  • Have more leisure time
  • Improve your self-esteem
  • Enhance self-control
  • Avoid fear and uncertainty
  • Get more done in less time (thus allowing you to work less)
  • Have more freedom and fun in life
  • Reach the dreams you’ve since forgotten
  • Acquire the success you’ve always dreamed of

The Contents of The Book

The first part of the book, “Elements of Focus,” are broken into four sections:

  • The Roots of Focus: This chapter covers the overall concept of focus, the history of focus and the two components of focus: Short-term Focus and Long-term Focus.
  • Short-Term Focus: This chapter discusses the concept of short-term focus, which is “Concentration.” This chapter outlines eight principles that are critical in understanding short-term focus.
  • Long-Term Focus: This chapter covers the second component of focus, Long-Term Focus, which centers around establishing a life of purpose.
  • Flow: This chapter outlines a concept by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, which occurs when one habitually practices a mix of both short-term focus and long-term focus.

Part Two of How to Get Focused outlines specific principles, exercises and actions that have the ability to help you become a more focused person. Part II is separated into the following chapters:

  • Daily Foundation: The first step in becoming a focused person in this new information age centers on establishing a Daily Foundation. A Daily Foundation is a daily routine that breaks itself off from distraction. It allows you to win before you even start the day. It allows you to break away from the distraction and noise that kills your focus in everyday life.
  • Focus Lab: The Focus Lab is a quarantined environment that rids itself of distraction. This can be a place in your house, your office, a bathroom (for reading, heh), or whatever.
  • Hand-writing: The first exercise that you may want to implement into your Daily Foundation centers on hand-writing to flesh out ideas, thoughts and insights. This simple practice often results in a surprising result of experiencing a more purposeful, focused day.
  • Flashcards: A second exercise that you may want to fit into your Daily Foundation centers around reflecting on short, brief thoughts. This can help you maintain a feeling of focus throughout the rest of the day. This chapter shows you how to leverage flashcards to become a more focused, purposeful person.
  • Writing: In this chapter we explore what writing does for the mind, and how one can leverage the practice of writing to become a more focused person.
  • Healthy Sleep: In order to change the lives of others through any occupation, one must thrive in their ability to focus. And sleep is a very silent assassin to focus. We explore the concept of sleep in this chapter.
  • Reading: In an age where everyone is flocking to technology, social media-driven news and entertainment blogs, many are forgetting the fact that what you read is more important than how much you read.
  • Exercise: Most people hold the belief that exercise will help you become more focused throughout the day. But does science hold this as true? Or do people simply feel more focused from exercise because they anticipate they’ll feel more focused? In this chapter we’ll look into exercise and its effects on the human body.

Part Three dives specifically into the elements that build long-term focus in one’s life. This section proposes to provide you with the solid foundation and direction to achieve sustainable success (and not experience an epic down-fall because your success is built on a brittle foundation). This section is broken into the following chapters:

  • Vision: In this chapter, we’ll first explore the science of goals. We’ll then look at the argument that’s arisen recently about goals being ineffective. And last, we’ll outline the organic process of painting a picture for your subconscious, and creating a vision.
  • Questions to Ask Yourself: Most people try to ask others the right questions; however, they fail to ever ask themselves the right questions. We’ll explore the questions you must ask yourself in order to help you find your path. These questions will help you gain a glimpse into what focused goal you should set, which we cover in the next chapter.
  • Focused Goals: This chapter is for those that have tried setting goals in the past, but the goals they set fizzled out. This chapter is for those that became overwhelmed in intense goal-setting exercises. In this chapter, we’ll explore what it takes to set effective goals. Goals that inspire you, drive you and are founded on common sense.
  • Finishing Projects: In this chapter, you’ll learn how to finish the projects that you start. You’ll find that it’s not necessarily about finishing what you start. It’s about starting what you’ll finish.
  • Zen Master’s To-Do List: If you want to become a more focused person, there are certain principles and characteristics you must understand about a to-do list. In this chapter, we’ll explore characteristics of successful to-do lists and specific strategies that help you throughout the day.

