Find Your Focus Zone: An Effective New Plan to Defeat Distraction and Overload

When a friend put this book in my hands a few months ago, I wondered if he was trying to tell me something, and if I should be offended. Find Your Focus Zone: Hadn't I read enough time-management books or self-improvement books already? Now I've read the book -- and passed on a few copies myself -- and I'm signing on here to say that THIS IS NOT YOUR TYPICAL SELF-HELP BOOK.For one thing, it's really helpful. Really, really helpful. Palladino has a novelist's gift for succinct and memorable character descriptions, which means that her description of the too hyperfast, hyperfocused guy reminded me of someone (several someones) I knew, as did her sketch of the woman who is scattered and spacey, the folks who are overstimulated, understimulated, afraid of failure. I started turning down pages to share with people but stopped partway through. I could tell that nearly everyone I know could benefit from Palladino's clear analysis of what makes us less effective in every part of our lives.That leads me to another part of Find Your Focus Zone that surprised me: how much I found that Palladino's advice could help me in my family life. Her portraits of parent-child interactions hit home with even more force than did her sketches of workers. Because of her book, I've changed the way I think about my daughter's foot-dragging over homework and music practice. Also how my husband and I work with her and our son on chores, how we think about our family meals, our vacations, our dreams for them. Little stuff and big stuff.If you wonder about the effect of the new connectivity toys and tools on children, read this book. If you wish work didn't intrude on your family life but find it hard to leave it at the office, read this book. If you wish you could just Get More Done, read this book. If you feel like there's more in you than your work is getting out, read this book. If you're a manager or business owner, read this book. If you're just starting out in a job, read this book.Best of all, it's not just easy to read and well-written. It's clear that Palladino knows her science. She trusts the intelligence of her readers when she describes current research in attention and attention disorders. It's a pleasure to read a book with clear footnotes that also has practical end-of-chapter suggestions.So if someone gives you this book, thank them. And then buy another to pass on.

If you or someone close to you have/has ADHD, I would recommended starting with Chapter 12 and then going back to page 1. Chapter 12 gave me a new perspective on the gift/value of ADHD. The rest of the book gave very specific things to notice about your self...how you start feeling when your brain chemistry is taking you out of your focus zone...or how certain kinds of thoughts can knock your brain chemistry off track...and how to substitute different thoughts or questions to get back into your focus zone. A lot of it is based on sports psychology and that in itself was exciting to me, who doesn't want to be excellent like an athlete and relax under pressure and all that...? This information was so much more helpful to me than going to typical coaching where the guy was trying to spoon feed me one tired old executive function/time management technique each week with no explanation of how these things I have known for decades would actually become useful to me instead of just piling on extra tasks to manage (he has no idea what it's like to live in the ADHD zone, but Palladino tells exactly how to clear the "gap" between this natural trait and modern school/office life.).

I have always had trouble with procrastination. I finally realized that I have many anxieties which are linked to my trouble with focus and attention. However, I always incredibly hard on myself for it. I had never realized there are behavioral methods that actually work to help us stay in our focus zone. I have been one to quickly jump into the use of medications to help, but after reading this book I was able to cut way back on stimulants and implement better methods with better results. The breathing and self talk are very helpful when I catch myself getting negative or anxious, especially the mantra "Progress not perfection."It also helps to read stories of people of various backgrounds who also struggle with focus and attention. I found I connected with a number of cases mentioned in the book.

I was really hopeful about this book, I struggle with adhd, and recently got a job promotion - now that I am in charge of delegating and tasking, my inability to finish things I start and managing my time has really been brought to light.Most of the book’s content I found irrelevant. Explaining how the brain works, and constantly using professional athletes as an example gets boring really fast. I was looking for material on things like coping and techniques for every-day life.I’ve found that free articles online have been much more helpful, I just print those out and highlight the heck out of them.

she has Chapter 1 on her site as well; Google "Lucy Jo Palladino" and it'll come right up.Table of ContentsIntroductionPart I: Understanding Your Focus Zone1. What Is Your Focus Zone?2. Bored, Hyper, or Both3. Attention in the Digital Age4. What Are We Doing to Our Brains?Part II: The Eight Keychains5. Emotional Skills: Keychains 1 & 26. Confronting Fear and All Its Cousins: Keychains 3, 4 & 57. Mental Skills: Keychain 68. Structure Without Pressure: Keychain 79. Behavior Skills: Keychain 8Part III: Digital-age Strategies for Success10. Outsmarting Interruption and Overload11. Defeating Distraction in the 21st Century12. What If You (or Your Children) Have Attention Deficit Disorder?Part IV: Your Focus Zone As a Way of Life13. Teaching Kids to Pay Attention14. The Power of AttentionAppendix - The Eight Keychains: A Quick GuideResourcesIndex