{"id":575700,"date":"2025-09-25T12:39:36","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T12:39:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/my-classes\/find-your-focus\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T16:15:58","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T20:15:58","slug":"find-your-focus","status":"publish","type":"ftm_learning_class","link":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/my-classes\/find-your-focus\/","title":{"rendered":"Find Your Focus"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This class delves into the intricate relationship between neurobiology and productivity, emphasizing that willpower is a biological function governed by the brain&#8217;s frontal cortex. Instructors like Barbara Oakley and Amishi Jha highlight how factors such as sleep deprivation, stress, and poor nutrition can deplete our willpower, leading to distractions and diminished self-control. By understanding the biological conditions necessary for success, participants learn to optimize their mental resources. Strategies for managing attention, such as meta-awareness and mental modeling, are introduced to help navigate the distractions of modern life, ensuring that focus remains a priority in both personal and professional settings.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the course, experts like Steven Kotler and Cal Newport provide insights into achieving optimal performance through techniques such as flow states and deep work. Kotler outlines the four-part cycle of flow, while Newport contrasts it with the pitfalls of &#8220;continuous partial attention.&#8221; The Pomodoro Technique, introduced by Oakley, offers a practical method for managing time and enhancing productivity. Additionally, Emma Sepp\u00e4l\u00e4 emphasizes the importance of rest and creativity, arguing that scheduled downtime can lead to greater innovation. Collectively, these lessons equip participants with actionable strategies to reclaim their attention and boost productivity in an increasingly distracting world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This class explores the link between neurobiology and productivity, teaching participants to optimize willpower and focus through strategies like meta-awareness, the Pomodoro Technique, and the importance of rest, while experts share insights on achieving peak performance amidst modern distractions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":578595,"template":"","ftm_taxonomy_new_topics":[12003,11204,12431,11199,12589,11305,12275,12539,12429],"ftm_capability_taxonomy":[],"ftm_subcapability_taxonomy":[10876,10875,10874],"ftm_membership_taxonomy":[],"class_list":["post-575700","ftm_learning_class","type-ftm_learning_class","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","ftm_taxonomy_new_topics-attention-control","ftm_taxonomy_new_topics-brain-anatomy","ftm_taxonomy_new_topics-mindfulness","ftm_taxonomy_new_topics-neuroscience","ftm_taxonomy_new_topics-nutrition","ftm_taxonomy_new_topics-philosophy","ftm_taxonomy_new_topics-productivity","ftm_taxonomy_new_topics-sleep","ftm_taxonomy_new_topics-stress","ftm_subcapability_taxonomy-focus","ftm_subcapability_taxonomy-procrastination","ftm_subcapability_taxonomy-productivity","pmpro-has-access"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Find Your Focus - Big Think<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/my-classes\/find-your-focus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Find Your Focus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This class explores the link between neurobiology and productivity, teaching participants to optimize willpower and focus through strategies like meta-awareness, the Pomodoro Technique, and the importance of rest, while experts share insights on achieving peak performance amidst modern distractions.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/my-classes\/find-your-focus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Big Think\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BigThinkdotcom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-29T20:15:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/findyour-focus.jpg?resize=1000,630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@bigthink\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Find Your Focus - Big Think","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/my-classes\/find-your-focus\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Find Your Focus","og_description":"This class explores the link between neurobiology and productivity, teaching participants to optimize willpower and focus through strategies like meta-awareness, the Pomodoro Technique, and the importance of rest, while experts share insights on achieving peak performance amidst modern distractions.","og_url":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/my-classes\/find-your-focus\/","og_site_name":"Big Think","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BigThinkdotcom\/","article_modified_time":"2025-09-29T20:15:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/findyour-focus.jpg?resize=1000,630","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@bigthink","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/my-classes\/find-your-focus\/","url":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/my-classes\/find-your-focus\/","name":"Find Your Focus - Big Think","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/my-classes\/find-your-focus\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/my-classes\/find-your-focus\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/findyour-focus.jpg?quality=85","datePublished":"2025-09-25T12:39:36+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-29T20:15:58+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/my-classes\/find-your-focus\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bigthink.com\/my-classes\/find-your-focus\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/my-classes\/find-your-focus\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/findyour-focus.jpg?quality=85","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/findyour-focus.jpg?quality=85","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"Elderly man with long curly hair and a full white beard, centered in a pink-tinted square frame with a pink background."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/my-classes\/find-your-focus\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Find Your Focus"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/","name":"Big Think","description":"Smarter, Faster","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/#organization","name":"Big Think","url":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/BigThink_Icon_Black.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/BigThink_Icon_Black.png","width":3268,"height":2675,"caption":"Big Think"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BigThinkdotcom\/","https:\/\/x.com\/bigthink","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/bigthink"]}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ftm_learning_class\/575700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ftm_learning_class"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ftm_learning_class"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/578595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=575700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ftm_taxonomy_new_topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ftm_taxonomy_new_topics?post=575700"},{"taxonomy":"ftm_capability_taxonomy","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ftm_capability_taxonomy?post=575700"},{"taxonomy":"ftm_subcapability_taxonomy","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ftm_subcapability_taxonomy?post=575700"},{"taxonomy":"ftm_membership_taxonomy","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bigthink.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ftm_membership_taxonomy?post=575700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}