The Focus Cast

SUMMARY

It is hard to focus on what we want when we our minds are screaming. 

For some of us, our brains never stop and oftentimes leads to chronic stress. In this episode, we talk about calming the mind through meditation to reduce stress and focus on our dreams. 

At Forms & Focus, our mission is to increase your focus so you can accomplish your dreams. Many of us have dreams and goals. What keeps us from them is our inability to remove distractions and focus. We will accomplish our mission by providing you with guided forms that manifest radical focus.

0:00 - Intro on meditation
1:30 - Problem - Our attitude greatly impacts our ability to focus. 
3:40 - Solution/Habits for better focus.

SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE #15
PROBLEM/FACTS

• People are stressed out at work and working at home. In 2019, 94% of American workers report experiencing stress at their workplace.
• 63% of US workers are ready to quit their jobs due to stress.

SOLUTION/HABITS

• Small but thorough study of 14 subjects at the University of Pennsylvania. 8-Week Meditation Program: The meditation program resulted in significant increases in baseline cerebral blood flow ratios in the prefrontal, superior frontal, and superior parietal cortices. More research is needed. 
• Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, UCLA examined the link between age and cerebral gray matter in 100 individuals. The long-term meditators and control subjects aged between 24 and 77 years. Altogether, these findings seem to suggest less age-related gray matter atrophy in long-term meditation practitioners. 
• Study by Yale University found that mindfulness meditation decreases activity in the default mode network, the brain network responsible for mind-wandering and self-referential thoughts.
• Study on the Association for Psychological Science found that Mindfulness training improved both GRE reading comprehension scores and working memory capacity while simultaneously reducing the occurrence of distracting thoughts during completion of the GRE and the measure of working memory.
• Lots of forms/ways to meditations 
  • Mindfulness meditation: mindfulness meditation is the basic act of being aware — or mindful — of what you are doing in the present moment.
  • Body scan meditations focus on consciously relaxing different parts of the body. 
  • Instead of using the breath as the object of awareness, walking meditation encourages you to focus on each footstep in order to be fully present. 
  • Loving kindness is a form of meditation geared towards cultivating compassion for yourself and others. 
  • Transcendental meditation involves focusing on a specific mantra or phrase by repeating it during meditation. 

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#focus #dream #meditation

SUMMARY
It is hard to focus on what we want when we have the wrong attitude. 

Our “survival brain” is holding hostage our rational brain, leading us to live in a fear of survival. And while limits are learned, fear is a limitation. Today we will talk about how our attitude keeps us in the right mindset to focus on our dreams. 

At Forms & Focus, our mission is to increase your focus so you can accomplish your dreams. Many of us have dreams and goals. What keeps us from them is our inability to remove distractions and focus. We will accomplish our mission by providing you with guided forms that manifest radical focus.

0:00 - Intro
1:48 - Problem - Our attitude greatly impacts our ability to focus. 
9:30 - Solution/Habits for better focus.

SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE #14

PROBLEM/FACTS

• RESOURCE: Jim Kwik
• When you’re in your “survival brain” (fear state, fight or flight) you’re held hostage from your rational brain, or ability to make good decisions and see things clearly. 
• Limits are learned, and fear is a limitation.  It’s a constraint or boundary. Chronic stress shrinks the human brain. A metaphor Jim uses is the transformation of a butterfly. Most of the transformations happen in a cocoon. It’s a struggle to get out of the “cocoon” and fly. 
• It’s not just time management, it’s priority management. The most important thing is to keep the most important thing the most important thing.
• Our minds have a similar algo. Media knows this if it “bleeds it leads”. If you engage doom in gloom, you’re training your nervous system to only focus on those things. This takes away your bandwidth to focus on life. A large cognitive load is used when you’re in a fear state.  

