Skip to content

Instantly share code, notes, and snippets.

@Theartbug
Created September 12, 2019 20:22
Show Gist options
  • Save Theartbug/4dd4bf150d0368eb56e6ef6e7d3674b8 to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Save Theartbug/4dd4bf150d0368eb56e6ef6e7d3674b8 to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Adobe for all conference Notes

In the zone: achieving peak productivity through better focus

sahar yousef

status quo

  • today we can work anytime, anywhere, on any device, with anyone around the world
  • productivity has dipped and stagnated in the past 10 years
    • hypothesis was the more we connect people, the more productive they would become
  • we struggle to get things done more than ever
    • feeling overwhelmed, busy
  • we work constantly, but don't feel like we are working forward
    • spinning wheels
  • high impact projects tend to get sidelined

workday hijacked

  • constant interruptions
  • excessive email
  • unpropductive meetings

deteriating reality

  • 3.5 hours or less average portion of workday that is actually considered productive (Atlassian)
  • 90 seconds avg amount of time between knowledge worker interruptions (UC irvine)
    • 11 minutes in 2008
  • 96% senior leaders report feeling on the verge of burnout (american institute of stress)
    • does not feel good
  • the human brain needs time to deep work enter the flow state
    • strategic thinking, flow
  • feel hyperconnected, feel tethered to our devices, feel hyper busy but going nowhere
  • people don't have "work days" anymore, but instead "work moments"
    • like walking through a blender
    • day is shredded to bits
    • pockets in between meetings, calls

how did we get here?

  • what changed / what didn't
  • nature of work has radically shifted (picture)
    • not bad things, but things have changed without thinking of impact
  • human brains have not changed
    • operating in a modern world with ancient bodies / minds
    • no such thing as Adobe, it's a social construct
      • only exists because of the people in it

we need to stop fighting our biology

  • learning the principles of our own biology to use to our advantage
  • feel more energetic, creative, less stressed, get more done in less time
  • we will have more: time, focus, energy
    • they are all scarce and finite

sustainable peak performance

  • jargon? gotta unpack
  • perform: the ability to efficiently and effectively execute
  • peak: on the core of priorities, keenly aware
    • what to do on a daily basis to push career / team forward
  • sustainable: over the long term, year after year

today's overview

  • sustainable peak performance index (SPPI) results
  • from the group in the room

the good:

  • spending enough time with family and friends (65%)
  • awareness of peak performance hours (61%)
    • mentally and physically at best, energetic and clear-headed
  • exercise 3x / week (51%)

improvement:

  • continouous inbox monitoring (83%)
    • FOMO
  • reative workflow (80%)
    • what work is being thrown at you, opposed to what needs to be done
  • feeling drained at the end of the day (75%)
    • it is good to talk about, others are feeling this way
  • difficulty focusing and managing distraction (71%)

internal meetings:

  • (picture)
  • could an email be sent instead
  • think strongly about who needs to be there

distraction is #1 effectiveness killer

  • productivity dipped 10 years ago, but was linearly increasing since the 50s
  • smartphone's seem to be the culprit
  • cognitive capacity vs phone location
    • healthy high performing young adults
    • go into a cognitive testing booth
      • small rooms, all black, crappy desktop computer, sit with a mouse
      • memory, attention
    • once normally, then again with a prop cellphone face down in the room
      • within eyesight near the computer, does not ring or vibrate
      • is not their phone!
    • the mere presence of a smartphone reduces brain power, even if it's not yours and evn if it's off
      • every single test significant decrease, across the board
    • how many phones are in meetings? how often are they on our person?
  • help people finish what they need to finish so they can go home from work and have a personal life
  • if working from home, only work at a designated work station, do not do personal tasks in that area
    • same while at work, if thinking about personal life things at work, leave the work area and then come back when mentally ready
  • human beings are pack animals, can come together and share information even with strangers
  • cellphones are computers
    • even when it is off, it is an indication of a connection to the outside world
    • feelings of value tracked in metal
    • our identity
    • every time the phone vibrates you get dopamine
      • you are valued enough to receive connection
    • notifications were created to make apps sticky / addictive
      • old apps didn't have this feature
      • we begin to anticipate the notification, and it makes us dumber
  • ask people to place phones away since it is lowering IQ
    • at least you are not being made dumber by someone else's phone
  • distracted brains vs undistracted brains
    • took high performing young healthy folks
    • split them based on distractability
    • different cognitive tests, need to be paying attention difficult computations
    • controlled for performance
    • every individual is performing at 80% accuracy and kept them there
    • more activity in brain scans means more distractible
      • more brain is not always better
      • use less brain to do the same things
      • more efficient brains
    • jeep vs prius driving model
  • distractability can be untrained in 7-10 weeks
    • do not allow yourself to be distracted
    • brain anticipates distraction, begin to distract yourself
      • impacts conginitive performance, cannot help other areas of brain being turned on
  • open offices have caused a net decline in productivity
    • constant noise, constant movement, all potentially relevant
    • lowered immune systems
    • hypothesis of open office was noble
      • if you take walls down, people would collaborate more
      • also MUCH cheaper in costs
    • emails increased by 30% across the board
    • people talking less, jammed into space together
    • everyone walks around with headphones in, exceedingly difficult to focus
    • we constantly scan the environment for lions, tigers, bears
      • anything in visual field, especially when things are relevant to you
      • salient noise
      • can be more distracted at work office instead of at a random coffee office
      • impacts stress levels fight distraction:
  • turn off (almost) all notifications (most impactful)
    • can set VIP notifications in outlook
  • utilize noise-cancelling headphones
    • music with words you do not understand, if has words

