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The Invisible Mentor Weekly Newsletter: Brain Food Wednesdays Number 90: How to Use Technology to Get into the Zone
Dear Reader,
You’ve heard the stories of athletes achieving great feats while in the zone. And you’ve probably thought how amazing it would if you were able to operate in the zone. You can and there are some excellent binaural beats audio apps that can help you. I’ve been using a few with great success.
In sports, they talk about being in the zone. Elsewhere, it’s being in a state of flow. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a psychologist, has written extensively about being in flow. He published Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, and Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. I’ve read both books, and they’re not the easiest books to read. I read his creativity book a few months ago. Here are instructions for getting into flow when reading.
- Make sure you aren’t hungry.
- Cut out distractions.
- Wear headphones. I wear noise-cancelling ones.
- Have a space to read.
- Schedule blocks of uninterrupted time.
- Put the phone on Airplane Mode.
- Use the Pomodoro Technique
- Don’t multitask.
- Get enough good quality sleep.
It makes sense to do the above also when listening to the binaural beats apps that I mentioned in the Ask Avil section of this newsletter.
[Have you read: The Pomodoro Technique by Francesco Cirillo, Review]
On a different note, it’s not too late to participate in the Rainbow Reading Challenge. You’ll be reading seven books in September and each of the books will have a cover that’s one of the colors of the rainbow.
Will you participate in the Rainbow Reading Challenge? Join my Facebook group Reading Rocks: Read a Book, Discover Solutions, Change the World.
[Please Read: Introducing the Rainbow Book Cover Nonfiction Reading Challenge]
Two Programs to Help You With Personal Growth
Business Knowledge Accelerator: Read Like a Leader, Digest More Books
Do you need new ideas to apply to your business? Buy the Business Knowledge Accelerator. You’ll have a list of books to read. But more importantly, you’ll learn a methodology to save time when reading nonfiction books. You’ll be introduced to a concept where you read to learn what you need to know. This is information you can use going forward. Imagine how many more books you could read in the time you saved.
Art of Learning Membership Site
How would you like to access the best, most useful information I have, that’s better than book summaries? Buy monthly access to the Bookish Note that’s behind my paywall. I group Bookish Notes together by a common theme, turning them into a course. Imagine reading themed Bookish Notes and starting to lay the foundation for a new skill.
Ask Avil
Using Technology to Get into the Zone
I’ll mention two audio apps that I’ve been experimenting with to get into the zone. I use them when I’m reading and writing and both have worked very well for me.
I’ve had success with Brain.fm and Brainwave 35 Binaural Program. The first is for both iOS and Android devices and the latter is only for iOS devices. For me, Brain.fm takes me into the zone a lot faster.
A few people have asked me if I listen to the apps to get into the zone, then turn them off and proceed with my work. I turn on the apps before I start my work, and I continue to listen to them as I work. On the other hand, I know someone who listens to the audio to get into the zone, then she shuts it off.
You have to experiment to see what works for you as an individual. I’ve noticed that some settings don’t get me into the zone. When using Brainwave 35 Binaural Program, the critical thinking setting gets me into the zone, while the problem-solving one doesn’t. The focused and alert, as well as the concentration settings also work well for me with that app.
I find the Brain.fm audio app a lot more intense. Before you use the audio apps you should read the disclaimers first. And experiment to find what works for you. When I downloaded Brain.fm I had no idea that I had access to a trial version. I don’t know if I was distracted when I was downloading it. But I was very annoyed when I got notification days later that the trial would be over in a few hours.
Although it’s a great app and does what it says it will do, I’m not sure if I want to pay USD $50/year for a subscription. I’ll probably do it, but I haven’t made up my mind. Brainwave 35 Binaural Programs is more reasonably priced at under USD $10.
Here are a few audio apps you can experiment with to get into the Zone. I know people who have used the free versions with success.
- Brain Waves – Binaural Beats by MynioTech Apps (I have the pro version)
- Binaural Beats – Study Music by Craftsman Spirit
- Brain Wave Therapy (Binaural) by Black Coffee Programing (I have the pro version)
Reading List
Every day, I work on creating content for my membership site. And it’s going very well. I’m amazed by how much ground I’ve covered. I finished reading Behind the Red Door and Life is Short and so Is This Book. I enjoyed the latter book, which is only 52 pages. But it’s loaded with a lot of wisdom.