SOLUTION/HABITS

• Powerful mindsets that high performing people have (per Jim Kwik). The 3 G’s
  • Growth mindset: Your brain is a supercomputer; it can grow and evolve; you can always learn. Versus a fixed mindset.
  • Grit: in the “superhero journey” struggle becomes your strength. Arnold Schwarzenegger “champions are able to push past the pain period” Mountain biking
  • Giving: The greats learn, earn, then return. 
• Little by little, it becomes a lot with good habits. 

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#forms #focus #dream #attitude

SUMMARY
It’s time to create the habit of creating new habits.

We first make our habits, and then our habits make us. People struggle to develop habits that benefit themselves. In this episode, we talk about the Cue-Routine-Reward Feedback Loop and how you can form new habits to accomplish your dreams. 

At Forms & Focus, our mission is to increase your focus so you can accomplish your dreams. Many of us have dreams and goals. What keeps us from them is our inability to remove distractions and focus. We will accomplish our mission by providing you with guided forms that manifest radical focus.

0:00 - Intro
0:55 - Problem - We have a bad habit of not making good habits.
6:30 - Solution/Habits for better focus.

SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE #12 

PROBLEM/FACTS

• Take it back - Palvo's Dog (hear the bell, the dog salivates).
• A recurrent, often unconscious pattern of behavior that is acquired through frequent repetition.
• Psychologists at (MIT) made a landmark discovery in 1999 of a cue-routine-reward feedback loop that Charles Duhigg later coined “the habit loop” in his book “The Power of Habit.”
  • Cue. You experience a stimulus — a trigger.
  • Craving. The stimulus causes you to desire a particular outcome that you find rewarding. It motivates you to act.
  • Response. You engage in behaviors, thoughts, or actions you take to get that outcome.
  • Reward. The outcome occurs and you feel a sense of reward as a result, satisfying your craving. The pleasure or relief you experience reinforces the cue, making the cue even better at triggering craving next time. That’s why it’s an endless loop.

SOLUTION/HABITS

• The Fogg behavior model: Behavior happens when: There's motivation, there is Ability (It can't be impossible), There's a trigger
• Training yourself to fire up positive emotions when starting a new habit is a way to make it automatic more quickly. (feel better versus stop eating bad). 
• If there is no emotion attached: If you make the behavior or task more simple, is much easier to do when motivation is wavering. 
• If you plan to adopt a new habit, think about the very specific sequence of events to execute that habit.
• In the first 8 hours of being awake you have a norepinephrine, epinephrine, dopamine tends to be elevated.
• About 9-14 hours after waking, because of the circadian shifts in biology. Focus on more relaxing habits.

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Podcast Available Everywhere
https://formsandfocus.com/
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#forms #focus #dream #habits

SUMMARY
Multitasking is a myth, and oftentimes keeps you from focusing on your dreams. 

The human mind and brain lack the architecture to perform two or more tasks simultaneously. Individuals almost always take longer to complete a task and do so with more errors when switching between tasks than when they stay with one task. This is called “task switch costs.” The question is, what is the cost of not setting clear tasks and focusing on your dreams?

At Forms & Focus, our mission is to increase your focus so you can accomplish your dreams. Many of us have dreams and goals. What keeps us from them is our inability to remove distractions and focus. We will accomplish our mission by providing you with guided forms that manifest radical focus.

0:00 - Intro
0:52 - Problem - Working on several of the wrong tasks can keep us from focusing on our dreams. 
7:34 - Solution/Habits for better focus.

SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE #11

PROBLEM/FACTS

• Multitasking is not a thing: ​​Kevin P. Madore, Ph.D. and Anthony D. Wagner, Ph.D. in National Library of Medicine: The human mind and brain lack the architecture to perform two or more tasks simultaneously. To this end, when we attempt to multitask, we are usually switching between one task and another. The human brain has evolved to single task.
• The effects of multitasking on behavior and the demands it places on relevant brain networks is by analyzing “task switch costs.” Individuals almost always take longer to complete a task and do so with more errors when switching between tasks than when they stay with one task.
• Media Multitasking: We know that American youth spend an average of 7.5hrs a day with various media and at least 29% of that time involves media multitasking. 
• Another finding that has emerged is that Heavier Media Multitaskers sometimes perform worse than Lighter Media Multitaskers even when single tasking, and this is most consistently seen on tasks that require sustained attention, working memory, long-term memory, and various forms of impulsivity and inhibitory control.