multitasking is physically impossible

  • not physically possible, not a real thing
  • we are focus machinesl
  • multitask example (notebook needed)
  • multitasking = context-switching
    • there is a cost, called "switch-cost"
    • brain goes through an off-boarding process to on-boarding process between the two tasks
    • it adds up in time and energy, will fatigue you by end of day
    • can add up to 2-3 hours a day
    • does not feel good
  • improve focus:
    • schedule intentional times to focus on accomplishing a clear task (answering emails, Focus Sprint)
    • meditation (attention regulation) training
      • improvement over long run, it is a muscle that requires flexing
      • will hurt in the beggining, will be sore, frustrating
      • will notice distraction, mind will wander, redirect and it is like a bicep curl
      • start with 5-10 minutes
    • batch process email
    • schedule office hours for impromput interruptions
      • other parts of the day will be inaccessable

focus sprint

  • set aside a block of time
    • body will prepare to do deep work if you place on a calendar
    • schedule a call with "bob"
  • write down with your hand on a piece of paper what you hope to accomplish
    • break down into subtasks
    • you cannot get feelings of accomplishment without well-defined goals
    • "im going to make a sandwich", will get a dopamine release at the end
  • turn off notifications, set a timer, GO!
    • time-boxing works very well, even with children
    • pomodoro technique, warn co-workers about doing this

the hours of the day are not equal

  • periods of the day when we are at our best, others when we are not
  • peak performance hours 2-3 hours physiologically at our best
    • mentally clear and energetic
  • energetic profile, rate yourself
  • what gives rise to exceptional executive performance?
    • executives and managers repoprt being 5x more productive during their peak performance hours
    • most report being in this state of deep engagement less than 5%of the time
  • claendar block your 2-3 peak performance hours for strategic, congnitively intensive, high-value work
    • move meetings out from those hours
  • know when you are not at your best, schedule less impactful meetings / emails

every decision you make depletes your energy

  • parole vs meal time (picture)
  • we are all susceptible to our biology
  • less about meal time, more about decision fatigue
  • every decision depletes will-power for next decision
  • do a daily choice audit
    • finite amount of choice energy
    • run out of self-regulatory strength
    • no more self-dicipline / willplower
  • automate one decision
    • same breakfast every day
    • same route to work

we are not designed to run like machines

  • ultradian rhythms (picture)
    • stress hormones that dictate arousal and stress in the body
    • will start to feel tired
    • if you do not enter a break after 90 minutes, body and brain are not replenishing
      • next peak will be lower and lower
    • break
      • body and brain cease to process
      • walk, look at outdoors, use the restroom
  • nutrition
    • calendar based nutrition
    • if outside of ideal blood glucose level, not peak performing
    • eat too much if hungry
    • small meals throughout the day, never feel hungry
    • sugar pushes out of ideal range
    • protein / healthy fats
  • cutting sleep = drunkness
    • loss of sleep is equivalent to drinking alcohol
    • folks in hours of wakefulness group did not percieve their decrease in cognitiion
      • brain goes into a different mode (child rearing)
      • convinces you that you are fine (but you are not)
    • when drung, are aware of it
    • no not skip on sleep
  • sleep at least 7 hours per not
  • take periodic work breaks
  • use caffeine strategically as opposed to first thing (couple hours after awake, then after lunch)
  • maintain more stable blood glucose
Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment