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Attention is the new currency. 

In a world obsessed with more, I’ve interviewed over 300 CEOs, leaders, and entrepreneurs who have built successful careers and ventures yet make time for fun, take care of their health, and have time with their families.  

The difference? Not their strategy. Their focus architecture. They decrease unnecessary work. The most successful CEOs I work with don’t have better focus. They have better boundaries.

“When walking, walk. When eating, eat.”- Zen Proverb

“To be everywhere is to be nowhere.”- Seneca

Listen to the article here [17 min]

THIS MONTH’S FEATURE: The Focus Fallacy

We’ve been sold a lie about focus. It’s not about forcing concentration—it’s about doing less, emptying the mind, and making space for new ideas and new connections to take place. In the past, desert mystics used empty cells, Zen masters faced blank walls, and Greek philosophers walked in gardens. Today, we are surrounded with digital and physical clutter. Dopamine steals our attention. 

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THE INTERVIEW

“Achieve more by doing less”

I sat down with Joe o’Connor, CEO and Co-founder of Work Time Reduction on personal and organizational strategies to do less, so you can achieve more. You’ll learn: 

• Why you should hustle less 
• Why protecting your time and wellbeing is key 
• How organizations and individuals can tackle burnout
• Using innovative approaches like generative AI

Watch on YouTube 

Listen to the Podcast 

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PRACTICAL WISDOM

Your essential insights for this week:

1. Your attention is your most valuable currency – spend it wisely

• • Research bite: Study show it takes 23 minutes to refocus after an interruption. That urge to check your phone? It’s not yours, it’s the algorithm talking.
    

“Digital media activates the same part of our brains as drugs and alcohol, releasing dopamine.” “With enough ongoing exposure, our brains enter a dopamine deficit state, characterised by depression, anxiety, insomnia, irritability and craving. Once that happens, we’re reaching for digital media, not as a tool to accomplish a specific task… but to get out of the dopamine deficit state and stop feeling bad.” – Anna Lembke is a professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Stanford University. 

• •  Action step: Place your phone in another room during focus blocks and try “dopamine fasting”.

2. Multitasking isn’t a superpower, it’s a super drain

• • Research bite: Heavy multitaskers experience up to a 40% drop in productivity. A psychology professor at Stanford University says today’s nonstop multitasking actually wastes more time than it saves—and is killing our concentration and creativity too.
  • Quick tip: Write down task transitions – close one document before opening another. Seriously, take a look right now. How many tabs do you have open?
    

3. Your mind deserves white space just as much as your calendar does. 

• • Zoom fatigue is real. 
  • Action step: Schedule 3 “buffer blocks” of 15 minutes each day between your Zoom calls and go outside if possible, without your phone.

4. Every notification you turn off is a gift to your future self

• • Science fact: Each notification triggers a dopamine response, creating addiction cycles
  • Quick tip: Keep only essential notifications (calls from key people, calendar)

5. Deep work isn’t about duration – it’s about dedication to one thing at a time

• • Expert insight: Cal Newport suggests starting with just 1 hour of deep work daily. Thanks to the Focus Experiment in the Unhustle Collective, 1 hour of deep work every day, I was able to finish the book.
  • Action step: Create a “deep work ritual” (specific location, time, and routine)

6. The world can wait while you finish your thought

• • Historical note: Einstein had his best ideas during his “thought experiments” in isolation. We need breaks for breakthrough. It’s the key to the creative process.
  • Quick tip: Use airplane mode during creative work

7. Your best ideas live in the spaces between distractions

• • • Action step: Keep a “distraction log” to identify your focus triggers
    • Research bites: 
      • Gloria Mark’s research at UC Irvine (2015-2016) found:
        • Workers switch tasks every 3 minutes on average
        • It takes about 23 minutes to fully return to a task after an interruption
      • Microsoft Research study (2016):
        • Average attention span on a single digital task is about 8 seconds, shorten than the attention span of a gold fish. If you got down to reading this, congratulations. 
        • Heavy multitaskers switch screens an average of every 47 seconds
      • RescueTime’s 2021 study found:
        • 35.5% of workers check their email or instant messages every 3 minutes or less
        • Workers average 77 checks of communication tools per day

8. Being unavailable isn’t being rude – it’s being responsible with your attention and energy

“Time is not a renewable resource” – Naval Ravikant

• • Quick tip: Create an auto-response explaining your focus blocks

9. Focus isn’t about forcing concentration, it’s about removing what interferes with it

• Action step: Conduct a weekly “digital declutter” of apps and subscriptions
• Psychology insight: Willpower is limited; environment design is unlimited

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THE TOOLKIT

TOOL OF THE WEEK: 

Recommended: Balance by Apple – you can currently get a year off for free. 

