Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business

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Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “welcome to Singapore. The local time is five minutes to midday on Thursday 4 November, and I think you’ll agree that was one of the nicest landings we have experienced for a while.” De Crespigny returned home a hero. Today, Qantas Flight 32 is taught in flight schools and psychology classrooms as a case study of how to maintain focus during an emergency. It is cited as one of the prime examples of how mental models can put even the most dire situations within our control. Does anybody think it’s unwise to be lean, nimble, and innovative? Who needs a book to know that rote behavior and fear of uncertainty are not going to take us very far? It’s not startling to learn that organizations that nurture a “culture of commitment” are more productive than organizations that don’t, or that setting ambitious objectives can jump-start innovation. “People who know how to self-motivate, according to studies, earn more money than their peers, report higher levels of happiness, and say they are more satisfied with their families, jobs, and lives.” I can believe that. “Determined and focused people . . . often have higher paying jobs.” I won’t argue. “An instinct for decisiveness is great—until it’s not.” An impregnable assertion. Even before Captain Richard Champion de Crespigny stepped on board Qantas Flight 32, he was drilling his crew in the mental models he expected them to use. A gifted storyteller, Duhigg . . . combines his reporting skills with cutting-edge research in psychology and behavioural economics to explain why some companies and people get so much done, while some fail. Almost all books written in this genre are full of case studies and stories, but Duhigg’s storytelling skills make this book memorable and persuasive. Duhigg succeeds in challenging our mindsets and existing thought processes. It is not just another productivity book. It is about making sense of overwhelming data we live with.” — The Financial Express Slain California editor posthumously honoured with George Polk Award". The Hindu. Chennai, India. February 19, 2008 . Retrieved May 4, 2010.

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These cognitive processes can forcibly drag you away from your most productive path. After all, the most immediate and obvious stimulus may not be the one you need to focus on to get your work done. Likewise, thinking reactively becomes unproductive when the brain selects an inappropriate reaction to your current situation. Triggers and SolutionsA brilliant distillation of the personal and organizational behaviors that produce extraordinary results. Duhigg uses engaging storytelling to highlight fascinating research and core principles that we can all learn and use in our daily lives. A masterful must-read for anyone who wants to get more (and more creative) stuff done.” —David Allen, author of Getting Things Done They know that productivity relies on making certain choices. The way we frame our daily decisions; the big ambitions we embrace and the easy goals we ignore; the cultures we establish as leaders to drive innovation: these are the things that separate the merely busy from the genuinely productive. In contrast, SMART goals are targeted and focused objectives that often represent the smaller steps you’ll need to take to meet your stretch goals. SMART goals must be specific; measurable; achievable; realistic; and timely. Cognitive tunneling: a cognitive process in which the brain becomes hyper-focused on one stimulus—usually the stimulus that’s the most immediate and obvious—at the expense of all others.

Smarter, Faster, Better’: The New Science of Productivity ‘Smarter, Faster, Better’: The New Science of Productivity

To be a productive innovator, you need to be creative. This is a skill that in many ways can’t be taught. After all, creativity is often spontaneous. It’s hard to artificially trigger it by following a prescribed set of instructions. Most interesting to Crandall were a handful of nurses who seemed particularly gifted at noticing when a baby was in trouble. They could predict an infant’s decline or recovery based on small warning signs that almost everyone else overlooked. Often, the clues these nurses relied upon to spot problems were so subtle that they, themselves, had trouble later recalling what had prompted them to act. “It was like they could see things no one else did,” Crandall told me. “They seemed to think differently.” Remember that the relief that accompanies something new can also blind you to alternatives. Without self-criticism, there is the risk that one idea can crowd all others Becoming motivated enough to complete a task is only one part of being productive. You also need to make sure that you remain focused on what you’re doing. If you continually become distracted or flit between tasks, you’re not going to be as efficient or as effective. The plane was descending at fourteen feet per second. The maximum certified speed the undercarriage could absorb was only twelve feet per second. But there were no other options now.

When we start a new task or confront an unpleasant chore, we should take a moment to ask ourselves ‘why.’” Numerous academic studies have examined the impact of stretch goals, and have consistently found that forcing people to commit to ambitious, seemingly out-of-reach objectives can spark outsized jumps in innovation and productivity.” Mental models are stories that you create about the world around you. You may internally narrate a story about what you’re experiencing in real-time. For example, during a meeting, you may create an internal narrative of who is speaking, what they’re saying, and how other participants are responding to their points. Narrating your life like this prevents your brain from slipping into a fully relaxed state. This makes its transition into “focused mode” much smoother and averts the panic that can cause unhelpful cognitive processes to take hold.

Charles Duhigg: New York Times Best-Selling Author of Smarter

Setting effective goals is another principle you need to implement if you want to increase your productivity. You need to have a clear idea of what you’re working towards. You also need to make sure that you’re aiming for the right results.When you’re learning how to remain focused, it helps to consider the factors that can prevent you from doing so. The brain’s ability to focus effectively can be hampered by two factors: We’ve considered the methods you can use to stay focused on your goals and boost your productivity. But how can you set effective goals in the first place? Reactive thinking: a cognitive process in which the brain triggers an instinctive, automatic reaction to a stimulus or event. If you can link something hard to a choice you care about, it makes the task easier, Quintanilla's drill instructors had told him. That's why they asked each other questions starting with "why." Make a chore into a meaningful decision, and self-motivation will emerge.”

Smarter faster better the secrets of bein charles duhigg Smarter faster better the secrets of bein charles duhigg

Gerald Loeb Award Winners Announced by UCLA Anderson School of Management". Fast Company. October 28, 2011 . Retrieved February 1, 2019. Successful people spend a lot of time seeking information on failures. You’ve got to be comfortable not knowing where your life is going. Innovation Teams succeed when everyone feels like they can speak up and when members show they are sensitive to how one another feels.” From the author of the New York Times bestselling phenomenon The Power of Habit comes a fascinating new book that explores the science of productivity, and why, in today’s world, managing how you think—rather than what you think—can transform your life.A Marine Corps general, faced with low morale among recruits, reimagines boot camp—and discovers that instilling a “bias toward action” can turn even the most directionless teenagers into self-motivating achievers. So far, the concepts we’ve explored have related to increasing your personal productivity. Now we’ll shift the focus to organizational productivity. In particular, we’ll discuss how you can build productive teams in the workplace.