Where goes your focus ? It is time to take control again StoH# 36


Hello!

Despite being very intentional about where I spend my time and energy, I feel the days are too short... What about you?

But here's the new twist - we've been chasing the wrong target! Most people, like me, are obsessed with "time management".

The real game-changer isn't managing time. It's mastering focus.

Today, I'll share why I prioritize focus above time and energy, and how you could start doing the same for more impact and joy.

"Attention is the most important commodity of the 21st century. If you want to influence people, don't try to change their minds, shift their attention."

Get comfortable for your 5 minutes of sparks to hack.

✨ Spark

✏ More important than time and energy

I used to measure my days in terms of time spent vs output and energy left or gained. And most of us still do the same.

But Focus should be the ultimate goal

More and better focus means more time + more energy.

✏ Stolen Focus - a systemic problem

I just finished "Stolen Focus: Why We Can't Pay Attention" by Johann Hari - it's a real eye-opener about our attention crisis!

The book is quite dense, full of interviews and data on why being focused is becoming more and more difficult.

It gave me a lot of food for thought - especially 5 big ideas that got me thinking 🤔:

  • Our attention span is getting hijacked by tech companies (yep, those endless notifications) - not new, but when you see science and power behind, this is scary.
  • We're losing our ability to read deeply because of constant switching between tasks
  • Sleep deprivation is making it harder for us to focus (sounds familiar, parents? 😴)
  • Stress and anxiety are major attention killers
  • Our kids are especially vulnerable to this attention crisis

"Your attention didn't collapse. It was stolen." "We think we're choosing our distractions freely, but we're being manipulated by outside forces that know exactly how to hook us."

✏ The skill of an ordinary Man to get extraordinary results

Napoleon’s definition of a genius is the person “who can do the average thing when everyone else around him is losing his mind.”

Today, you can succeed if you manage to do average things (to focus) when everyone else around you is losing their mind.

It doesn't sound too challenging, does it ? So let's see where we can start.

Hack

✏ Get a system to protect your attention

Like my teenagers, I block some applications or websites to help me focus. It could LinkedIn (yes 🤫 ) or, more often, simply the mail inbox, which causes me to multitask a lot.

I am trying Freedom, and I get one of these messages when I try to join a blocked site. So far, I am happy to see the butterflies 😃.

✏ Find a word to guide your intention

Instead of new year resolutions that will fail, for the past 4 years I have selected a word that guides my intention and attention in the new year. 🎯

For 2025, it's "4 SCALE" with a fresh meaning:

4 - Four days of work per week. Thanks to the time I spent developing genAI at Bambooster, I'm now able to work 4 days (instead of 4.5-5 days) for the same revenue.

S - Systems for sales: building marketing capabilities to impact more people ^.

C - Colleagues as new customers (yes, some of you are reading this - hello 😉)

A - GenAI and Access: focusing on developing new offers that matter.

L - Lenses and Light: making videos to share my knowledge.

E - Environment: focusing more on helping projects protect biodiversity and fight climate warming.

Here's the exciting part: I'm looking for up to 3 pilot customers to join us for the program ScaleU with AI foundation starting on February 17th. 🌱.

The goal is to

  • Understand the genAI tools for text generation
  • Build your ability to identify the use of AI in your life and to customize, prompt and interact with generative AI
  • Improve your productivity and personal development systems with generative AI

✏ Practice Bodyfulness vs Mindfulness

Bodyfulness and mindfulness have many similarities.

Both practices guide you to experience the present moment fully. But they take different paths to get there.

Mindfulness focuses your attention through your mind - like when you concentrate on your breath. Bodyfulness takes a different approach: it invites your whole body to join the experience.

Let me share three simple ways to practice bodyfulness:

  • Take a 15-minute walk without your phone. Yes, leave it at home!
  • Go for a run with no podcasts filling your ears.
  • Cycle without music.

Simply be present with your body (and mind). I do Nordic Walking 10-15 km weekly in the forest. It helps a LOT!

✏ Focus on the present

Last but not least, focus on the present moment (Not easy, I know).


​I chose this quote to start my year : Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of Life, which is why we call it the present.”

That's it for today!

See you in two weeks. Keep the spark alive, and be intentional :)

Let me know if you liked this edition or if you tried these tips. I respond to every person who writes to me!

Spark to Hack ✧

Hi, I'm Aurélie, a professional coach and facilitator, specialized in innovation in healthcare and sustainability. I enable team and organization leaders in healthcare to increase the speed between an ideas discovery and significant investments. I bring creativity and disciplined methods with contagious energy and a smile as well as a team and system coaching approach. I have a No BlaBla, No Bulshit, and no Blingbling values. I am a entrepreneur / working Mum aware that I only have one life, so I want to make the most of it!

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