1. Forest App (iOS, Android, Browser Extension)
   • What it does: Plants virtual trees while you focus; trees die if you leave the app
   • Why it works: Gamifies focus sessions with visual progress
   • Unique feature: Partners with Trees for the Future to plant real trees
   • Price: Free version available, Premium $3.99
   • Social impact angle: Has helped plant over 1.3 million real trees
2. Freedom
   • What it does: Blocks distracting websites and apps across all devices
   • Standout feature: Syncs across devices
   • Price: $39.99/year
   • Best for: Serious digital blockers

3. RescueTime
   • What it does: Automatic time tracking and detailed focus reports
   • Standout feature: Focus work detection
   • Price: Free version available, Premium $78/year
   • Best for: Data-driven focus improvers

4. Focus@Will
   • What it does: Neuroscience-based music to enhance concentration
   • Standout feature: Personalized music channels based on brain type
   • Price: $52.49/year
   • Best for: Audio-sensitive workers

5. Brain.fm
   • What it does: AI-generated music for focus, relaxation, and sleep
   • Standout feature: Science-backed sound patterns
   • Price: $69.99/year
   • Best for: Those distracted by regular music

THE BOOK SHELF

1. “Deep Work” by Cal Newport
   • Key takeaway: Practical rules for focused success in a distracted world
   Perfect for: Directly addresses how to cultivate deep focus in an age of constant connectivity
2. “Indistractable” by Nir Eyal
   • Key takeaway: How to control your attention and choose your life
   • Perfect for: Those struggling with digital distractions
   
3. “Four Thousand Weeks” by Oliver Burkeman
   • Key takeaway: Time management for mortals in an infinite world
   • Perfect for: Understanding why focus matters in our limited lifetime
   
4. “Digital Minimalism” by Cal Newport
   • Key takeaway: Choosing a focused life in a noisy world
   • Perfect for: Those ready for a digital reset
   
5. “Stolen Focus” by Johann Hari
   • Key takeaway: Why we can’t pay attention and how to think deeply again
   • Perfect for: Understanding the systemic causes of our attention crisis

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COLLECTIVE INSIGHTS

From this week’s Unhustle Collective discussions:

“I leave the people and the world around me a little bit better with every interaction.” – Matt S. , Collective Member on a new defintion of success 

“The Harmonia Cohort allowed me to explore how I view success, what I want out of my career, and how to add more play to my life. I made new friendships, started those salsa dance lessons (!), and even changed how I now start my day! As an entrepreneur, mom of 3, and wife, life can feel a bit of a juggling act, with little time left for me. My goal for Unhustling wasn’t to give up my career goals but to find more harmony between work and life so I can still achieve great things while feeling and being my best. Milena guided our group through the Unhustle journey with learnings, research, and tools to start designing the life we want to live!” April J., Harmonia Graduate

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UNHUSTLE MOMENTS: 

This week’s reset practice:

THE BACKWARDS BREATH RESET (2 min)

Setting:
• Seated or standing
• Eyes open or closed
• No special posture needed – just comfortable
• Can be done anywhere

The Practice:
Count DOWN with each FULL breath (inhale + exhale)

5 – First deep breath
Inhale: Fill lungs
Exhale: Say “five” in mind

4 – Second breath
Inhale: Notice chest rising
Exhale: Say “four” in mind

3 – Third breath
Inhale: Feel shoulders relax
Exhale: Say “three” in mind

2 – Fourth breath
Inhale: Notice calm arriving
Exhale: Say “two” in mind

1 – Final breath
Inhale: Full attention
Exhale: Say “one” in mind

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FOCUS FIVE METHOD

ELITE PRACTICES DECODED

What top performers do differently:

• They Design for Empty
• Remove everything from their deep work space
• Work in 90-minute cycles (matches natural ultradian rhythm)
• They Flip the Focus Formula. Instead of asking “How can I focus better?” They ask: “What can I eliminate to make focus inevitable?”
• Protect their focus like their most valuable asset

Because in the knowledge economy, it is.

💡 Try This Today:
The “Focus Five” Method

1. Choose one important task
2. Set timer for 5 minutes
3. Remove all distractions
4. Work on only that task
5. Celebrate the win

“To do two things at once is to do neither.” – Publilius Syrus (1st century BCE)

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FINAL THOUGHT

“In a world of infinite scrolling, the power lies in knowing when to stop.”

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💡 Question for Reflection:

What if your best work is hiding in the spaces between distractions?

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⚡ Ready to go deeper with the Unhustle philosophy?

→ Join the next HARMONIA cohort (8 spots available). → Book a free discovery call. 

→ Apply to the Unhustle Collective