“In fact, a 2014 study titled ‘The iPhone Effect’ shows how the mere presence of a smartphone can ruin a conversation. In an experiment with 200 participants, researchers found that simply placing a mobile communication device on the table or having participants hold it in their hand was a detriment to their conversations. Any time the phone was visible, the quality of the conversation was rated as less fulfilling when compared with conversations that took place in the absence of mobile devices. People reported having higher levels of empathetic concern when phones were not visible.”

- From Are You Fully Charged? by Tom Rath

“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”

- Peter Drucker

“Time management is really life management, personal management, management of yourself. People who value themselves highly allocate their time carefully. They give their time usage a lot of thought. When you love your life, you love every minute of it. You are very careful about misusing or wasting any of the precious minutes and hours of each day.”

- From Focal Point by Brian Tracy

“If you want to become mentally fit -- positive, poised, and centered -- decide to monitor the messages coming into your conscious mind so they’re consistent with the ideal life you want to live. Consider the TV you watch, the books you read, the people with whom you associate. Do they drag you down, or do they support your vision?”

- From The Winner’s Mindset by Peter Nicado

“Go on a Negativity Fast. For the next thirty days, do not watch, listen to, or read the news.  Avoid negative and sensationalized media. Ignore all gossip about misbehaving reality stars and their ilk; there is nothing positive there. Avoid all negative people whenever possible.  Refuse to say anything negative or engage in conversation with a negative slant. Think only positive thoughts. Optimistic thoughts lead to optimistic action, while pessimistic thoughts lead to self-defeating action or none at all. You can choose your own thoughts and replace those that don’t serve your purpose.”

- From The Only Sales Guide You’ll Ever Need by Anthony Iannarino

“Information is not inconsequential or simply benign. It consumes our attention…our precious and valuable attention. We become prosperous when we learn to fix attention on our purpose, on service-oriented activities and on useful information. Our attention will be the source of our wealth, so if we allow the poisoned, random waters of everything that poses as “news” or “edgy new entertainment” to wash in, we have nothing left to work with.”

- From Wealth Warrior by Steve Chandler

“To simplify your life, zero-based thinking is one of the most powerful strategies you can learn and apply on a regular basis. Here’s how it works. Ask yourself, ‘Is there anything I am doing right now that, knowing what I now know, I wouldn’t get into again if I were starting over today?’”

- From Focal Point by Brian Tracy

“You only have one shot at leaving a legacy for your life. How you use your time and who you spend your time with are the most important decisions you’ll make in life. Choose wisely. You cannot soar with eagles if all you do is hang around turkeys. Ask the big question: What do you really want to achieve in life? Then think, are the people I’m spending time with helping me achieve this?”

- From The Perfect Day Formula by Craig Ballantyne

“When you switch from Task A to Task B, your attention doesn’t immediately follow – a residue of your attention remains stuck thinking about the original task. People experiencing attention residue after switching tasks are likely to demonstrate poor performance on that next task.” So even if you don’t try to multi-task and focus on just one thing at a time, each time you switch to a new task you are getting sub-optimal performance on the new task.”

- From Deep Work by Cal Newport

“Be wary of letting random emails chip away at your productivity—life is too short to let strangers dictate what you do with your day.”

- From Unsubscribe by Jocelyn K. Glei

“Every time you check your email or another message service, you’re basically saying ‘Does any random person need my time right now?’ And if you respond right away, you’re sending another signal to both them and to yourself: ‘I’ll stop what I’m doing to put other people’s priorities ahead of mine no matter who they are or what they want.’ Spelled out, this sounds insane. But instant-response insanity is our culture’s default behavior.”

- From Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky

"It's hard to build momentum if you're dividing your attention."

- James Clear

“The first discipline is to focus your finest efforts on the one or two goals that will make all the difference, instead of giving mediocre effort to dozens of goals. Execution starts with focus.“

- From The Four Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, Jim Huling

“20% of what we do leads to 80% of the results; but 80% of what we do leads to only 20%. We are wasting 80% of our time on low-value outcomes.”

- From The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch

“High-Quality Work Produced = (Time Spent) x (Intensity of Focus). To produce at your peak level you need to work for extended periods with full concentration on a single task free from distraction.”

- From Deep Work by Cal Newport

“Productivity can be boiled down to one word - FOCUS. There are two types of focus you need to master productivity. First the ability to manage distractions so that you can focus moment-to-moment on the task at hand, and second, the skill of focusing on what’s truly important to you in the big picture, so you don’t waste your day on stupid stuff.”

- From The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins

"Live the Pareto Principle lifestyle:

Relationships. Who are the few people that have the most positive impact on my life? Spend more time with them.

Priorities. What are the few actions that have the most positive impact on my day? Prioritize them.

Learning. What are the few information sources I learn the most from? Focus on them.

Stress. What are the few sources that cause most of the stress and friction in my life? Eliminate them."

- James Clear

“20% of what we do leads to 80% of the results; but 80% of what we do leads to only 20%. We are wasting 80% of our time on low-value outcomes….calm down, work less and target a limited number of very valuable goals where the 80/20 Principle will work for us.”

- From The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch

“Success has always gone to those who could apply their talents in a single-minded manner over an extended period of time to achieve a given outcome.”

- From Unsubscribe by Jocelyn K. Glei

“You must say ‘No’ to unexpected opportunities in order to say ‘Yes’ to your priorities.” 

- From Unsubscribe by Jocelyn K. Glei