SOLUTION/HABITS

• Those Who Set Actionable Tasks For Their Goals And Initiate Weekly Progress Reporting To Their Supportive Peers Tend To Achieve 40% More Than Those Who Did Not (Gail Matthews’ Goal Research Summary).
• DO NOT MULTITASKS in your focus blocks. 

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#forms #focus #dream #taskmanagement

SUMMARY
Not setting and revisiting your goals can keep you from focusing on your dreams. 

Less than 3% of Americans have written goals, and less than 1% review and rewrite their goals on a daily basis. This may be one of the main reasons you are not focused on your dreams. In today’s episode, we talk about the importance of setting goals, writing them down, and revisiting those goals daily. This could increase the likelihood of your goal performance by 90%. 

At Forms & Focus, our mission is to increase your focus so you can accomplish your dreams. Many of us have dreams and goals. What keeps us from them is our inability to remove distractions and focus. We will accomplish our mission by providing you with guided forms that manifest radical focus.

0:00 - Intro
1:17 - Problem - Not goals can keep you from focusing on your dreams.  
3:46 - Solution/Habits for better focus.

SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE #10

PROBLEM/STATS

• NO SOURCE, Less than 3% of Americans have written goals, and less than 1% review and rewrite their goals on a daily basis.
• Research by the University of Scranton, 92% of people that set New Year's goals never actually achieve them.

SOLUTION/HABITS

• SET GOALS: A study in Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Reviews; people that set goals are generally more together than everyone else. That’s because goal setting rewires our brains to make the component parts work more effectively. The study showed that when you set a goal, multiple parts of the brain are suddenly engaged:
  • The amygdala, which is the brain’s emotional center, evaluates the goal for how important it is to you.
  • The frontal lobe, which is the brain’s logical problem-solving portion, defines the goal and digests it.
• Set Specific Goals: Research by Edwin Locke and Gary Latham found that when people followed these two principles -- setting specific and challenging goals -- it led to higher performance 90 percent of the time.
• Write them Down: People Who Write Down Their Goals Are 20% More Successful In Accomplishing Them Than Those Who Did Not. (Gail Matthews’ Goal Research Summary)
• Know The Why: People Who Have A Greater Understanding Of The Goal Purpose Have More Chances Of Accomplishing Their Plans (Personnel Psychology) During the 10-week study on 41 female typists, it was revealed that participants who understood the reason why the goals are necessary turned out to be successful in tackling them.

FIND US AT:
Podcast Available Everywhere
https://formsandfocus.com/
https://www.instagram.com/formsandfocus/
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#forms #focus #dream #posture

SUMMARY

Your posture can negatively impact your focus. 

Slouching can reduce your lung capacity up to 30%, reducing oxygen to your brain impacting your focus. On Episode #010, we talk about new habits to improve your posture and increase your focus. 

At Forms & Focus, our mission is to increase your focus so you can accomplish your dreams. Many of us have dreams and goals. What keeps us from them is our inability to remove distractions and focus. We will accomplish our mission by providing you with guided forms that manifest radical focus.

0:00 - Intro
0:31 - Problem - Your posture can negatively impact your focus. 
4:10 - Solution/Habits for better focus.

PROBLEM

• US NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE: “text neck syndrome” forward postures, like we have while studying, emailing, texting, surfing the web, and playing video games, are related to hyper-kyphosis, which is associated with cardiovascular problems and pulmonary disease.
• Harder to take a full breath: "Slouching puts pressure on the abdomen, which can force stomach acid in the wrong direction, when you slouch, you compress the space for your lungs, reducing their capacity by up to 30%. That means less oxygen can get to your brain.
• Mayo Clinic: Too much sitting overall and prolonged periods of sitting also seem to increase the risk of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer.
• Mayo Clinic: those who sat for more than eight hours a day with no physical activity had a risk of dying similar to the risks of dying posed by obesity and smoking.

