In this age of immediate gratificaiton and super-multi-tasking, it’s inevitable that a book like Chris Bailey’s would surface. There are dozens of books out there that are intended to help you focus, but few that explore the science behind attention and focus in the the chatty, informative way that Hyperfocus offers. The information provided here actually works and has helped me change the way I work and organize myself, so much so that I have bought copies for my direct reports at work. Highly reocmmended.

HYPERFOCUS by Chris Bailey is subtitled "How to Be More Productive in a World of Distraction" and I requested this non-fiction work because I thought it had the potential to be an all school read, especially since we are trying to eliminate the use of technology during advisor (homeroom) periods this year. Bailey's tone is great – very conversational and helpful. And he includes notes and references (roughly 10% of the book) so there is a strong, well-regarded research base for his assertions. Also, Bailey does offer some helpful suggestions regarding managing one's attention like "I go through the book a second time; rereading just the highlighted parts so I can really process the most valuable nuggets" or make a distractions list as you read, "writing them down to make sure they don't slip through the cracks will let you refocus on the task at hand."

Most of the advice, however, seems to be geared towards adults, and even a certain type of adult at that. Although he acknowledges that he cannot speak to everyone, Bailey essentially ignores diversions like video games or even television viewing and streaming as when in a section on taming distractions, he chooses "five of the most common pain points: a constant flood of notifications, smartphones (and other distracting devices); email; meetings; and, finally, the internet." Elsewhere, Bailey mentions checking Twitter and deleting his own Facebook account a few years ago, but does not refer by name to other distractions like Netflix, Instagram, Fortnite, Snapchat, and/or Hulu, for example.