A book recommendation by Ines Zulueta: Hyperfocus, by Chris Bailey

For all of us who struggle to focus on difficult, important projects for extended periods of time, suffer when taking too long to complete boring, repetitive tasks; or feel we are not using our time in the way we wished, the book Hyperfocus has arrived to alleviate our burden and worry.

In a time when our attentional resources are continuously being swamped by an overwhelming flow of information, calls, emails, messages and images coming out of every single one of our electrical devices; the ability to focus on an activity without getting distracted by something else, or the capacity to resist the temptation of constantly changing between different tasks, is frequently depleted.

With an easy and entertaining prose, the Canadian productivity expert Chris Bailey guides us through the fascinating universe of human attention, helping us understand why making an adequate use of our attentional resources proves to be such a challenge.

According to the author, in order to have a fulfilling life instead of permanently acting on autopilot mode, we must learn to control and use our attention effectively. It is of equal importance to be able to focus intensely on something in order to be productive and gain a more profound knowledge, than to unfocus in order to be able to replenish our attentional span and come up with truly innovative ideas. The author claims the ability to make use of our attention in a mindful way is one of the cornerstones of human happiness and productivity.

After a thorough research on the limitations and miracles of human attention, Bailey offers us life-changing facts turned into simple steps to: increase our attentional span, avoid distractions, shifting our attention to truly fulfilling goals, recharge our energy, avoid procrastinating on important projects, and connecting with our creative side.