SOLUTION

• Sit Up Straight: Study 100 + Students completing a math problem.  SFSU professor Erik Peper, the study's lead author, said in a statement. "You have a choice. It's about using an empowered position to optimize your focus." Seems like sitting up straight really is worth the effort.
• Take regular breaks of sitting if possible
• Studies  found that 60 to 75 minutes of moderately intense physical activity a day countered the effects of too much sitting
• Stand or walk while talking on the phone

SITTING POSTURE

• Adjust the height of your chair so that your feet rest flat on the floor. If your chair is too high for you to rest your feet flat on the floor — or the height of your desk requires you to raise the height of your chair — use a footrest
• Place your mouse within easy reach and on the same surface as your keyboard. 
• While typing or using your mouse, keep your wrists straight, your upper arms close to your body, and your hands at or slightly below the level of your elbows. Use keyboard shortcuts to reduce extended mouse use. 
• If possible, adjust the sensitivity of the mouse so you can use a light touch to operate it. Alternate the hand you use to operate the mouse by moving the mouse to the other side of your keyboard.
• If you frequently talk on the phone and type or write at the same time, place your phone on speaker or use a headset rather than cradling the phone between your head and neck.
• Place the monitor directly in front of you, about an arm's length away. The top of the screen should be at or slightly below eye level.
• Adjust chair high so knees are about level with hips
• Sit flat on hips and avoid leaning 

HABITS

• Sitting is the new smoking, take regular breaks to stand or walk
• Talk about massage and chiropractors? (Not the scammers)
• Use earpiece or speaker if you're on the phone regularly for long periods of time
• Look at your phone less because it screws  you up

FIND US AT:

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#forms #focus #dream #posture

SUMMARY

If you are stressed and struggle to focus, it may be the quality of your air. 

According to Mana Medical Associates: Actually, the air quality in your home can be worse than the air quality outside. Americans, on average, spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors,1 where the concentrations of some pollutants are often 2 to 5 times higher than typical outdoor concentrations. On Episode #009, we talk about ways to increase your air quality, and your focus. 

At Forms & Focus, our mission is to increase your focus so you can accomplish your dreams. Many of us have dreams and goals. What keeps us from them is our inability to remove distractions and focus. We will accomplish our mission by providing you with guided forms that manifest radical focus.

0:00 - Intro
0:46 - Problem - Your air quality can negatively impact your focus. 
5:20 - Solution/Habits for better focus.

 SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE #9 Forms and Focus Discussion on Air Quality

PROBLEM

• Mana Medical Associates: Actually, the air quality in your home can be worse than the air quality outside. Need plants. 
• Americans, on average, spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors,1 where the concentrations of some pollutants are often 2 to 5 times higher than typical outdoor concentrations. Link
• Immediate effects: Some health effects may show up shortly after a single exposure or repeated exposures to a pollutant. These include irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, headaches, dizziness, and fatigue.
• Long Term effects: Other health effects may show up either years after exposure has occurred or only after long or repeated periods of exposure. These effects, which include some respiratory diseases, heart disease and cancer, can be severely debilitating or fatal.
• We can't solve all the challenges with work, but we change our environment. 

