Hyperfocus

How to Be More Productive in a World of Distraction

By: Chris Bailey

Narrated by: Chris Bailey

Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

A practical guide to managing your attention - the most powerful resource you have to get stuff done, become more creative, and live a meaningful life

Our attention has never been as overwhelmed as it is today. Many of us recognize that our brains struggle to multitask. Despite this, we feel compelled to do so anyway while we fill each moment of our lives to the brim with mindless distraction. Hyperfocus provides profound insights into how you can best take charge of your attention to achieve a greater sense of purpose and productivity throughout the day.

The most recent neuroscientific research reveals that our brain has two powerful modes that can be unlocked when we use our attention effectively: a focused mode (hyperfocus), which is the foundation for being highly productive, and a creative mode (scatterfocus), which enables us to connect ideas in novel ways. Hyperfocus helps you access each of the two mental modes so you can concentrate more deeply, think more clearly, and work and live more deliberately every day. Chris Bailey examines such topics such as:

• Identifying and dealing with the four key types of distraction and interruption
• Establishing a clear physical and mental environment in which to work
• Controlling motivation and working fewer hours to become more productive
• Taking time-outs with intention
• Multitasking strategically
• Learning when to pay attention and when to let your mind wander wherever it wants to

By transforming how you think about your attention, Hyperfocus reveals that the more effectively you learn to take charge of it, the better you'll be able to manage every aspect of your life.

©2018 Chris Bailey (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"An engaging book . . . When Mr. Bailey was writing this book, he may as well have pinned my photo above his desk and labeled it 'my audience.' . . . Hyperfocus helped me recognize the limits of my attentional space and make my environment more conducive to focus . . . Mr. Bailey teaches how to re-examine your tasks, determine your priorities and minimize interruptions. . . . When I started the second part of the book, I excitedly placed exclamation points next to all of the examples of places your mind could go if it was left to do its own thing." (The New York Times, "Self-Helped" column)

"In this practical and widely applicable manual Bailey . . . identifies distraction as an endemic probem plaguing the business world, and just about every facet of modern life as well . . . Highly germane to any fast-paced workplace, this book is a must-read for readers seeking to regain control of their ability to concentrate." (Publishers Weekly)

"Hyperfocus does a remarkable job of unpacking the realities, obstacles, and best practices of managing the subtle but ever-present world of our conscious attention. All of us can get better at how, when, and on what we focus; and this is an extraordinary, eye-opening and research based report of what affects us in this regard, and how to take advantage of this information to achieve greater satisfaction in our lives. Bravo, Chris." (David Allen, author of Getting Things Done)

Very inspiring

I love this book! It explains the details of how to and the benefit of hyper focus and scatter focus with many practical guides. It very beneficial for people who are doing knowledge work.

How to remove distraction from your world

Very good book to listen,
It's help me to reduce the distraction around me and be more focused and more productive,

Gréât insights , pleasant to listen

Great book to improve efficiency . Listening to it every day in my car was very interesting

Another Masterpiece by Chris Bailey...

The motivation for writing this book (by 'the most productive man you’d ever hope to meet') was so plain and honest, that made me buy this audiobook right away.
I always loved the author's productivity experiments, and his conclusions, which often gave me an instant edge over the my peers. This book, however, goes beyond any expectation I would hope to encounter. The simplicity and the insightfullness is so powerful, that it is deeply appreciated that such (individual) knowledge is so openly shared to a Public which constantly seeks to stay more focused.
As for me personally, thank you Chris, for improving my life once again, just by acknowledging and applying some very simple concepts.
Waiting for your next book. Please let me/us know.

Solid Productivity Book

Well written and well read. A book worth listening to multiple times I believe. The book touches on everything about being productive and creative but all around the idea of being focused.
The book is all about focus, but the author goes into detail about everything you need to do to accomplish this most optimal state. Personal organization, just enough to get you going with it; also health mental and physical, sleep diet etc.
The book touches on everything about being productive with your life around the idea of being your most focused self.

Good Nuggets

Overall it was useful information. I did feel that it was a bit redundant at times and lacked a bit of soul.

Practical Advice for improving attention

The chapters on increasing focus were very good. Chris included a ton of practical tools that I could use.

Ideal para incrementar tu productividad

Excelente, es claro como puedes aumentar tu productividad y quitar las distracciones no solo en el trabajo si no en la vida en general.

Counter-intuitive advice

The weird thing about this audiobook is that the author advises you to listen to fewer audiobooks. He recommends letting your mind wander during your journey to work instead of listening to audiobooks, as it encourages your mind to make creative connections. You know what? I tried it, and he's right. So that's good for me - but bad for Audible since I'm not purchasing as much from them!

Similar to his first book

It's along the same vein as the author's first book 'The Productivity Project.' If you like his podcast 'Becoming Better,' you'll like this book. It's more about productivity coaching rather than any new, insightful guidance on focusing. The four stages of hyper focus are:
* Choose a productive or meaningful object of attention.
* Eliminate as many external and internal distractions that you can.
* Focus on that chosen object of attention.
* Continually draw your focus back to that object of attention.

Develop productivity rituals:
* Choose 3 things to accomplish each day. Weigh unexpected tasks against the intentions you set.
* Consider the consequences of each task, both short-term and long term - will it be better by doing that task?
* Set an hourly alarm to see how often you're immersed on productive tasks.
* Block time for hyper focus, starting with 15-20 minutes and increasing it over time.