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What does it mean to have a good day? What does that have to do with the science of improving your life?
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What is a bad day? what is a good day?
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3 Core things about having a good day
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What is the science behind what actually allows people and organizations to change?
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The two system brain - there are two systems that interact in the brain, as Kahneman called them System 1 and System 2.
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“System 2” - the slow system, our conscious experience, deliberate thinking mind, but it moves slowly and can only process information slowly and clunkily
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“System 1” - the automatic system - our subconscious mind, immense processing power, but it often takes shortcuts
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How do we create the conditions for our deliberate system to be as successful as possible?
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Breaks are not for wimps, breaks are crucial opportunities to reboot your deliberate system and improve your thinking and decision-making
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Frequent, short breaks enormously enhance your mental ability
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Short cardio activity will boost your focus and mood materially
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When we are resting, we encode and consolidate information - and often create new insight
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When you “single task” you work about 30% faster than someone who is multi-tasking - every time your attention switches, there is a cost in time and processing power
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Why saying "ABCDEFG 1234567” is so much easier than saying "A1, B2, C3, D4, E5, F6, G7”
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What’s the most important thing you’re doing today and how can you get yourself to single task on that?
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Willpower is not the way to create big changes in your life, it's about changing your environment
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Switching your phone to monochrome to help make it less attractive
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Nudges vs Sludges - how to shift your environment to create behavioral change
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The currency of our lives is attention
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Your brain is constantly filtering out a huge amount of information - and whatever is top of mind for you filter your reality
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The hard science of setting your intentions - set what attitude you want to have, what your aim is, what your assumptions are, etc - setting intentions can have a material impact on your behavior
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Defensive mode vs discovery mode - and what happens when we get put into a “fight or flight” response
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The best strategies for rapidly getting out of the defensive mode.
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Distancing - put yourself at some distance from the situation. Tells the brain that the threat is further away.
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“What will I think about this when I look back in a year’s time?”
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“What would I tell a friend if they were in this situation?”
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‘What would my wisest friend/mentor say in this situation?”
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Labeling - label how you are feeling. By labeling the emotion you are experiencing you tell the brain that “the threat has been acknowledged”
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Re-appraisal - a powerful technique that has longer lasting effects - trains you to think flexibly about alternative explanations.
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This isn’t “The Secret” - there is a lot of science around how you can be more productive and effective
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The importance of being proactive vs being reactive
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How do you set boundaries without ruining your relationships? How do you say no in an elegant and graceful way?
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“The Positive No” - the scientific way to say no, politely
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Don’t start with “sorry”
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Start with something that keeps the other person out of discovery mode - appreciate them in some way “I really appreciate you inviting me”, etc
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Then go into what you’re saying YES to “I’ve got an exciting project on my plate that I need to complete by the end of XYZ that will have a huge impact”
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As a result, I’m having to make some tough choices about how I spend my time, and I can’t come to the meeting, I’m sorry
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End with warmth and wish them well