Now, I’m reading This Is Marketing by Seth Godin. But I haven’t gotten into it yet.
Reading List
- Future Mapping (read)
- Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo
- The Airbnb Story: How Three Ordinary Guys Disrupted an Industry, Made Billions . . . and Created Plenty of Controversy by Leigh Gallagher
- Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship, and Betrayal by Nick Bilton
- Levers: The Framework for Building Repeatability into Your Business by Amos Schwartzfarb
- Behind the Red Door: How Elizabeth Arden’s Legacy Inspired My Coming-of-Age Story in the Beauty Industry by Louise Claire Johnson
- Five Stars: The Communication Secrets to Get from Good to Great by Carmine Gallo
- I Got There: How a Mixed-Race Kid Overcame Racism, Poverty, and Abuse to Arrive at the American Dream by JT McCormick
- One Big Thing: Discovering What You Were Born to Do by Phil Howard Cooke
- Self Leadership and the One Minute Manager Revised Edition: Gain the Mindset and Skillset for Getting What You Need to Succeed by Ken Blanchard and Susan Fowler (read)
The Invisible Mentor Blog
Blog Posts
There are several benefits of building out the content for my membership site. I have fresh content for my blog. Starting next week, I’ll have a lot of new content for you to sink your teeth in. I’ll be able to look at my content calendar to see if I need to move blog posts around.
I’ll also have to schedule a couple of days to do The One Problem interviews. I’ll be able to schedule a number of podcasts as well.
The One Problem
I can’t believe that I’ve published 30 podcast episodes already. Bring out the champagne (sparkling water for me). The videos are short, so they’re easy enough to listen to.
- The One Problem Interview with Lois McGuire, Author
- The One Problem Interview with Roberta Liebenberg, Senior Law Partner
- The One Problem Interview: Angela Payne, Founder Leed HR
- The One Problem Interview: Rose-marie Fernandez, Founder Coaching Worx
- The One Problem Interview: Reverend, Dr Cheri DiNovo
- The One Problem Interview: Hillary Sobel, Lawyer
- The One Problem: Janet Zaretsky, BS Brilliance Master
- The One Problem: Julie Foucht, Art of Feminine Marketing
- The One Problem: Evelyn Jerome Alexander, Magellan College Counseling
- The One Problem Interview with Rosalin Krieger, The Unstucker
- The One Problem Interview: Tetyana Dudnyk, Director, Technology Project Management Office
- The One Problem Interview: Maura Lustig, Transformational Coach
- The One Problem: Vicki Saunders, Founder SheEO
- Episode 17 The One Problem: Tara Hunt, Founder Truly Inc
- The One Problem Interview: Melanie Russell Talks About Partnership Agreements
- The One Problem Interview: Anthea Rossouw, Founder of Dreamcatcher
- Germain St. Denis, Consultant, Change Leadership: The One Problem Interview
- The One Problem Interview: Sandra Lisi, Leadership Coach
- The One Problem: Deena Baikowitz, Business & Career Coach
- The One Problem: Kelli Wingo, The One Problem Interview: Kelli Wingo, KMW Catalyst
- The One Problem: Patricia Roberts,Chief Operating Officer of the Gift of College
- The One Problem: The One Problem: Patti Pokorchak, Small Biz Sales Coach
- The One Problem: Adrienne Harris, Managing Partner, Portage Sales
- The One Problem: Kristy Wallace, CEO Ellevate Network
- The One Problem: Margye Solomon Talks about Aging and Relevance
- The One Problem: Deb Boulanger, Launch Lab for Women Entrepreneurs
- The One Problem: Sharon Horne Ellstrom – Stop Being Like Others, Be YOU
- The One Problem: Liz Kitchell from SheMoolah Talks Money Conversations
- The One Problem: Avil Beckford, Author of Digest 30 Books in 30 Days
- The One Problem: Interview With Kelly Daring, Author of Is Love Enough
Product Alert
7 Day Reading Makeover Challenge
This is an affordable program to get started on leadership reading. Leaders read to learn what they need to know. You’ll also learn how to synthesize information.
Art of Learning Membership Site
How would you like to access the best, most useful information I have, that’s better than book summaries? Buy monthly access to the Bookish Note that’s behind my paywall. I group Bookish Notes together by a common theme, turning them into a course. Imagine reading themed Bookish Notes and starting to lay the foundation for a new skill.
Until Next Week,
Avil Beckford, Founder, The Invisible Mentor!