From Sirens to Tags: Categorizing Information for Executive Function - DBR 095
Do Busy Right - The Task and Attention Management Podcast
Release Date: 08/29/2025
Why Self-Improvement Should Be a Group Activity - DBR 100
Do Busy Right - The Task and Attention Management Podcast
Change is hard because we are habitual creatures. This episode explores how to leverage our powerful social nature to overcome the difficulty of self-improvement and achieve mastery. Getting better allows us to experience greater joy, agency, and efficiency, leading to less stress. Learn how to overcome cultural hurdles and utilize group dynamics for strong accountability, effective feedback, and deliberate practice. Overcoming Cultural Hurdles The Cultural Fallacy: Our culture often worships "talent" and creates an illogical fallacy that admitting the need for improvement means admitting...
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Cognitive Ergonomics for the Pain of Productivity Anxiety - DBR 099
Do Busy Right - The Task and Attention Management Podcast
Are you struggling with productivity anxiety—that feeling of drowning or running on a treadmill? You are not alone; 80% of workers report this struggle. This episode shifts the rhetoric away from self-blame, analyzing the underlying causes and symptoms of this pervasive problem. The solution is not treatment, but technique: a concept called Cognitive Ergonomics, which builds systems to support your attention and strengthen your cognition. The Pervasive Problem: Productivity Anxiety Symptoms and Impact: Productivity anxiety often feels like drowning, being on a hamster wheel, or a...
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The Art and Science of Focus for Knowledge Workers - DBR 098
Do Busy Right - The Task and Attention Management Podcast
In a world of constant distractions, our ability to focus is a skill under threat. This episode explores why mastering focus is not just about productivity but about doing our best work and leading a more thoughtful life. We'll delve into the modern crisis of attention, understand why our brains resist deep work, and learn actionable strategies to train your focus like a muscle. The Foundational Importance of Mental Clarity Half the battle in focusing is clearing your mind. This involves getting information out of your head and into a system where you can manage it. A practical tactic is...
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Fables of Work: Hard Work #2 - Beyond the "Brute Force" Model - DBR 097
Do Busy Right - The Task and Attention Management Podcast
"Work hard" is common advice, but what does it really mean? This episode challenges the one-dimensional view of success and "hustle culture." It explores the limitations of the "brute force method" and deconstructs "hard work" into four distinct "flavors." By understanding these different kinds of challenges, you can critically evaluate your own career path, define your version of success, and choose the "pain" you are best suited to deal with. Challenging the "Brute Force" Model of Success We often see narratives of seemingly successful people who advocate for the "brute force method,"...
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What is Attention Compass and how will it help me? (Classic Episode) - DBR 096
Do Busy Right - The Task and Attention Management Podcast
What is Attention Compass and How will it help me? (Classic Episode) This is one of a series of posts that are going to discuss Attention Compass in detail. Attention Compass is my proprietary tool and workflow to put you in control of your information and attention - making you a better more confident knowledge worker and reducing your stress over your productivity. I think many people are struggling with the problem(s) that Attention Compass solves – overwhelm, associated stress, and fear that things are falling through the cracks. If that’s you, I want to serve you as best I can....
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From Sirens to Tags: Categorizing Information for Executive Function - DBR 095
Do Busy Right - The Task and Attention Management Podcast
We are constantly bombarded with information, and the challenge is to make that flow work for us, not against us. This episode explores how our brains instinctively make meaning and categorize information. It defines an organizational scheme that supports your attention, not interrupts it, by fostering an emergent, personal approach to managing information. Discover how to develop a system that feels natural and fluid, making it easier to maintain focus. The Instinctive Process of Meaning-Making Our brains make an immediate and "blindingly quick" decision about incoming information: "keep it...
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The Hidden Personal Secret to Group Information Management - DBR 094
Do Busy Right - The Task and Attention Management Podcast
Is your team's knowledge siloed and difficult to find? We often focus on personal organization, but effective group information management is the key to a cohesive and successful team. This episode challenges traditional, top-down approaches and presents a more effective, individual-centric solution. Discover how empowering every team member to manage their own information can transform your group's ability to share knowledge, find what they need, and collaborate more effectively. The Problem with Traditional Approaches The "Best Practice" Trap: Many teams use shared document repositories...
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The Strategic "No" - the Master Skill of Attention Management - DBR 093
Do Busy Right - The Task and Attention Management Podcast
Your attention is your most valuable asset, but it's constantly under assault from an "infinite" number of tasks and requests. This episode provides the understanding and practical tactics to confidently say "no," reclaim your productive potential, reduce overwhelm, and intentionally direct your life and work. Learn to master this crucial skill and manage the things you're not doing. Key Takeaways: The Challenge of Saying "No" We tend to be people-pleasers and our default is to say "yes," even when we don't want to. However, every time you say "yes" to something, you are inherently...
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The Enduring Principles of AI for Knowledge Workers - DBR 092
Do Busy Right - The Task and Attention Management Podcast
AI is changing at a breathtaking pace, but its foundational principles and impacts on knowledge work are likely to persist. This episode dives into these enduring truths, moving beyond specific features to explore how AI is transforming our productivity. We'll discuss its inherent design for engagement, the pitfalls of its chat interface, and its real-world performance on common tasks like research, brainstorming, and writing. You'll learn to approach AI with mindful engagement to harness its power without falling prey to its limitations - with greater confidence and ease. Key Takeaways: A...
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Architecting Your Digital Sanctuary - an application of 'monk mode' - DBR 091
Do Busy Right - The Task and Attention Management Podcast
Episode 91: Architecting Your Digital Sanctuary Feeling overwhelmed by distractions and struggling to find focus in your work? This episode explores the concept of "monk mode" transformed into a practical, regular practice: architecting your digital sanctuary. Learn how creating a focused work environment can dramatically increase your efficiency, improve work quality, speed up completion, and surprisingly, lower your stress. Discover easy, actionable strategies to "close your digital office door" and consistently achieve deep work. ; Key Takeaways: Understanding the "Digital...
info_outlineThe Instinctive Process of Meaning-Making
- Our brains make an immediate and "blindingly quick" decision about incoming information: "keep it versus ignore it".
- This immediate sense-making process is similar to hearing a siren. You instinctively categorize whether it's important to you (e.g., in your lane of traffic) or "nothing to do with me".
- This process applies to all environmental signals and information we encounter, including emails and social media notifications.
Refining Categories: Actionable vs. Reference Information
- If information is a "keep," the next step is a processing loop to make "more detailed meaning" and put it into "more specific categories".
- The first major refinement is distinguishing between actionable information (things you need to do) and reference information (things you need to see again later).
- Actionable information is categorized by questions like, "When do I need to act on it?" and "What level of priority does it have?". A simple scheme could be "One Now, Two Next, Three Soon, Four Later, Five Someday".
- Reference information requires more nuanced categorization to ensure you can find it again when you need to. The categories must "make sense to us" individually.
The Emergent Nature of Personal Categorization
- An effective organizational scheme must be emergent and deeply personal to you.
- Trying to force your information into someone else's imposed categories creates friction, slows you down, and often leads to losing the information because your brain doesn't naturally respond to them.
- Creating your own schema is "fluid and natural".
- While your system should be personal, some generic categories are widely useful, such as:
- Action Tags: Used to prioritize actionable information (e.g., "One Now," "Two Next").
- People Tags: For important individuals when they are the source of information or need to be informed.
- Project Tags: To group all related information for a specific project.
- Historical/Reference Tags: For areas of knowledge or work specialties.
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larry@dobusyright.com; www.linkedin.com/in/larrytribble