SOLUTION

• Air filters… Air purifiers… open doors and windows… 
• According to a study published in the Journal of Physiological Anthropology, active interaction with indoor plants (like touching and smelling) can reduce physiological and psychological stress.
• Even the potting soil can help you keep a handle on daily stress and anxiety. This is because soil contains microbes dubbed "outdoorphins" (M. vaccae) which work as natural antidepressants. "It boosts your mood by releasing cytokines, which then leads your brain to produce more serotonin.
• According to a study conducted by Texas A&M University, keeping potted plants and flowers around your workspace can substantially improve your creative performance and problem-solving skills. 
• Similarly, researchers at Exeter University, UK found that indoor plants improve concentration, productivity and boost staff well-being by 47% at work. Being around plants can also increase memory retention by up to 20%.
• Green' offices with plants make staff happier and more productive. A study examined the impact of 'lean' and 'green' offices on staff's perceptions of air quality, concentration, and workplace satisfaction, and monitored productivity levels over subsequent months in two large commercial offices in the UK and The Netherlands.

FIND US AT:
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Forms & Focus Podcast Available Everywhere
#forms #focus #dream #airquality

SUMMARY
Light greatly impacts your ability to focus. For example, certain light can disrupt the circadian system, reducing the quality of your sleep. A recent Michigan State University study has found that spending too much time in dimly lit rooms may actually change the brain’s structure and harm memory and learning abilities. On Episode #006, we talk about how to set your lighting to increase your focus.

At Forms & Focus, our mission is to increase your focus so you can accomplish your dreams. Many of us have dreams and goals. What keeps us from them is our inability to remove distractions and focus. We will accomplish our mission by providing you with guided forms that manifest radical focus.

0:00 - Intro
1:41 - Problem - Your lighting can impact your focus. 
6:40 - Solution/Habits for better focus.

SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE #8 Forms and Focus Discussion on Lighting
PROBLEM

• Light that disrupts the circadian system (Circadian rhythms are physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle.)
• Artificial light results in light exposure at inappropriate times of day, including light at night as well as exposure to light from mobile devices, such as phones, tablet, and computers.
• As a result, there is growing concern regarding the consequences of circadian disruption and aberrant light exposure on human health, including effects on metabolism, cardiovascular function, mental health, and even cancer risk.
• A recent Michigan State University study has found that spending too much time in dimly lit rooms may actually change the brain’s structure and harm memory and learning abilities. 

SOLUTION

• Studies have also demonstrated that natural light influences health, well-being, alertness, and sleep quality. Natural light affects circadian rhythm, which dictates memory and attention.
• Making sunlight the most important source for Vitamin D production—by one study written by M. Norval, H.C. Wulf In 2009, it accounted for more than 90% for most people. Over a billion people worldwide are vitamin D deficient or insufficient.
• The group with smart windows slept 37 minutes longer than the group working with blinds on the windows, and also scored 42% higher on cognitive tests around decision-making. The researchers found that smart windows have the potential to generate $352B in increased productivity in the US alone.
• Researchers at the University of Greenwich found in a two-month study that the workers they put under “blue-enriched light bulbs” reported feeling “happier, more alert and had less eye strain.
• On the other hand, since warmer tones tend to create a sense of comfort, use this kind of lighting in more intimate settings where you want workers to feel calm and relaxed, perhaps in a meeting room where you want to emit trust.
• Throughout the day, light also needs to change since space acts like a working organism, according to Felderman and Keatinge External link:open_in_new. 

QUICK HABITS

• Decrease Your Daytime and Nighttime Electronics Use
• Establish a Relaxing Bedtime Routine - bedroom a screen free zone. 
• Take eye breaks and look out windows if you can not walk outside. 
• Place your desk by a window. 
• Schedule meetings/lunch breaks outside if you can. 
• Blue-enriched light bulbs for the first part of your work day. 
• Switch to middle tones towards the end of the day. 
• When you get home, change to a warmer, yellow color

FIND US AT:
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Forms & Focus Podcast Available Everywhere
#forms #focus #dream #lighting

SUMMARY

If your space is cluttered, chances are, so is your focus. 

From researchers at the Princeton University Neuroscience Institute, “Multiple stimuli present in the visual field at the same time compete for neural representation by mutually suppressing their evoked activity throughout the visual cortex....” Clutter can have a negative effect on your focus. In preparation of a focus block, make sure you have the tools you need BEFORE your focus block starts. 

