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A method to organize your mind, focus your attention, achieve your goals, and avoid feeling overwhelmed |
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- Author(s): [[Paul Hammerness]], [[Margaret Moore]]
Questionnaire to determine how organized we are:
[[How organized are you]]?
- Very organized
- Neat desk, never miss appointments/deadlines, ...
- Moderately organized
- Manage to stay on top of things, but sometimes feeling overwhelmed (hard to determine what to do in which order)
- Completely disorganized
- Feeling lost and everything is fuzzy in our life
This book includes a ton of tips to use top-down organization (starting with the brain) based on brain science.
A 2008 study has shown that the thinking parts of the brain (i.e., [[Prefrontal cortex (PFC)]], and the [[Cingulate cortex]]) are able to help regulate our [[Emotions]]. Those parts of the brain can help calm us down to keep us in control.
The authors provide different tips to help us "tame the frenzy" ensure that our emotions don't take over. They argue that [[Keeping our emotions under control is one of the keys for a more harmonized and focused life]].
This book aims to help us organize our mind, by shifting our perspective and our approach to deal with work, colleagues, family and ourselves. Those change also aim to help us avoid feeling overwhelmed.
Through self-coaching, we can take advantage of the advice given in the book.
In the book, Dr. Hammerness highlights and explains a set of "Rules of Order", or organizing principles that are key to get organized and in control. On the other hand, Coach Meg explains how to appropriate and incorporate those principles in your life.
We live in a mostly unfocused world, in part due to the digital revolution. The world is filled with [[Distractions]], and it's far too easy to succumb to those all the time. Distractions are like an epidemic.
There's also a lot of Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO); we fear missing a notification, missing an e-mail, missing an episode of our favorite TV shows, etc. There are too many stimuli, and information overload is real.
[[The problem of most people isn't so much all the distractions around them, but rather the fact that they are unable to focus and ignore those]].
[[The pace of life is increasing, and the distractions multiplying. We need to get used to it, and find ways to protect ourselves]].
Many successful persons in the world know how to use their brain's abilities to organize their lives, stay focused, be more productive and enjoy their life more. How do they do it? Some of the keys include their ability to stay calm, focused, and organized; especially during crisis.
[[Being mindful of where our attention goes is essential. And that's a skill that can be learned]]. Another key skill is to be flexible and able to switch contexts efficiently between different tasks and activities. Part of that consists in being able to "save" the context somehow to be able to pick up where you left off later on. One more key is to keep emotions in check and to know when it is time to cool down to avoid losing control and feeling overwhelmed.