Part Four guides you through specific web applications and technology that we use everyday. Each chapter proposes to teach you precisely how to leverage each tool in order to get the most out of each service, in the least amount of time. We’ll cover how to leverage the following services for focus:

  • Facebook: We will explore exactly why Facebook is so addicting, and why Facebook’s interests are in direct conflict with your focus.
  • Twitter: We will explore the brief history of Twitter and how the service has morphed into something completely different than what the founder’s envisioned. We’ll learn how to get the most out of Twitter without having to life a finger.
  • Linkedin: We will explore how to leverage your LinkedIn account to make more money, meet new connections and get found for your gifts.
  • Digg, RSS and Content Aggregation: We will explore the nature of RSS, blog syndication and finding great content among the internet’s sea of information.
  • Email: We will explore tools on how to leverage your email to become a more focused, purposeful person. Instead of shooting off emails at the dinner table, you’ll learn how to get more done in less time through focused principles when using email

In Part Five, we’ll explore characteristics of the sage as applied to living in today’s world. The Characteristics of the Sage: In this chapter, we’ll outline specific characteristics of the sage and apply them to living in our world today.

  • Outsourcing: We’ll explore the concept of outsourcing projects to others; thus allowing you to focus on your purpose, and further allowing you to step into a state of flow.
  • Focus at Work: We’ll explore how the sage lifestyle interracts within the workplace.
  • Focused Networking: We’ll explore the concept of networking and meeting with people on a consistent basis, which results in a more rounded, pupose-filled life.
  • Handling Emotions: We’ll explore how the sage operates in the face of the many emotions in life.
  • Constant Learning: We’ll explore how the sage lifestyle makes it a point to involve his or herself in constant learning.

This section of the book revolves around the mind and body of focus. In the first section, we explore the concept of digital detoxing. This concept centers on ridding oneself of devices in order to gain a fresh perspective on the world. It’s important that we balance our gadgets with life. Part six is broken up into the following chapters:

  • Giving Up Your Cell Phone: This chapter outlines the story of my first digital detoxing experiment: giving up my cell phone.
  • Auditing Gadgets: In this chapter, we’ll explore a four step process for auditing your gadgets. The purpose of this audit is to evaluate whether the tools you use hurt you more than they help you. After which, we’ll outline how to snip off the tools that impede on your focus.
  • The Guide to Giving Up Your Cell Phone: By ditching an item that serves as a constant form of distraction, you train your mind to become more focused and more productive. If you decide to give up your cell phone as a digital detoxing experiment, this will show you specifically how to give up your cell phone.
  • Practicing Focused Thought: In this chapter, we’ll cover different types of thought (meditation, contemplation or simply quieting your environment to think). By practicing Focused Thought and contemplation everyday, one can improve their concentration, productivity and happiness.
  • Focus and Food: This chapter was written by one of my readers, and explores different foods that help one become a more focused, balanced person.

Again, an appendix of additional materials and interviews with bestselling authors and notable entrepreneurs is also provided for application of these principles. Interviews include figures such as Seth Godin, Tony Wright, Lukas Mathis and more.

If Anything Else, Please Read This Below:

As I touched on in the beginning, I went through a time when I read a significant amount of books on success. I went through a profound period of enthusiasm and acting positive. But slowly over time, I fell back into the habits that resulted in mediocrity. This time last year I was the most skeptical, sarcastic person around. Deep down I knew that eventually I wanted to become wealthy so that I could provide for my family; however, my cynical, sarcastic spirit always weighed me down, and ended up overruling me whenever I was presented with a decision to change my life.

This state in my life was a very dangerous cycle. I wasn’t a negative person exactly, I was simply cynical and sarcastic. I was cynical about anyone trying to sell anyone anything–even if the product was absolutely amazing. This cynical state is the most dangerous state to be in because you can get caught in it a long, long time. The good news, as I later discovered, is that it’s rather simple to get out of this state, and into a lifestyle that is founded on purpose, focus and success. All one must do is make a simple decision.

You see, people often forget that life is short. I often hear others exclaiming that, “You don’t realize how short life is until it’s too late.” On top of this, people typically end up hoarding over their money without learning the habits necessary to actually maintain wealth. This is why you see a majority of those who’ve won the lottery go bankrupt five years down the road. The secret is not hoarding money; the secret to success centers on using money to invest in yourself, and in return, making more money.

The decision I keep talking about is quite simple. You can choose one of two things.

You can choose one of the following:

  1. Continue living life like you have been knowing that even if you make money, that may not be enough.
  2. Suppress your cynical spirit, invest in yourself today, and build a more focused, purposeful life.

If you choose number two, begin the journey and click below to buy the book now.

Limited Time Low Rate: $24.99 – Act Now!
Book will be delivered through email immediately following your purchase. This usually takes a couple minutes.

Thank you in advance for making at least one of the decisions above. If you choose number two, I will gladly support your journey and be there for you. In the book is my email address and phone number. I’m here to support you in your journey back to a focus-driven life!

Warm Regards,

Scott Scheper

What readers are saying:

Before you jump into the journey, I would like to share with you the stories of readers that have had their lives completely changed by this book.

Scott,
I sat here at my PC this morning, with a thousand ideas floating in my cerebal cortex of sorts……and once again, had no idea where to start. That friend of yours you described? Well, you might as well have been looking at me. So…there you have it. I’ve finally pinpointed my first obstacle – focus.
I intuitively googled ‘how can i get focused?’ ‘Cause that’s the question that popped into my head, thankfully i heard it! And da-da! Your page i selected from the list googled.
Having just read your brief intro:
1. I wanna join in!
2. I wanna ask the question: regarding ‘working harder’ – what about all that hoola that talks about working ‘smarter’ NOT harder?
I’d like your ideas on that.
(Not that i’m afraid of hard work – goodness! But…i often find i’m spinning my wheels-working-hard, my effectiveness is not as ‘effective’…and i so i question myself – am i trying too hard?
Forgive me if these comments are too naive, or such, but i have just jumped right in and decided to drop you this note.
I look forward to your partnership – In a life i want to live – on purpose and dare i say it?….amazing!
Kind regards,
“Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.” Helen Keller

- Angel Niebel

What sets this piece apart from the universal bunch of be-better-texts, is how it’s not marketing, but it is honest, because it feels like a real person is writing it, and not someone trying to sell self-improvement via re-labeling stuff that we’ve heard many times.

So the specific hints are nice but not miraculous in themselves. Also you may put it into tags and numbers or don’t, well it’s catchy.

What counts is that it is curious and imaginative.

I can say this, explain that – bottom line: My guts agree with you.

- Fil of InterFilip

Scott,
I greatly appreciate your effort on this project, and think it is an extremely timely and appropriate endeavor. I strongly suggest “Rapt”, by Winifred Gallagher. She examines different aspects of Attention, and it’s impact on our lives: from relationships, to work, to happiness. I’m really glad I decided to purchase that particular book, and there are insights from scientific studies about the best way to enhance attention, etc.
Very highly recommended…
Best,
- Gerald
This is great. i appreciate you working on this and sharing it with the world. i am trying to get focused and get rid of doubt and believe in myself. i hope this will continue to help me. thank you Scott.
- Omri
Very nice chapter! Thanks a lot.
- ksaver, identi.ca/ksaver
It’s interesting because for now i cant still find the focus that i should have.
Nice

