focus

Get More Done – Interrupt Your Interruptions

Constant interruptions reduce focus and effectiveness. Learn how the human brain handles interruptions (poorly) and how to work more effectively by stemming their flow.

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Get More Done – Interrupt Your Interruptions

If you’re feeling the need for more peace and quiet these days, you’re not alone. One of the latest trends sweeping the business world is the “pod” – a small, free-standing soundproof space that can comfortably hold one or two people.  If you look around, you’ll notice them sprouting up in offices, airports and other public…

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Pause, Think, and Focus to Win

  In chaotic and fast changing times, the lack of predictable behaviors in all areas of our life may not serve us well, says University of Maryland psychologist Arie Kruglanski – especially for people with a high need for certainty and closure. Cognitive closure, or the desire to have a firm answer to a question…

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Work Less, Get More Done

    Are you working longer and harder but accomplishing less? One of the great ironies of our times is that the more we learn about the importance of uninterrupted focus in human performance, the more distractions and interruptions we face on a daily basis. Voice mail. Email. Telemarketing. Spam. Tweets. Snapchats. Texting. Instant messaging….

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Customer Engagement Is More Important than Ever

  Every CEO or business owner knows the importance of attracting new customers. That’s why most companies spend a significant part of their budgets on marketing and advertising to develop customer engagement among repeat and new customers. But a recent Gallup survey suggests that developing customer engagement – which the company describes as “a customer’s…

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Oh, The Things you Can Thunk

Dr. Seuss has always been one of my favorite authors, especially his book Oh, The Thinks You Can Think. As a child I loved his clever rhymes, wild imagination, and endless array of made-up creatures. As an adult, I love his playfulness with the English language and how he really gets what a marvelous instrument…

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Put the Resolve Back into Your New Year’s Resolutions

Thinking about making New Year’s resolutions but worried about not being able to follow through? If so, you’re not alone. According to a recent survey, 16% of people decided not to set any New Year’s resolutions in 2015, and that number is expected to increase for 2016. Of those who do plunge ahead with well-intentioned resolutions,…

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How to Suck at Winning

A while back, I wrote a blog about how to suck at leadership. A tongue-in-cheek look at how not to be an effective leader, it turned out to be one of my more popular blogs. In the spirit of those rare Hollywood sequels that don’t suck, here’s one on how to suck at winning. Apparently,…

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How to Lose the Fear of Focus

    The business world moves so rapidly these days it’s a wonder anyone can keep up. While this create stress, it also opens up a host of opportunities for those with the vision and passion to pursue them. However, like a kid in a candy store with only a few dollars to spend, it…

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Practice Your Way to Winning in 2015

Winning in business takes practice. Not just practicing any old thing, but practicing the right things. Far too often, however, I see organizations practicing the wrong things. For example: Conducting disorganized meetings where people arrive late, unprepared, and not focused on what’s really important Making decisions based on assumptions rather than hard data Failing to…

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Stop Pretending to Be Rational at Work

At times, English can be an illogical, irrational and downright confusing language. Just look at all the homographs and heteronyms that crop up throughout the lexicon. A homograph is two or more words that are spelled the same but have different meanings. A heteronym is a homograph that is also pronounced differently. For example: Is…

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Prompt Your Brain to Win

Do you recall learning to ride a bicycle as a young child? At first, you probably wobbled and fell and wanted to quit, especially if you banged a knee or an elbow in the fall. But with mom or dad at your side, or perhaps an older sibling, you had the courage to persevere. Or…

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