Deep Work: Skyrocket Your Productivity with These 4 Recipes & 8 Tools (Infographic)

May 15, 2018 / Oskar Cymerman

“Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular. In fact, I believe most people fail in life simply because they major in minor things.”

— Anthony Robbins

One day in 247,982 BC a member of the species we now call Homo Sapiens sat on a rock near the watering hole. Separated from the safety of the group, he was reliving the nightmare in his head and deciding what to do next.

"Why did it go after me? Don't they prefer other, bigger prey? How do I get back to the group and not run into that mean...," he wasn't able to finish the thought and devise a sensible plan because his ears detected a new sound and as his eyes found its source fear overtook him. He took off running. The beast followed.

250,000 years of conditioning and brain-wiring later, the story above only slightly exaggerates what the modern day human must overcome to focus on things and actions that produce the best results. Just as the ancient Sapiens was forced to split his attention and always look out for dangers (predators) and opportunities (food) the modern day human is prone to distractions brought about thousands of years of habituation of fear-based and pleasure-seeking behaviors.

Our thoughts and actions are constantly interrupted. Not meaning to get distracted at work, we pay attention to stimuli that make us inefficient. In a 2016 Career Builder survey of over 3,000 full-time U.S. workers, 2 out of 3 admitted to using their smartphone several times a day while working. Interestingly, only 10% of the same individuals conceded their smartphone use decreased their productivity.

The same thing happens at home. Digital distractions repeatedly slow us down, but we're often unaware of their full impact on our ability to get things done and how they change our overall efficiency. We don't keep track and confuse being busy with being productive.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. The same Career Builder survey named many other workplace productivity killers. The graphic below applies to at home productivity as well.

The biggest productivity killers in the workplace. Source: https://hiring-assets.careerbuilder.com/media/attachments/careerbuilder-original-2352.jpg?1465224437 — **The biggest productivity killers in the workplace.** Source: https://hiring-assets.careerbuilder.com/media/attachments/careerbuilder-original-2352.jpg?1465224437

The end result? Unaware, constantly-distracted individuals who don't have the skills required to dive deep into the understanding of problems and the working out of solutions. We can't focus for long enough to do deep work and don't know how to train our focus. But our success depends on sustained and smart productivity so we can achieve expertise our competition lacks. This is how deep work gets us ahead.

Become aware first. Then, take action.

Deep work tools and recipes to skyrocket your productivity

The giant killer cat was getting closer. The Sapiens saw a tree. He climbed up the tree. He was safe. The angry leopard waited. The beast was hungry. The Sapiens was scared. He was hungry too but had a larger distraction to contend with at that moment.

Deep work is something we have to work for. Far from automatic, it's a skill anyone can build and get better at. As all skill-building it starts with the know how and requires thoughtful action. Planing, scheduling, dealing with distractions, tracking progress and effectiveness, and fueling you body, mind, and soul are a few microskills of the larger Deep Work Skill.

Deep work is hard but it will skyrocket your productivity and change your life.

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Hi, I'm Oskar. I teach and write about learning for success.

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tags / teaching teens, deeper learning, learning, teaching, deep work, productivity

The Curiosity Web a.k.a. Why Spiders Are Cool

May 06, 2018 / Oskar Cymerman

Are you afraid of spiders?

If you are, why?

Is it the legs? Sure they have a few more than us, but you know what else has 8 legs? Ticks. And ticks suck. So does Lyme disease. But spiders eat ticks. Maybe not enough to exterminate them all but still.

Spiders are helpers. They get the mosquitos and flies too. Both of those insects suck. Now I'm being yelled at by entomologists and arachnologists that theoretically only ticks and mosquitos suck while the flies bite. Oops, sorry, and bite me.

But my point is that spiders are cool even if they're not sexy enough for most of us. I get it. They look scary. But they're cool. Especially the ones you don't have to touch.

Alright, I admit it. I am softening you up for the visual you're about to see. I got this idea to show you the "Curiosity Path" only the path turned out to be a web. But don't blame me. Blame life and the human condition because Curiosity forms a Web of Awesome and spiders make webs. One thing led to another and...

So check out the astonishing spiders and the curiosity web they've weaved below. It'll help you understand why curiosity is so important.

The Curiosity Web: The Advantages of Being Curious.

Curiosity, especially the kind that has you digging deep into a topic, and the ensuing discovery lead to learning more, which leads to deeper knowledge, which leads to better expertise. When we stay curious and dig deeper our life experiences are more meaningful, we become more insightful and aware, which leads to better understanding and interactions with others and the world, which leads to better relationships.

Curiosity is how creativity is built. As you explore and learn you generate more and better ideas, which leads to better problem solving and more informed decisions. All of the above leads to success in school, work, and life.

Curiosity didn't kill the cat. It made it awesome. Don't believe me? Check out my previous post and graphic: How to Reawaken Curiosity (or Remain Curious Forever) here.

And what if you printed this graphic and put it somewhere your kids will find it? Will the spiders catch their eye? Will they be curious? Will they be able to get past the scary spiders and read what each one carries? Will it then be possible to talk about curiosity with your kids?

There's only one way to find out.

You have the power to change lives. Use it often so they can change the world.

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tags / teaching teens, deeper learning, learning, teaching, creativity, increasing creativity, imagination, innovation, futu, success skills, skills, skills for the future, curiosity, curiosity web

How to Reawaken Curiosity (or Remain Curious Forever) - Infographic

May 02, 2018 / Oskar Cymerman

“Curiosity killed the cat, but where human beings are concerned, the only thing a healthy curiosity can kill is ignorance.”

— Harry Lorayne

Just as a plant dries out without water the human mind withers when deprived of curiosity. An individual's growth halts and a society's progress stops. We've seen this before. Too fragmented by conflicts, too busy fighting, and too distracted by the prospect of death led to 1000 years of intellectual darkness, the Dark Ages in Europe of the past.

Who knows what might have happened if curiosity wasn't thwarted by the circumstances then? Maybe the knights of the round table would have been deliberating how much tax to levy using their EM-powered tablets and diseases of today would be non-existent. We would not have to worry about Obama or Trump Care because we'd live to be 125 and be lucid enough to prevent the creation of systems that prey on people's fears and shortcomings.

But jokes and what-ifs aside, it's the right kind of curiosity (or rather the right blend of two different curiosities) that leads to a better people and a better world. Because I'm pretty sure the cat died as a result of having too much diversive and not enough epistemic curiosity.

What are diversive and epistemic curiosities might you ask? Check out the infographic below!

I hope you enjoyed the second post in my Curiosity Series. Check out the previous one: How to Cultivate Curiosity and Stop Stupidity here. But most importantly: Please use the tips and strategies I collected here to help our kids retain or reawaken their innate and relentless curiosity. Their lives depend on it.

You have the power to change lives. Use if often so they can change the world.

Oskar

My next 3 posts will contain more graphics and actionable tips to help Curiosity Thrive in a society that is perhaps losing its curiosity faster than ever before. So if you're a teacher or a parent sign up below and I will send it and other articles on effective learning to you completely free and with no strings attached.

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