At Forms & Focus, our mission is to increase your focus so you can accomplish your dreams. Many of us have dreams and goals. What keeps us from them is our inability to remove distractions and focus. We will accomplish our mission by providing you with guided forms that manifest radical focus.

0:00 - Intro
1:28 - Problem - Clutter can negatively impact your focus. 
8:25 - Solution/Habits for better focus.

PROBLEM

• From researchers at the Princeton University Neuroscience Institute, “Multiple stimuli present in the visual field at the same time compete for neural representation by mutually suppressing their evoked activity throughout the visual cortex, providing a neural correlate for the limited processing capacity of the visual system.” This means that when your environment is cluttered, the clutter restricts your ability to focus and limits your ability to process information. 
• Clutter: HBR Article: one international survey showed that information workers lose up to two hours a week fruitlessly searching for lost digital documents.
• HRB: Our physical environments significantly influence our cognition, emotions, and behavior, affecting our decision-making and relationships with others.
• Scientists at the Princeton University Neuroscience Institute have used MRI and other approaches to show that our brains like order, and that constant visual reminders of disorganization drain our cognitive resources and reduce our ability to focus.

SOLUTION

• Start by decluttering your work environment.
• Then really go all in and declutter your home. 
• In preparation of a focus block, make sure you have the tools you need BEFORE your focus block starts. 
• Reward yourself at the end of your focus block by sitting back and admiring your decluttered environment. 

 FIND US AT:
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#forms #focus #dream #clutter

SUMMARY

Your space influences your quality and type of focus. 

Research from the Pew Research Center that surveyed roughly 10,000 Americans from Jan. 24 to Jan. 30 roughly 6 in 10 U.S. workers who say their jobs can be done from home. 59% are doing work from home all or most of the time.

At Forms & Focus, our mission is to increase your focus so you can accomplish your dreams. Many of us have dreams and goals. What keeps us from them is our inability to remove distractions and focus. We will accomplish our mission by providing you with guided forms that manifest radical focus.

0:00 - Intro

2:27 - Problem - Where you work influences your quality of focus.

5:43 - Solution/Habits for better focus.

WATCH THE EPISODE: https://youtu.be/5UacH1qZFt8

SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE #6 Forms and Focus Discussion on Work Space 

PROBLEM

• Don't underestimate how much your surroundings can influence your productivity.
• Cleveland Clinic: Your bed is not your desk. Medical providers agree that working from your bed could disrupt your sleep schedule and actually make you less productive. And can wreak havoc on your posture – causing you annoying aches and pain that could be avoided from a proper workplace setup.
• A study by Herman Miller found that workplace design had "a small but consistent and real influence" on workers' performance—increasing productivity as much as 16% and job satisfaction by 9%. 

DIFFERENT SPACE FOR DIFFERENT THINGS

• Study found in the National Library of Medicine has shown that messy desks can make us more creative. The findings suggest that neat, ordered environments make us more likely to conform to expectations and play it safe, while messy ones move us to break with the norm and look at things in a new way. 

SOLUTION

Have different spaces for different things:

• Focused / grind Space: CLEAN, Clutter Free, Well Lite, Your perfect pencil, pin, highlighter, perfect desktop setup, plenty of plants, cockpit setup, plenty of water, fruit and healthy snacks on the ready. 
• Creative / Free Thinking Space: Sticky notes, fidget widgets, books, papers, magazines, shapes, tools, pens, snacks, instruments, and more
• Relax / Reward Space: Soft lights, dark chocolate, bourbon, wine, books, journals, blankets, pillows, whatever makes you just relax. 

 FIND US AT:
Podcast Everywhere
https://formsandfocus.com/
https://www.instagram.com/formsandfocus/
https://www.tiktok.com/@formsandfocus
#forms #focus #dream #workspace