Hyperfocus: The New Science of Attention, Productivity, and Creativity

2018·8.6 MB·English

by  Chris Bailey

PRAISE FOR CHRIS BAILEY’S HYPERFOCUS
“There are two kinds of focus we need in order to pursue what’s essential in life: focus as a noun (our fixed
intent) and focus as a verb (the ongoing process of connecting the dots). This is brilliantly illustrated both in
writing and in graphics in this latest book from Chris Bailey. I loved the book.”
—Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism
“Practical, well written and timely. Chris Bailey tackles one of the most important topics today as we seek
success at work and attempt to raise positive kids in the modern world. What you attend to becomes your
reality. Hyperfocus provides a practical path to using our attention to create an adaptive reality. If we want
to achieve greater success and happiness, we need to start by focusing upon what our brain is attending to.”
—Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage and Big Potential
“Hyperfocus is a lifeline in a world in which we are all overwhelmed with too much to do and not enough
time to do it. Thanks to Chris Bailey’s groundbreaking and timely new book, I feel like I now have, for the
first time in literally years, the ability to focus on the most important, value-creating things. Read this book
if you want a stress-relieving salve as well as a guarantee to improve both your productivity and happiness.”
—Jim Citrin, author of The Career Playbook
“Being hyperfocused in a busy world is a skill every professional needs in their arsenal. Chris Bailey will
show you how to master it in his new book Hyperfocus. Using all of the latest science, Bailey gives you
practical, incredible frameworks to change how you work.”
—Vanessa Van Edwards, author of Captivate
“There’s no question: your attention is your most valuable asset. Everything in your life—your experience
of life—comes from your attention. And Hyperfocus will teach you how to use this tool, how to hone it,
leverage it, and even enjoy it. Pay attention to Chris Bailey—this book is well worth the focus.”
—Peter Bregman, author of 18 Minutes
“Attention may be the most important asset of the twenty-first century. Hyperfocus takes decades of
scientific insights and pairs them with practical applications to show us how best to manage and multiply
our attention.”
—David Burkus, author of Under New Management and Friend of a Friend
“Chris Bailey’s book is a fascinating guide to managing our attention. He describes a methodology that will
help us both focus and create more effectively. His book is not just theory, but a wonderful toolbox full of
practical and detailed best practices. I can’t wait to give these ideas a try.”
—Kai-Fu Lee, founder of Google China, chairman and CEO of Sinovation Ventures
ALSO BY CHRIS BAILEY
The Productivity Project

VIKING
An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
375 Hudson Street
New York, New York 10014
penguin.com
Copyright © 2018 by Chris Bailey
Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture.
Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or
distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish
books for every reader.
Illustrations by Chris Bailey and Sinisa Sumina.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Bailey, Chris, 1989– author.
Title: Hyperfocus : how to be more productive in a world of distraction / Chris Bailey.
Description: New York : Viking, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2018023750 (print) | LCCN 2018025476 (ebook) | ISBN 9780525522249 (ebook) | ISBN 9780525522232
(hardcover) | ISBN 9780525560043 (international edition) Subjects: LCSH: Time management. | Distraction (Psychology) | Attention.
Classification: LCC BF637.T5 (ebook) | LCC BF637.T5 B349 2018 (print) | DDC 153.7/33—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018023750
Version_1
For Ardyn
CONTENTS
Praise for Chris Bailey’s Hyperfocus
Also by Chris Bailey
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
CHAPTER 0
Why Focus Matters
CHAPTER 0.5
How to Better Focus on This Book
PART ONE
HYPERFOCUS
CHAPTER 1
Switching Off Autopilot Mode
CHAPTER 2
The Limits of Your Attention
CHAPTER 3
The Power of Hyperfocus
CHAPTER 4
Taming Distractions
CHAPTER 5
Making Hyperfocus a Habit
PART TWO
SCATTERFOCUS
CHAPTER 6
Your Brain’s Hidden Creative Mode
CHAPTER 7
Recharging Your Attention
CHAPTER 8
Connecting Dots
CHAPTER 9
Collecting Dots
CHAPTER 10
Working Together
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
About the Author

CHAPTER
0
WHY FOCUS MATTERS
Attention Is Everywhere
I’
m writing these words over the sounds of clanging cutlery and muffled
conversation at a small diner in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
I’ve always been a fan of people-watching. There’s so much to take in
—how they dress, walk, converse, and act when they’re either around or not
around others. At a busy café, or at a diner like this, it’s fun to see personalities
collide like particles in an accelerator; to observe a guy’s personality change
when he switches from talking to his friend to chatting up the waitress; to watch
the personalities of waitstaff shift when serving each table, adapting to large
families, young couples.
In focusing on other people, I’ve made a lot of observations about what those
people are focusing on. In any given moment, we are all focusing on something,
even if we’re just lost in our internal thoughts. Let’s take a glance through the
diner.
I turn my attention first to the two twentysomething girls at the table to my
left, who are mostly focusing on their smartphones instead of each other.
Between bouts of texting, they flip their phones facedown on the table. This, it
seems, is a pretty pointless gesture—they’ve picked them back up thirty seconds
later. While I can’t make out their every word, I can tell they’re skimming the
surface of the conversation they could be having. They’re with each other in
person, but their attention is elsewhere.
Or take the couple across the room. They’re engrossed in a conversation
fueled by hot coffee and buttermilk pancakes. They were engaged in relatively
quiet small talk when they arrived, but their conversation soon became more
animated. Unlike the girls, this couple has focused only on each other since
sitting down.
A catchy Ed Sheeran song comes on over the restaurant’s speakers, and my
attention is drawn to the two guys sitting a few tables over from the couple. One
of them subtly taps his foot to the beat while his friend orders. The foot tapper is
presumably spreading his attention across three things: the song, what his friend
is ordering, and his own breakfast decision. After he orders the Three Egg