Love

Attention is What Buys You Happiness

In my research into the art of cigar smoking (yes, I do lead an interesting life; cigars are tax-deductible) there was one particular conclusion that I came to in regards to the portrayal of cigars as tokens of power. I mean, that is part of the allure of cigars, as portrayed in popular culture: they …

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Practice

A Week Without Email on My Phone

Well, it’s Monday. I did it. A week without email or twitter access on my phone (the two things I check most compulsively). Nobody else said they were going to try it, but I took the plunge anyway. Here’s a few of my thoughts and consequences: Remember that sinking feeling that we got when I first …

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Love

The Problem with Loving Your Work

No, this is not another “Should you do what you love?” post. I promised that I’d said the last word I would say on that. Rather, consider this a cautionary tale. The last few days as I’ve been working at home I’ve had a few of my long-time hobby projects turn into full-fledged moneymakers. Suddenly …

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Practice

use security to protect your attention

Scary Thoughts on the Road Last week I talked about the idea of a “Notification Free” week, when you could try to be less distracted by all the beeps and buzzes of the many apps. As promised, I shut down all the notifications on my phone and my iPad and went silent. That meant when …

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Practice

control your notifications

Signal to Noise On Friday we talked about how it is a misnomer to think that the urgent and the important cannot – or do not – coexist for all of us. I mentioned that the real problem was differentiating between the urgent and the noisy. “Noise” is a powerful word – and it’s different …

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Practice

the true cost of distraction

Paying Attention Over the weekend I had one of those epiphanies. One of those moments that changes your perspective on things, that makes you suddenly see the elephant in the room. Specifically, it’s the metaphor of the elephant as being the bulk of our subconscious psyche – our emotions, our habits, our desires. It’s an …

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augmented Life

too much or just right connection

The Augmented Self at Rest Credit where credit is due: I first considered the idea of the “Augmented Self” during a conversation with my good friend J.P., a stage manager extraordinaire from Toronto (among other things). He and I were discussing how often we are carrying on simultaneous connections through various media – the instant …

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