- Bob
It’s a very useful material i had ever came across , its a good concept of understanding the flow
-Ghouse
Excellent [book]. First time here for me. I think I will be coming here often.
Paul Larn
simplediagnostics.com
Really, I started so many things at the same time, never finish and i start over again.your article talk the reality of mine. I hope i will follow your principles.
-Desta
I’m looking forward to reading more. Everyone has a purpose and I love that you’re helping people grow within that!
C.S. Bezas
csbezas.com
Great!
It still amazes me how people allow themselves to be distracted by pop-up notifications, push notifications on their mobiles and so on.
Anyone using mac OSX mail will be pleased to know that you can also turn off the red sticker that says how many emails are unread in the osx toolbar.
That sticker is a huge source of distraction, temptation and loss of concentration!
Latteperday
latteperday.com
Great idea and content Scott! Look forward to benefiting from being a part of the project.
- Wil Beach
I look forward to reading more… I feel so much of this is on target, insightful and of tremendous value. I came upon the blog after searching the keyword “focus”, how to obtain focus.
I am in the process of crafting a career change. I am looking to pursue something creative ie. web-design, graphic design, photography. Have been spreading my efforts across all areas and am beginning to feel the need to focus on one in order to develop a level of mastery. I am having trouble deciding which area I feel most passionate about because I like them all. I am feeling stuck.
I look forward to reading more!
- Catherine
Hello Scott!
I’m reading through all of this right now for the first time, and really enjoy it. I think the values thing is VERY important and something to think about.
As a side note, I know some people struggle with values and determining what they are. There are some AWESOME values card sorts you can find online by doing a search which are really helpful for figuring some of these out (for anyone who may be questioning them for themselves). Thought I’d put that out there since they’re a great tool, and I’ve used them with many college students and professionals (I work at a university)!
- Stephanie
I stumbled on this site while researching the thesis theme to reconstruct my site, and I’m glad I did. Dude…what you’re doing is awesome. I’m in.
Victor Powell
thescifibookworm.com
I was actually at U.Va when I did the brain glucose studies you refer to :) . More recently, we’ve shown that insulin itself is a potent and obligatory modulator of cognitive functions; it’s a fascinating field.
Ewan McNay
I am throughly appreciating your blook (blog-book) to the point that I can’t put it down, er close the page, oh you know what I mean. It gets my mind working in a good way and recalling my own moments of flow. It resonates with me a deep level. Being a product of industrial age education, not that you weren’t as well, I would appreciate more references in order to be able to reseaerch where your information is coming from so I may dig deeper (as encouraged in section IV above).
Mark Graves
Hi Scott, as with everything I’ve read so far, very compelling & fun to read through.
However, I found that asking for our values directly after listing your own adds a fair bit of bias, and I find it hard not to agree with the 4 you’ve listed and adopt them as my own (though maybe this is just because I don’t have the focus to know my own values yet…).
I suggest moving this form to above your own statement of values, provided there’s a clear enough definition of the term, or maybe provide a link to some example values (sorry, don’t have one readily available).
Patrick Martinson
clearpathrobotics.com
Thanks for the site. I’m enjoying the content!
- Steven
Your focuslist and the recommendation of having a simple pen and paper to-do list with calendar is working for me. I hope there are more such methods in this course. Thank you.
- Abhishek
Hi Scott, I’m reading the whole book and keep finding every text more insightfull then the other.
I was thinking about your tip of doing one important thing at a day.
Cassio
devlab.com.br
I like your post very much! Great job!
I have one thing to add: PASSION! If you visualize what you have to accomplish and do it with passion then you are unstoppable.
I wish you all the best!
- Danka
I liked this chapter as well.
I like to “get lost”, as you say in certain moments of the day. Sometimes i read a good book (i must admit i fall for thrillers) or i just lay down and reflect about a lot of things. This technique helps me very much to arrange my ideas and also to put myself into a stillness state of mind.
Cheers.
- Dex Barrett
Love it!!! You’re advice and insights are truly valuable, Scott. My favorite from this one is the “don’t get fat at work” – so damn true, so damn true…
- Joseph Jacks
Great post as always Scott. Just want to highlight a word of caution. Remember that YOU are part of the outsourcing agreement. You can never outsource yourself.
- Shang Lee
Hi Scott
just a few comments i think many people listen to music and work at the same time (i used to)I sort of did an experiment for my recent exams – i went to a quiet room, took the corner seat facing the wall and just studied. No computer. No music. i realized that if i actually stopped listening to music altogether while studying my concentration improves.
