Have a pipeline for execution

Paying attention seems to be linked to effort, since deliberate control of attention take effort.

Focus is only hard if we're trying to focus. If our attention is held automatically, focus is not an effort.

Effort could be seen as the opposite of something we do automatically. Effort then is what happens when we try to override an automatic pattern.

Reading personal development books and articles is extremely valuable. The only problem is when you confuse this with real learning. 

Reading a book on exercise doesn't make you fit. Reading an article on time management doesn't make you productive.

We can increase our learning when we understand that reading is like a seed - the ideas you read about have the power to create incredible learning and understanding, but only if you act on it.

Pick a few ideas that you think have the potential to benefit your life most. Then allocate time, energy and resources to practice those ideas.

Getting stuck is normal. It’s our reaction to it that really matters.

Step aside, find other projects and actively ignore the thing that got you stuck. By doing this, your subconscious creates space for ideas to grow.

It transforms us into “perfectionists”. And that is a form of safety.

We all have ideas and we should practice not rejecting them before giving them a chance.

"There are no formulas in creative work. I do many variations, which is a question of curiosity. I arrive at many different configurations ­- some just slight variations, others more radical - of an original idea. It is a game of evolution."

"What's the most resilient parasite? An idea. A single idea from the human mind can build cities. An idea can transform the world and rewrite all the rules."

Some possible but weak reasons why action is hard:

• Talent. But the world is full of brilliant stars that flame out and mediocre minds that build empires.
• Preferences can explain our failure to try, but don't explain our inner struggles with inaction.
• Capacity for effort. If your capacity for doing things is lower, it does not explain chronic bursts of activity with inevitable crashes in your goals and projects.
• Motivation. Some people with the most reason have the hardest time taking action. 

• Your motivation to complete a task depends on the value of the reward and your expectation of success. 
• Your expectation of success depends on your motivation.

If your projects tend to fail, your expectations are low, and motivation fades. If your projects tend to succeed, your expectations go up, and motivation stays strong.

Goal-setting is required to decide what you want and planning how to get there. Just having an idea of what you want to achieve is usually not enough. Setting a goal needs to be paired with plans, systems, or habits to make it achievable.

Goal-setting should be SMART (Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.) However, some people argue for being completely process-oriented and ignoring outcomes.

Systems organize your behavior and decisions with formal rules. They are often built off of concepts of scientific management and organizational theory, but it is applied to your personal life. 

A productivity system is one type of system that is aimed at helping you get work done by organizing the things that need doing and telling you when to do them.

It means producing something novel or original, evaluating, solving problems, whether on paper, on stage, in a laboratory or even in the shower.

Geniuses know “how” to think, instead of “what” to think.

People who are more creative can simultaneously engage brain networks that don’t typically work together.

When encouraging your team's creativity, you might find it useful to try all the new ideas they provide as soon as these have been introduced.

This way, your employees will feel trusted and appreciated. Moreover, you will most certainly have a nice surprise discovering that, at the very end, all this results also in an increase in productivity.

‘Writing’ is the formal processes that turns nebulous ideas into a concrete proposal that can be assessed without the author's intervention. 

• Step 1: Messy, Informal, Scribbly ... Write down anything that jumps from your research or any crazy thought. 
• Step 2: Creating a Skeleton for the paper. Come up with sections, subheadings.
• Step 3: Crystallise core arguments. Use stickies to make it more visual.
• Step 4: Add the words. This is where most people start with, but it succeeds only because of the previous steps. 

• It brings team members' diverse experience into play. It increases the richness of ideas explored, which means that you can often find better solutions.
• It can help you get buy-in from team members for the solution chosen – after all, they're likely to be more committed to an approach if they were involved in developing it. 
• It helps team members bond, as they solve problems in a positive, rewarding environment.

• groups aren't always strict in following the rules of brainstorming, and bad behaviors creep in. 
• people pay so much attention to other people that they don't generate ideas of their own – or they forget these ideas while they wait for their turn to speak. 

On your own, you don't have to worry about other people's egos or opinions, and you can be freer and more creative.