Recently I read Bill Chen and Jerrod Ankenman’s The Mathematics of Poker. Using sophisticated game theory, the duo analyze poker setups to figure out the optimal betting strategy. One thing that jumped out immediately was simply how aggressive the correct betting strategy can be. There are common setups where it makes sense to go all-in, […]

This week, in anticipation of the second session of Life of Focus, I’ve been sharing lessons about centering your life back onto what matters. For those who missed the previous lessons, check them out here. Today, for the final lesson, I want to talk not about making changes, but about making them last. Productivity is […]

The value of focused work is obvious. Yes, deep work is often neglected. But, at least most of us agree on the importance. Yet, I think our personal lives, even more than our working lives, are in need of a focused tune-up. Employers and clients put pressure on us to be productive at our jobs. […]

Peter Drucker, the renowned management thinker who first coined the term ‘knowledge worker’ perfectly summarized the problem of focus in work: Most discussions of the executive’s task start with the advice to plan one’s work. This sounds eminently plausible. The only thing wrong with it is that it rarely works. The plans always remain on […]