Another thing i realized is that sometimes when i totally lost concentration it’s better to take a nap/relax then to keep “attacking”. Continuing just makes it worse.
Thanks for writing =D i’ll keep reading
Cheers
- Beng Hui (Singapore)
I’ve just started reading your website. Love it, I have already started implementing your strategies. I had a very focused day yesterday.
Ron Sell
Champions4life.com
I thought that this whole article was interesting, and although I’ve heard a lot of this advice before I like how you have it all organized here. You did a good job of explaining how these different tips are part of a larger strategy as a whole.
- Michelle
Hi, Scott.
I’ve been following your articles for a while and i must say that they’re very helpful. Actually i already pre-ordered your book a few days ago.
I totally agree that we have to find our purpose in order to get a real satisfaction in what we do.
In my opinion, regardless where we work or what we do, our “mission”, if you will, is to leave some kinda trace trough the experience we gather in life. Or at least it’s what i think.
Apart from school, i have always been self-taught and that’s why i was able to have a job as soon as i graduated from school, and i’m really pleased.
That’s why i hated when friends and school mates said things like “You can do it because you’re smart” and i always felt like they must expect much from me because i was “the smart one”, “the gifted one”, which is not true, i just work hard and that’s it; there’s no magic.
Sorry if my english sucks; it’s not my native language. I’m from México, by the way.
Keep the good work.
- Dex Barrett
Scott,
I stumbled upon your project and find it terribly important. Work forces me to multi task, which I define as “doing multiple things in rapid succession, yet none of them well.”
- Daniel Priwin
I’m very excited about your project. I came across your “Eight Things Everyone Ought to Know About Concentrating” last night and it really spoke to me. I work in a very fast paced business but I’ve always had a certain level of success re: keeping up with things and accomplishing the things that matter the most. There has always been a lot of extra busy work/noise, and lately it’s been increasing and things have gotten out of control. I often find myself with 20 browser tabs open, and even though they might all be work related, my brain is scattered all over the place. I’ll work hard to put your theories and ideas into practice because at this point, it’s do or die for me.
- Scott H.
I like the relationship of ;concentration’ to ‘flow’. I think most dopamine seeking behavior is just a poor substitute for the endorphin rush we get through finding ‘flow’.
- Marlon D.
I must begin by saying that I found this article while being distracted by facebook. That said, I typically find that I get distracted from my work, which takes a good amount of concentration, by the phone, emails that are meaningless to me, and IMs about tasks that I have already completed or will not work on for weeks. Once I am off task, I begin to wonder through all of the media by which I may need to communicate during the day.
The best way that I have found to remain on task is to turn off notifications for email, mark my IM status as busy or out of the office, and check for all notifications at specific intervals. I find that I need a break hourly from any given task, so that I can spend 15 minutes on distractions every hour or two (sometimes I just put my head back and try to clear my head of random thoughts that have popped up).
- Jim S.
Thanks for great [chapter]. I’ll try your tips.
Lya Santoso
fleea.nl
Hi, I the same as Sean noticed this through Lifehacker during my Daily routine of “open all bookmarks in new window” . Look forward to reading your work. I have always believed that one’s Brain can be “re-programmed. I only need to learn how to keep it in the state of Focus on a more permanent basis and not let it come and go as it pleases. Thanks in advance!
- James
Hi, I stumbled upon this post from Lifehacker; a great one, might I add :)
This is the only part of your book that I’ve read, and I haven’t noticed any mention of managing work time vs. free time. By free time I mean quality time, such as playing an instrument, being with the one you love, with your friends, etc. We cannot just live as drones dedicated to maximize our efficiency in completing tasks; free time is a must. It’s reasonable to find strategies related to getting focused on “howtogetfocused.com”, but still, I do believe well spent free time is an integral part of our lives that might even have an impact on how we work every day.
Regards from Argentina,
Rodrigo
Hey, I just got to your book from lifehacker.com, and so far, I’m enjoying it very much! Thanks.
- Sean
I came here through lifehacker and find this really valuable. Thanks for writing this.
I use RSS pretty heavily, and have not found a way to filter it. All of them look pretty good to me, and these are not news flashes or sound bites, but really good content. But there is too much of them. For example, I am a fan of Paul Krugman and I subscribed to his reading lists using the google reader. They are all pretty informative and interesting to me, but I am overwhelmed pretty soon. I have unsubscribed to all feeds in the past and then re-built the list to prioritize them, only to do it all over again. I am not sure focused syndication would work unless you put a hard rule and just say only 5 feeds are allowed, or something like that.
