Focus Intensely and Renew Regularly

We live in a world in which we’re forever juggling demands, but rarely focusing on any one thing for long.

Absorbed attention — the capacity to delay other gratifications to focus on one thing at a time — is the sine qua non of achieving and sustaining excellence at anything.

Unlike machines, however, human beings aren’t meant to operate at the highest intensity for very long. Instead, we’re designed to pulse between spending and renewing energy approximately every 90 minutes.

It’s not the hours you work that determine the value you generate, but rather the energy you bring to whatever hours you work. The more skillfully you renew, the more energy you’ll have.