Attention!

And yet, another book about not being distracted so you can focus (which, really, is just a distraction!).
It's a good book though. If you need some motivation, if you feel overwhelmed, it's an easy read with some good to great tips.

Rob Hatch is a coach, and the book reads like a coaching engagement would unfold -- i.e., advice is encouraging, actionable and accessible. You can apply the tips to a number of different goals and start from where you are. The book started off slow for me – I have read a lot in the productivity, goal-setting genre, and at first there didn’t seem to be much that was new. However, if you stick with it, it picked up the pace in the latter half, with helpful steps building on top of each other. I bookmarked multiple tips and found useful nuggets about making better decisions on how to use my time and attention.

Some interesting ideas which I am trying out. Thank you Rob for writing this. Lots of acronyms make it hard to keep up with at times, but overall a quick and interesting read.

A good book for anyone who has not read anything on this subject before. It is well written and easy to read and digest. However if you have read any similar books you won't find much that is new or revolutionary. It might be good as a reminder or prompt. The author went down a peg or two on my scale when he was working while on holiday with his family, and rather than say 'DON'T DO IT' the world won't fall in if you commit 100% to being with your family, he was very smug about designing a system where he could work as well. Hmmm ,,,,,do I want to take advice from someone who really can't switch off ? But overall it is quite a good book in a market that is full of books on this subject.

We live in the world full of distractions and tjings, circumstances and business that demand our attention. How can we focus to make correct and weighted desicions? This book provides some tips.

'Attention!' is a guide for how we can reclaim power and make simple decisions in a world full of endless distractions. With information available to us at the tip of our fingertips and more choices available to us than ever before it is no wonder anxiety levels are extremely high. In fact, sometimes all this information and choices almost paralyses us as we feel inhibited to make simple decisions, which are best for ourselves in terms of happiness and success. As a result, Rob teaches us approaches to reclaim power so that we can confidently make decisions which are aligned with our wants and needs.

Throughout this book many topics are touched upon including how to ‘put success in your way’, how we can reduce decision fatigue and many tips to avoid getting distracted. In a period where working from home has become the new norm, I found the latter particularly helpful. For example, just one tip Rob suggests is how when he is working, he keeps a blank piece of paper on his desk so that if anything pops into his head he writes it down without allowing it to distract him from his work. I for one, often remember I need to pay a bill, order something online or make a phone call mid work, and that distraction takes me out of my focus zone. I often let these thoughts distract me as I fear I will forget to do it later, however by writing it down Rob knows he will remember to go back to it later without losing focus of his work. This was just one of many things I related to and have vowed to implement many of the practices Rob talks about in my own life.

Overall, a great guide and lots to take from it! Whilst, it could be argued that a lot of Rob’s ideas are not new and you may have heard them in some from before, it goes without saying that this book was full of brilliant reminders and certainly could not have come at a better time.

Rob Hatch has documented his learnings which he has also used with success in his personal as well as in his coaching sessions with his clients. The premise of the book is providing us with a system,a framework which we can adapt and setup for our use, as he has aptly put: "Eliminate Distractions and Put Success in Your Way."
Quite a few of his ideas has already been posted and advocated by others but what I found engrossing was in how he has applied those principles to himself in his journey to his definition of success. There are a lot of takeaways from the books and though none are such that it will immediately take effect, but day by day you can feel those improvements bearing fruit. I especially was interested in his review of the "Tomorrow Guy" and "Last Night Guy" and have applied it in my life.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book, definitely recommended read in this information overload age.

Combine Cal Newports 'Deep thinking' with Charles Duhigg's 'Power of habits'. A very brass tacks, abrupt and direct Self Dev approach. Most of the value resides in putting away distractions and blocking time. Other insights include ‘putting success in your way’. There are no advanced tools needed to incorporate this approach.

Worth a read if you want some insights on focusing.