- Raj
A frustration of mine since I remember has been concentrating / focusing for prolonged periods of time.
I am looking forward to going through your material and making the change’s that I need to.
- D Granot
Excellent article, Scott.
I’ve been reading a number of books and authors this last little while (Ziglar, Nightingale and others like Gitomer) and the issue I’ve always had a hard time with is the statement of goal-setting outlined for very similar reasons here.
I like your choice of word of ‘conviction’ instead of ‘faith’. I can’t help but intertwine thoughts of religion and god when I read faith, but conviction I can accept. Conviction seems to imply something that faith doesn’t, which is reflection of a thought and/or self, a concious steeling of resolve and the idea of “sticking to it”. For me, faith seems to imply asking and hoping that things will happen.
Can’t wait to read more.
CS Peters
Hello i have read the 8 things everybody ought to know.Its really amazing facts and its so true.I will make sure to read the whole chapters because those information are really valuable and important to build a good organized mind and personality.
- Eslam
Lots of brilliant tips and bookmarked for later reference as well.
Do like interest, at the moment got a few projects to finish that don’t really interest me, I keep on putting them back, then putting them back again. I will do try to approach these ones with “interest, intrigue and passion”
Thank you
steve
mynext.co.uk
Very helpful; thank you!
Rachel R.
titus2homemaker.com
Great chapter, insights, and research.
Huy Zing
Scott, I found this chapter immensely helpful! Nice, bite-sized chunks that get help us get our minds around the topic of being focused.
I certainly could relate with the ‘busy-people’ syndrome and have experienced that ‘over-workload’! I had feelings of guilt and incompetence surface for a moment there, and then checked myself to realise that is exactly why i’m reading your material – to change these ineffective habits! Thank you.
May i add – point 3 regarding strategically lazy people: i was a little confused by dispensable vs indispensable. Perhaps it’s just i haven’t understood it properly? I would like to see a further example or explanation? Funny how i am having trouble with perhaps the very point at which will change my perspective! Yikes!
Can you elaborate?
Apart from that, i really enjoyed the following:
1. the brain processes meaning before detail (I will certainly make use of this at work!)
2. Concentration = driven by interest = driven by attitude!
I am often feeling the ‘odd one out’ at work when i display my enthusiasm, energy – amongst the ‘mediocre’ attitudes – but i will no longer feel embarrassed by that! Thank you!
I hope my comments assist you,
- Angel_Downunder
Excellent work so far. I’m looking forward to reading all of the chapters and regaining my focus
- Sam Cranford, www.samcranford.com
You’re article was terrific. My approach is similar to using a focus list. I call it Laser Focus. I use my iPhone to carry around the top three things I need to do, but I don’t use a bells and whistle todo list like Things or OnmiFocus, I use Uncluttered Todos in the App store.
Jordan
avenuemac.com
I live carrying a notepad and a pen with my weekly to-do list. I like to put the 4 or 5 “priority objective” to solve on the week and then to write under them the little tasks necessary to accomplish the objective. Extremely useful, and a big chaos for people that try to read my notepad ;)
Excellent post, thanks Scott.
- Nicolas Franz
I’m starting because i need to learn big time on focusing on one thing instead of other things during the day and with debbie on thursdays when she picks me up at work!
- Justin L
Great chapter, Scott. I find myself falling into a ‘state of flow’ reading this book. Reading this chapter, I am inspired. I am an entrepreneur and self driven.
- Nathaniel Broughton, www.GrowthPartner.com
Looking forward to start.
- Will Christie
Scott – I will keep an eye out for your book – sounds interesting.
- Kadira, unfoldingcreativity.com
You’ve done a really great job on this. I love seeing the way your book is coming together, and you’ve really captured a lot of great techniques for email processing here. Awesome stuff!
Jared Goralnick, awayfind.com
Nice article. Particularly, “Whenever you feel overwhelmed with a project, it’s critical to break the project into smaller, actionable pieces and add them to your daily to-do list. ”
- This one really helps. All I had to do was to break up a complex task, write down point by point and tick each one of it as I complete it. End of the day it is amazing to see how much we have done.
- PK, www.taskbender.com
Right on. Cheers to you!
Hilaire, twitter.com/ilookinterested
Actually, you’re right; we’re talking about “focus” and Social Media can be overwhelming for newbies.
I’ll keep your recommendations for future trainings with our customers.
We just let them use “pro” tools when they reach certain level of skills and confidence. It’s like blogging, we have to learn to read, before comment, and then, just then, decide if we want to fire up our own blog.
I’ll be waiting for your book!
Cheers,
Rolando Peralta, CommunitiesDNAblog.com
Scott – Thank you for this great article. It’s really inspires me to be more effective.
- Niel S.
Excellent advice … one can certainly lose their day tweeting and checking all day long. I do the ‘chunking’ and it works great!!! I have an egg timer to keep me on track.
