241: Intentional by Chris Bailey

In 'How to Calm Your Mind,' Chris Bailey provides a toolkit of accessible, science-backed strategies to help readers achieve calm and reduce anxiety. The book explains how the digital world contributes to stress and offers practical advice on embracing the analog world, using 'stimulation fasts,' and applying the science of 'savoring' to become more focused and present. Bailey shares his personal journey of recovering from burnout and offers concrete steps to help readers reclaim calm, leading to greater productivity, engagement, and satisfaction in life.

In 'The Productivity Project', Chris Bailey shares the results of his year-long deep dive into the science of personal productivity. The book includes 25 powerful productivity tactics, derived from hundreds of experiments and interviews with experts like David Allen and Charles Duhigg. Bailey discusses counterintuitive insights such as slowing down to work more deliberately, shrinking or eliminating the unimportant, and the concept of productive procrastination. The book is designed to be practical and entertaining, offering actionable advice and exercises to help readers improve their productivity and overall well-being.

In 'Hyperfocus', Chris Bailey explores the science of attention and provides practical strategies for managing distractions. The book introduces two key mental modes: hyperfocus, which is intense and deliberate attention for high productivity, and scatterfocus, a creative mode that allows for novel connections and insights. Bailey offers advice on setting intentions, modifying environments to reduce distractions, controlling motivation, and strategically using both hyperfocus and scatterfocus to enhance productivity and creativity.

This book by Joseph Nguyen explores the root cause of all psychological and emotional suffering and offers a new paradigm for understanding the human experience. It provides tools and insights to help readers become unaffected by negative thoughts and feelings, experience unconditional love and joy, and break free from self-destructive habits. The book emphasizes that suffering is optional and that an expansion of consciousness is necessary to solve problems that cannot be addressed with the same level of consciousness that created them. It includes new chapters, journaling prompts, and contemplative exercises in the expanded edition.

In 'The End of Burnout', Jonathan Malesic delves into the history and psychology of burnout, tracing his own experience as a burned-out tenured professor. He examines the gap between vocational ideals and job realities, highlighting communities that resist the 'total work' culture. The book provides a humane perspective on overcoming burnout by recognizing the dignity of both workers and nonworkers.