Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,000+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
Hyperfocus summary
Chris Bailey
How to Work Less to Achieve More
20 mins
Table of Contents
Hyperfocus
Summary of 6 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 6
Train yourself to enjoy hyperfocus more.
Think back to the last time you had an unusually productive day at work – when you were on your A game, getting things done with uncharacteristic ease? Days like that might not come too often, but when they do, they're worth examining. But what’s so different about them? How do you manage to get so much done so quickly?
Well, part of the answer lies in your ability to focus on the task at hand. Instead of seeming like a chore, your work becomes compelling – meaning that every time you look at the clock, another hour has passed.
When you’re in that mood, your mind’s engaged, undistracted, and incisive; in other words, you’re hyperfocused.
The key message here is: Train yourself to enjoy hyperfocus more.
Like most people, you’ve no doubt experienced hyperfocus from time to time, but how can you harness it and make it a regular occurrence? How can you turn it from something unpredictable into something reliable and frequent? To answer that question, let’s look at what you actually do when you hyperfocus.
For a start, you tend to give one single task your sustained attention. You don’t multitask. Rather than working frantically and jumping from one job to another, you focus your attention on one thing, and you keep it there until the task is finished.
You also avoid all distractions. On normal days, it’s all too tempting to open your social media accounts and browse for 20 minutes, but when you hyperfocus, you nix time-wasting behaviors before they even start.
That doesn’t mean you never notice your mind wandering nor feel tempted to check your phone: you do. After all, you’re still human. But rather than succumbing to these temptations, your hyperfocused mind finds it easier to return to the task at hand.
Simply put, there are four stages in entering and maintaining a state of hyperfocus. First, choose a single, meaningful object of attention. Second, eliminate all possible distractions – including internal ones, like daydreaming. Then, focus your attention on the task you’ve chosen to work on, and, finally, consciously redirect your mind every time it wanders.
If that seems like a tall order, don’t worry. In the blinks to come, we’ll discuss several concepts and techniques that make hyperfocus easier to attain.
Want to see all full key ideas from Hyperfocus?
Key ideas in Hyperfocus
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
What is Hyperfocus about?
Hyperfocus (2018) is a straightforward guide to reclaiming your attention that lays out how you can boost both your productivity and creativity by learning to redirect your focus. Combining periods of intense concentration with spells of creative thinking sets the foundation for a brighter, more efficient version of you.
Best quote from Hyperfocus
Keep one important, complex object of attention in your awareness as you work.
—Chris Bailey
Who should read Hyperfocus?
- Highfliers trying to become even more efficient
- Procrastinators with shrinking attention spans
- Creatives looking to discover exciting new ideas
Categories with Hyperfocus
Books like Hyperfocus
People ❤️ Blinkist
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
People also liked
Start growing with Blinkist now
27 Million
Downloads on all platforms
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
91%
Of Blinkist members create a better reading habit*
*Based on survey data from Blinkist customers