Z’da, Lexxtech.com
Thank you very much! Reserve me the new book.
Jose G. Gonzalez
Thank you – wonderful article, clear, concise and nicely laid out. A real pleasure to read. Like anything on the internet, Twitter can be good and bad. Like anything in life we need discipline and understanding to maximise our time on it.
- Teeps, fine.art.photo.net
I thought this post was extremely valuable. Thanks
jennifer jones, jenniferjones.com
How interesting ! I have been thinking for a while that the key to a stress-free, productive mindset is to be “in the moment” while keeping the “big picture” in mind, and your dual short-term and long-term focus is exactly that ! Thanks for a great article.
Lionel Ancelet, twitter.com/LionelAncelet
Scott, right on the money on several counts, and a really well-written post. Just found your blog (through Twitter of course) and look forward to exploring a bit more!
As others have mentioned, I think it is very easy for people to get obsessed with the pursuit of big numbers and constant updates, which just leaves them feeling deflated when the followers come slowly and the updating loses momentum! I think it is all about going in with a clear plan and setting the expectation early on in terms of how often you tweet/engage.
In terms of the larger transition you speak of, I am personally getting much more out of Twitter these days, as I previously found it difficult to engage with the more trivial “making popcorn in my kitchen” type tweets. I now think of Twitter almost like a mind-reading search engine, with the people I’m following regularly “serving up” content that I find interesting, even though I may never have thought to search for a particular topic myself!
Be interesting to see how this transition evolves!
- Liam (@biggerplate)
Great tips. I am trying to do many of these, although I still learned something from this.
AnnaLaura Brown, annalaurabrown.com
Great post. You nicely capture the subtle changes — and our rationalization about their benefits — going on in our digital world.
Ted Rex, designthoughtfortheday.blogspot.com
Great post Scott; I recently read an article by one of those evangelist which basically said if you don’t have thousands of followers and act just like me you shouldn’t be on Twitter and you shouldn’t call yourself a Social Media expert.
It was very disappointing that he/she stated this and I instantly lost the awe of his/her fame and expert status. For 13 months being on Twitter and others for my personal and business use have decided just as you say – I follow for the value and the relationship I have or hope to build with that person.
My follow/following numbers are small and I intend to keep them that way – regardless of what the “experts” say because it works for me.
Cindy Bruce, eoseasy.com
Wow… this is black and white. I am going to follow your site from today.
Cheers!
Boscan
Looking forward to your full book, Scott. As is MY pug, Winston (no Mr.)! :-)
Cheers,
Ted, tedlsimon.posterous.com
Thank you for the great article! I am guilty of being on twitter about 3 days a week – but it does drive very targeted traffic to my site when I am on twitter. The other 4 days, I do see a significant drop in traffic when I’m not tweeting and working on other things.
Phyllis Cheung
my-wedding-concierge.com
Well done, Scott! and I thought u were just another surfer dude!
Dubai-Boy, creativemf.com
Hi. I think this gives a lot to think about. I am please to hear that other people do follower purges and block- If some one is spewing out what I would consider junk mail, I have no desire to have them follow me, and there is no chance I will follow them. Some of the most fun I’ve had on twitter was running conversations with several people- which happens serendipitously, but is a nice way to eat up 45 minutes or so in a hurry- and get some interesting ideas. That is not something that can be scheduled, and may not happen often if you restrict your twitter interaction to two specific times a day. On the other hand, I go days without getting on twitter because I am busy with other things, and I still manage to get the occasional conversation in.
Using lists I also use twitter- when I am there- in another way. Particularly because I am erratic about getting on, I have put the people I find most interesting into lists, which cut down the number of tweets to look through. Then, in a list on a topic that interests me, I look through the tweets and harvest interesting links into multiple tabs across my browser. I have found a lot of interesting information that way- and without a slavish devotion to checking who has just posted on twitter each hour. I go across the browser and check each link- close the ones that really are not for me, and read through the rest. That’s actually how I found this post of yours.
thanks :)
Rebecca
Great post, Scott!
- Rishabh R. Dassani
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for stating #6. I couldn’t agree more and have been preaching this for years. The value of Twitter comes from the fact that you choose who you follow. Not to mention, I’m building a Twitter based link gathering application that relies very heavily on the assumption that people only follow who they’re actually interested in. If you want to try it out, let me know.
(@marknutter), nuttersmark.com
Good interview, congratulations. I have a TV too, but only for watch some movies.
