Reclaim your attention, productivity, and happiness with this “captivating, informative and beautifully written” book by learning how to keep your focus on one familiar task at a time (Nate Berkus). Modern life is full of to-do lists, all-consuming technology and the constant pressure to be doing and striving for more. What if you could train your brain to focus on one thing at a time? What if the secret to better productivity involved doing less, not more? Drawing on research in psychology, neuroscience, and mindfulness, The Twelve Monotasks provides a clear and accessible plan for life in the twenty-first century. Practice resisting distractions and building focus by doing the things you already do—like reading, sleeping, eating, and listening—with renewed attention. For example, the next time you go for a walk, don’t try to run an errand or squeeze in a phone call, but instead, notice the cool breeze on your face and the plants and birds that may cross your path. Immerse yourself in the activity and let time melt away, even if you’re only actually out for 20 minutes. Notice how much clearer your head feels when you return home. This is the magic of monotasking. With monotasking you will: Become more productive Produce higher quality work Reduce stress And increase happiness. Thatcher Wine’s The Twelve Monotasks will help you do one thing at a time, and do it well, so you can enjoy all of your life!

Tips and tricks to cut down your to-do list and avoid procrastination Are you prone to delaying all those projects you need to complete? Is that checklist getting just a little too daunting? Don’t get sucked into the spiral of procrastination! Start checking off that to-do list with Monotasking! In this simple, easy-to-follow book, author Staffan Nöteberg shares his effective and powerful monotasking method to help you strengthen your self-control and improve your focus on those daily tasks. No more delaying the inevitable. Sure, you’d rather be reading that new book or watching the game, but those things need to get done! And you know you’ll have a much better time if you don’t have your to-do list looming over you! In just six chapters, you will be up and eagerly completing all those chores—even the ones that you hate! These chapters detail easy steps to improving your “get up and go” and clearing off that chore list. They include: Cut to-do tasks Focus on one thing Never delay Work step-by-step Simplify collaboration Recharge your creativity With clear, step-by-step instructions and advice, you’ll have that to-do list checked off in no time. Also, not only will this guide help you cut down on your to-do list, but the lessons you learn will help improve your focus, which leads to better brain health and a happier life. Procrastination will be a thing of the past! You’ll be enjoying your free time (and your healthier brain) faster than you can say Monotasking!

" ... Persuades readers to listen to themselves and their instincts, to open their minds to new ways of thinking, and above all to search for inspiration"--Jacket.

“Can literally double your productivity and performance overnight. This may be the most important book on time and personal management you will ever read.” —Brian Tracy, international bestselling author of Eat That Frog! Your mind can’t be two places at once. Too many of us have become addicted to the popular, enticing, dangerously misleading drug of multitasking. Devora Zack was once hooked herself. But she beat it and became more efficient, and you can too. Zack marshals convincing neuroscientific evidence to prove that you really can’t do more by trying to tackle several things at once—it’s an illusion. There is a better way to deal with all the information and interruptions that bombard us today. Singletasking explains exactly how to clear and calm your mind, arrange your schedule and environment, and gently yet firmly manage the expectations of people around you so that you can accomplish a succession of tasks, one by one—and be infinitely more productive. Singletasking is the secret to success and sanity. “Devora Zack shows us how doing one thing at a time reduces stress, increases efficiency, and produces higher quality results. If you want to work smarter, not harder, read this book!” —Ken Blanchard, #1 New York Times-bestselling coauthor of The One Minute Manager® “Don’t let Zack’s lighthearted tone fool you—Singletasking is backed by hard science, and this book’s pragmatic advice can really change your work and your life.” —David Bach, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Automatic Millionaire “Zack shows readers how they can manage the expectations of others, unplug from technology (at times), and operate in the moment.” —Library Journal

Two Philosophers Ask and Answer the Big Questions About the Search for Faith and Happiness For seekers of all stripes, philosophy is timeless self-care. Notre Dame philosophy professors Meghan Sullivan and Paul Blaschko have reinvigorated this tradition in their wildly popular and influential undergraduate course “God and the Good Life,” in which they wrestle with the big questions about how to live and what makes life meaningful. Now they invite us into the classroom to work through issues like what justifies our beliefs, whether we should practice a religion and what sacrifices we should make for others—as well as to investigate what figures such as Aristotle, Plato, Marcus Aurelius, Iris Murdoch, and W. E. B. Du Bois have to say about how to live well. Sullivan and Blaschko do the timeless work of philosophy using real-world case studies that explore love, finance, truth, and more. In so doing, they push us to escape our own caves, ask stronger questions, explain our deepest goals, and wrestle with suffering, the nature of death, and the existence of God. Philosophers know that our “good life plan” is one that we as individuals need to be constantly and actively writing to achieve some meaningful control and sense of purpose even if the world keeps throwing surprises our way. For at least the past 2,500 years, philosophers have taught that goal-seeking is an essential part of what it is to be human—and crucially that we could find our own good life by asking better questions of ourselves and of one another. This virtue ethics approach resonates profoundly in our own moment. The Good Life Method is a winning guide to tackling the big questions of being human with the wisdom of the ages.

Streaming data is a big deal in big data these days. As more and more businesses seek to tame the massive unbounded data sets that pervade our world, streaming systems have finally reached a level of maturity sufficient for mainstream adoption. With this practical guide, data engineers, data scientists, and developers will learn how to work with streaming data in a conceptual and platform-agnostic way. Expanded from Tyler Akidau’s popular blog posts "Streaming 101" and "Streaming 102", this book takes you from an introductory level to a nuanced understanding of the what, where, when, and how of processing real-time data streams. You’ll also dive deep into watermarks and exactly-once processing with co-authors Slava Chernyak and Reuven Lax. You’ll explore: How streaming and batch data processing patterns compare The core principles and concepts behind robust out-of-order data processing How watermarks track progress and completeness in infinite datasets How exactly-once data processing techniques ensure correctness How the concepts of streams and tables form the foundations of both batch and streaming data processing The practical motivations behind a powerful persistent state mechanism, driven by a real-world example How time-varying relations provide a link between stream processing and the world of SQL and relational algebra

First published in 1998, Following Through shines a spotlight into the black hole in inner space where good intentions disappear. It reveals the startling reason why even people who are truly serious about making life-improving changes often fail. Although we often blame poor follow through on not having enough motivation, willpower, self-discipline or character, Levinson and Greider argue that the real culprit is the mixed-up way the human mind designed. The mind, they insist, simply isn't hard-wired for follow-through. And as much as we -- individuals, society, and especially the self-improvement industry -- like to pretend otherwise, good intentions do not automatically drive our behavior. And continuing to expect them to will only lead to disappointment, frustration and failure. But Following Through won't leave you discouraged. It will show you how facing the truth about what it really takes to consistently turn your good intentions into life-improving action can change everything for the better. It will teach you bold new strategies for getting yourself to do whatever you intelligently decide you should do. For customer reviews, please see listings for previous editions of Following Through. Note for readers of previous editions: This edition of Following Through is redesigned but does not include new content.