Copy
Week of 24 March 2020

👋 Cut through the noise and get insights delivered to you every week through key takeaways, and notes on curated business podcasts.

Subscribe now! or forward this email to someone who wants to optmize productivity.

PRODUCTIVITY

Daydreaming as well as 'unfocusing your brain' will optimize productivity

Why You Can't Force Focus | NPR Life Kit
🕒 2m summary; 17m episode
🔊 Apple | Spotify

Key takeaways

  • Switching costs are real. For digital workers, it takes 25 minutes to switch back to a task after being distracted. Our brains aren't good at multitasking. The more we switch back and forth between tasks, more mental resources are spent and wasted.
  • Consistent focus is unsustainable. Forcing yourself to do deep work and hyper focus induces stress and frustration. Instead, go between hyper focus and unfocused work to optimize productivity and creativity.
  • Daydreaming is a good thing. Specifically, positive constructive daydreaming is when you let your mind wander as you do activities that aren't mentally stressful. These could be walking, gardening, or whatever activity fits you. This promotes the 'default mode network' of your brain which helps with creativity and better decision making.

Personalities in the episode

Gloria Mark, Ph.D.

Summary

The episode discusses the research on focus at work and how to optimize productivity. Some ideas are well-known like blocking off time for deep work, but others are less intuitive like daydreaming and introducing unfocused time at work.

More details (with timestamps) >

Food for thought

How do you shape workplace practices and structures to optimize focused and unfocused work?

Share your thoughts or request a topic >
Follow us for more insights throughout the week!
Twitter
LinkedIn
Instagram
Website
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.






This email was sent to <<Email Address>>
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
Inciteful Newsletter · Ebsworth · ZETLAND, NSW 2017 · Australia

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp