Giving Compass' Take:

• K. Albasi at Medium writes about why being alone with your thoughts is healthy and necessary for optimal brain function and focus. 

• How can donors and nonprofits apply these habitual tools for active thinking? How is technology affecting the way we are able to disconnect and focus?

• Learn about finding your focus when it comes to impact investing. 

Many of us are always on the lookout for new ways to boost our productivity. We have long lists of things we “should” be doing — there’s always another habit to take up, another activity to fit into our schedule. When we shift from one task or activity to another, we often try to focus our attention by sheer force of will. Our phone is still at our fingertips, notifications chime in at regular intervals, and our favorite distractions are just a few taps away.

Our environments are nearly always noisy and bustling, so it’s much harder for our brains to tell what to focus on.

Even if you have the self-control to disconnect from interruptions in advance, you may still spend your day jumping from one thing to the next before setting a timer and saying, “Okay, I’m going to focus on this one thing starting… now.”

Read the full article on productivity and brain focus by K. Albasi at Medium.