The 7 Books And 43 Key Concepts That Will Help You Develop a Good Personal Operating System In The Knowledge Economy [PART 5]
Over the past 2 years, I have read the 7 best books for developing an effective personal operating system — twice.
I have distilled them down to the 43 key insights that will upgrade your life.
Save yourself time and just implement these key concepts 🧵👇
Book #5: Indistractable
In this day and age, if you are not equipped to manage distractions, your brain will be manipulated by time-wasting diversions.
The antidote to impulsiveness is forethought. Planning ahead ensures you will follow through.
In this book, you’ll learn exactly what to do to control your attention and choose your life.
What does it mean to be indistractable?
All behaviors, whether they tend toward traction or distraction, are prompted by triggers, internal or external.
Whether prompted by internal or external triggers, the resulting action is either aligned with our broader intention (traction) or misaligned (distraction).
Traction helps us accomplish goals; distraction leads us away from them.
Key Concept (24): Stop Getting Distracted By Internal Triggers
The root cause of all of our behaviors is the desire to relieve discomfort.
Distraction is an unhealthy escape from reality. If we want to master distraction, we must learn to deal with discomfort.
This can be done in four steps:
1) Look for the emotion that precedes every distraction. Try to figure out your internal trigger.
2) Write it down. Include details like the time of day, what were you doing and how you felt then.
3) Explore the negative sensation with curiosity instead of contempt (observation).
4.) Be extra aware of liminal moments: Transitions that moves us from one thing to another throughout our day.
Key Concept (25): Make Time For The Things You Really Want To Do
“If I know how you spend your time, I know what might become of you.”
We should guard one of our most precious asset: our time.
If we don’t plan our days, someone else will.
Instead of starting with what are we going to do, we should begin with why we’re going to do it.
Our values are like a compass for navigating all our life choices.
We should set aside a specific time in our schedules for traction: the actions that move us toward what we want in life.
You can’t call something a distraction unless you know what it’s distracting you from.
The most effective way to make time for traction is through timeboxing:
Deciding what you’re going to do, and when you’re going to do it.
The goal here is to eliminate all white space on your calendar, so you’re left with a template for how you intent to spend your time each day.
P.S. I have worked with many tools over my professional career, and the best tool for timeboxing that I use each day is Sunsama. Try it for free 👉 HERE
Every week, book 15 minutes of your schedule to refine your calendar by asking two questions:
1) When in my schedule did I do what I said I would do, and when did I get distracted? If you got distracted, find strategies to cope with it next time.
2) Are there any changes I need to make to give me the time I need to live out my values?
Focus on inputs — not outcomes.
When it comes to time, we should stop worrying about outcomes we can’t control and instead focus on the inputs we can control.
You can’t know if the breakthrough idea will come to you when you sit down at your desk.
But one thing is certain: Not showing up guarantees failure.
Your goal is to show up every time.
Areas to schedule (the book goes into more detail on specific tactics)
→ Schedule time for you
→ Schedule time for important relationships
Key Concept (26): Stop Getting Distracted by External Triggers
Cues in our environment like rings from devices and interruptions from other people frequently take us off track.
That’s why we should defend our focus.
Areas to hack back (the book goes into more detail on specific tactics)
→ Hack back work interruptions
→ Hack back email
→ Hack back group chat
→ Hack back meetings
→ Hack back your smartphone
→ Hack back your desktop
→ Hack back online articles.
→ Hack back feeds.
Key Concept (27): Use Precommitments To Prevent Distractions
A precommitment is removing a future choice in order to overcome impulsivity.
Many successful people aren’t less impulsive; they just take drastic steps to keep themselves focused.
Effort pacts: An effort pact prevents distraction by making unwanted behaviors more difficult to do.
Price pacts: A price pact involves putting money on the line to encourage us to do what we say we will.
Identity pacts: You tend to align your actions with how you see yourself.
Keep a timeboxed schedule and share it with others.
Snag a copy of the book 📖👇