I live in a small town in Brazil, and I spent all my free time playing tennis or watching movies. I usually read some books and science fiction is my top pick. I love real science too, and Carl Sagan really inspired me.
I completely agree about productivity apps. You have to focus on what really matters now. If you forget a task an hour after know that, probably it is not important. A productivity app will help you create a lot more unimportant things, giving you a false sense of productivity.
luis, twitter.com/luisbebop
Great post Scott. I have my own personal account in addition to managing the account for my organization and I’m a firm believer in the less-is-more strategy. I think far too many businesses (and regular folks) get into Twitter with unreasonable expectations. Twitter for us has been a lousy tool for driving traffic to our website, but turns out to be invaluable in getting the attention of local print and television media. So we spend less time tweeting about every great thing on our site and instead focus on posting quality mini-releases and interacting with customers tweeting about what we do.
Sloan, twitter.com/swelldone
This is right on the money and exactly parallels the experience that I have had.
Gary Rowe, gary-rowe.com/agilestack
This is my first time to visit your blog and I would say you share nice information. You definitely do research and write very well. Keep it up!
Pacquiao Clottey
I was excited to read you article about organizational help for creative people. I am an artist and creativity coach and find one of the hardest things for creatives is often to get a handle on their ideas and engage in the next step – production. I like the way their site is broken up into different areas that enhance the creative process and also take into account the intuitive aspect of creativity.
It is fascinating to see a company out there dealing with this issue
and indicates that perhaps the business world is beginning to understand the huge role that creativity has to play in its success. Thanks so much for your post, which brought this company to my attention – what a great resource! Im looking forward to keeping up withyour blog
KD
This is a very great information. I become knowledgeable about the subject. Thank you for posting this kind of information. Are there any other posting the same as yours?
- ConstantFocus
Really excellent article, Scott. Being unemotional in business is often one of the most important things I see a lot of entrepreneurs forgetting about. Thank you.
- Jay Joseph
Very good post, I thank you for taking the time.
It’s definitely given me inspiration and clarity to continue and improve my self momentum.
Mikael Tate, mikaeltate.tumblr.com
Good advice here, I really enjoyed the interview. I’m a freelance web designer/developer who also lives out in the boonies, in a very small town in southern Spain. I love nature and I spend most of my free time outdoors; hiking, camping, mountain biking, flying kites on the beach, etc. That said, I love my TV! I’m not really into watching TV shows, but I do love films and I’m a gamer too. I wouldn’t trade one for the other, I like them equally. I think it’s possible to enjoy both electronic entertainment and the natural world. One doesn’t have to be so extreme as to throw out the TV. If it’s sunny and nice, go outside and play. If it’s rainy and cold, watch a flick or play some games! Balance in all things I suppose…
Also, I completely agree about productivity apps. One can spend so much time “optimizing their work flow” and organizing that they get no real work done! I often suffer from this, but I’ve found the best way to get work done is to use the tools you’ve got on hand and focus on each individual task completely. Oh, and of course, stop browsing the web. Shit… I’m procrastinating again, back to work!
Nathan, littlebiglab.com
Half way through the page, I was thinking what a load of crap, but the article really came together at the end. I’m all for getting away from the “echo chamber.” Reminds me of a Henry Ford quote, “If I had asked customers what they wanted, they would’ve said a faster horse.”
Senthil
Sell your TV” – soooo true!!
Human brain is not made to multitask and the distraction of a TV makes the brain switch focus back and forth between work and TV and so forth. Each time needing extra mental resources to pickup where it left off. How can one become creative or solve problems when they are distracted from solid productive state.
Since moving to Silicon Valley (CA) last year from Sydney, Australia my wife and I decided not to get a TV due to this reason. Time is better spent reading a good book and/or exploring the beauty of our world then watching TV. As Jim Rohn said “Leaders are Readers”.
Ernest Semerda
blog.ernestsemerda.com
Focus is key to accomplishment. Very interesting project. I’ll take some dedicated time to read your published chapters :)
Take care,
Sten Morten Misund-Asphaug
corelizer.com
Hi Scott, I really like the living book here. You’ve mentioned your notecards several times and I would really like you to go into a little more depth into how you use them, what’s on them, etc. Thanks for the book!
John, johnkhawam.com
Thanks for the chapter and little homework assignment. I already feel great and ready to accomplish things today.
Kevin Kaiser, kevinckaiser.com
I’m really excited about this book!
- Ashley Marie

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