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The Invisible Mentor Weekly Newsletter: Brain Food Fridays Number 68: How to Focus in a Distracted World?
Dear Reader,
I presented to the International Mentoring Association on April 14th at 11:00 am Eastern Time. It was a great experience and the audience was very engaged. Although I knew this, I got confirmation that I’m on the right track teaching professionals selective reading strategies, so they can shave hours off their reading time.
Last week, a business coach asked me why I sent out my newsletter on a Friday. I honestly didn’t have an answer for him. It’s just a day I chose. I’m going to be experimenting with sending out the newsletter on different days and times to see what happens. Because you always do something one way, doesn’t mean you always have to do it that way. I’m writing this message for myself.
However, if I find another day that works better, that means I have to change the name, Brain Food Fridays, to whatever day I settle on. The coach told me that Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the best days. Do you agree, disagree? Why?
How to be Focused in a Distracted World?
One of the top reasons why professionals don’t achieve their reading goals is due to lack of focus. A CEO of an organization mentioned to me that they started a book club and it fizzled because when reading, they couldn’t focus while reading the book. The big problem with lack of focus, in this instance, is that most nonfiction books are longer than they need to be.
Publishers have word counts, and often, to satisfy the word count, authors have to add in extra information. Why should you invest your time reading the extra words? Because most of you lead busy lives, practice just-in-time learning. Have a purpose for reading. And read the sections of the book that align with your reason for reading the book. When reading a nonfiction book, you often have questions you want the book to answer. Read the sections that provide the answers to your questions.
Another thing is instant gratification. People want things now. So attention spans are getting shorter. You have only a few seconds to make a good impression.
In 2009, I wanted to learn HTML. I found a course and sat down for seven hours learning it. About seven years ago or so, while working on a non-degree liberal arts education, just for my interest, two hours was my limit for watching videos. Now it’s under an hour, unless I’m watching videos for entertainment.
I suspect this is the same for others. However, I must say that if I have a compelling reason for watching a video, I’ll gladly do it. To become more focused, work in spurts. Set a timer for 25 minutes. That’s one Pomodoro. You can always do more Pomodoros. And take a couple of minutes for a break in between each Pomodoro. You could even work on an unrelated task.
To focus when reading a book, have a compelling reason for doing so. Prepare your mind for reading, so you’re ready to absorb the information. Preview the book, so you know which sections to read. These are a few strategies to be focused in a very distracted world.
Articles Worth Reading
How learning through play as a child can help you succeed as an adult
“A staggering 50% of all employees will need reskilling by 2025 as the adoption of technology increases, according to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report. In addition, the top skills needed to succeed in the workplace include active learning, resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility.”
Are you on track to learn those skills? Read the full article by clicking on the above link.
How to hack your way through a growing reading list
People are overwhelmed by the volume of information and are turning to book summary services such as Blinkist. The article also talks about authors who don’t write succinctly. In my opinion, book summary services have a place. However, use them to complement reading the book. Let the summary guide you as to which sections in a book to focus on.
Let me know what you think of the article.
Avil Beckford in the News
On April 14th I presented, How to Use Books As Mentors to Accelerate Your Career, to the International Mentoring Association. The presentation was well-received and the engaged audience asked some intelligent questions.
Books I’m Looking Forward to Reading
After I’ve worked my way through the list of books below, I’ll update the list. The past couple of weeks have been so busy for me creating new products and preparing for my presentation. I’m available to train executives in your organization, on how to read selectively to get a leadership advantage.
- The Cartoon Introduction to Philosophy
- The Self Help Book
- Secrets to a Millionaire Mind
- Danielle: Chronicles of a Superheroine
- Making Ideas Happen
- Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself
- Delay, Don’t Deny
- How to be a Power Connector
- The Emotion Code
- Ikigai
- QBQ: The Question Behind the Question
- Bulletproof Problem Solving
- How to Be a Power Connector
- What’s Your Problem
- The Invincible Company
When I’ve read the above books, I’ll let you know. I read every day and I read different genres. Right now I’m reading Delay, Don’t Deny.
New Products Alert
I’ve created new programs, Business Knowledge Accelerator, Career Knowledge Accelerator, and I updated the Sales Knowledge Accelerator. Besides previewing a book before reading it, I also recommend that you read a good book summary to get the helicopter view of what the book is about. With so much information online, I was surprised that I couldn’t find summaries for some books on the list.
I often participate in the Knowledge Accelerator programs, so I make sure that I choose books I haven’t read. Now I have to read the books that I couldn’t find summaries for.
Why not participate in one of the Accelerator Programs. I’m also working on the Knowledge Accelerator for Women. It should be ready in a few weeks.
The Invisible Mentor Blog
This is Episode 12 of the new series, The One Problem. This week, Deena Baikowitz talks about women taking the stage, speaking up and being visible on platforms. Read the post or watch the video. This episode is under 10 minutes.
Until Next Week,
Avil Beckford, Founder, The Invisible Mentor!
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