This month will mark 3 years of Revue newsletters! Feels like quite a milestone and certainly gratifying to get these shipped (nearly) weekly. That requires focus. But so does every aspect of my job. And most peoples jobs really.
I feel that often I hear people talk about productivity, hacks etc but my impression is that focus isn't really a buzzword, so this article caught my attention:
Do you want a single takeaway from the 21st century so far? Here it is: To the focused go the spoils.
Have I already lost your attention? No wonder. You’re being pulled in a bunch of directions at high speed.
The basic premise that NY times journalist, Matt Richtel makes in this 7min read is that focus is essentially binary.
It’s there or it isn’t. And, importantly, it can’t be divided. To this, I’d add a nuance: Attention and focus are not exactly the same thing.
“Sustained attention” is the holy grail and ridding yourself of external distraction may seem obvious but then you have to rid yourself of internal distraction too... To understand how to do that he has some insight & advice:
👀 Your eyeballs are for sale. To everyone who isn’t you, your focus is a commodity. It is being amassed, collected, repackaged and sold en masse. Collectively, audiences are worth more and more everyday. But individually, your focus doesn't have any worth the eyeball aggregators. To you, though, it is everything.
🧠 A cluttered mind cannot focus. Matt came across research showing that a calmer mind, trained by breathing and other exercises, will allow soldiers to make better decisions in battle.
💤 Rest is Best! Fatigue has a powerful but indirect impact on focus. When you’re sleep-deprived, your body undergoes many changes adverse to focus. Even your focus can fatigue. Focal fatigue is the idea that, even when rested, there is only so much sustained attention that most of us can muster before it falters. Is it 10 minutes, or 30, or an hour?
💭 Daydreaming is ok! The reality is that after a period of intense focus, the mind wanders, and that is a good thing. For me, this is a tremendous advantage in cycling. I love to follow a route and let my mind wander.
“Downtime is to the brain what sleep is to the body.” When you’re fresh, focus. When you’re spent, refresh.
As we all struggle to focus, it is important to remember that technology can tear you apart or it can be your advantage and to consider that those who can pick and choose, focus and release, will inherit the world. Unfortunately, that has a lot to do with privilege & economics...
As always, thank you for reading!
with appreciation,
Jon
p.s.
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Cycling
Please Share This When I'm Killed by Someone Driving a Car
I have to cycle in the most dangerous place in the USA to do so for about a week 7 times a year. In 6 trips, I've seen pools of blood on the ground, near misses and countless act of aggression.
How about we start by changing the way we talk about drivers hitting cyclists?
Mum goals: How a young mother defied all odds and won the race of her life
23-year-old Belgian cyclist Jesse Vandenbulcke nearly stopped cycling completely a few years ago. Her race results show a steady progression until 2017 – and then, a year-long gap as a professional cyclist, an absence which isn't explained until you realise that's when she became a mother.
Instructional Video: How to pack your bike
People ask me for tips on traveling with a bike all the time. Josh from SILCA knocks it outta the park with this one!
Twotone Work
Yonna van Dam debuts at Dutch Road Nationals
We've been busy planning and pitching Dutch press about a cool series of events and experiences enabled by the Dutch Lottery based on some highlights of the the national and international race calendars here in The Netherlands and beyond. This is the first one to go live! Congrats on a great 1st National Championship race Yonna! : )
Welcome Rei Miyoshi to the Twotone Amsterdam team!
He'll be interning with us until February and helping with clients like Pelago Bicycles, Nederlandse Loterij / KNWU / LifeHunters, and more!
Brussels Hotspots
Komoot partnered with Soigneur to feature some highlights in Brussels where the Tour just kicked off! Check it out!
Sales, PR & Opinions
Video Of The Week: Angela Duckworth – Grit
Angela’s theory of “Grit” as a predictor of success in education, careers, and life is powerful.
Also: I worte about 'grit' 13 issues ago.
Amazon's Genius: How Even The Bad News Is Really Good News - Business Insider
Oldie but goodie about spinning negative into a positive light.
A Step by Step Guide to Enable Your Sales Team to Tell More Stories
Dry sales pitches that list product features don’t close deals. Because people don’t relate to features—they relate to stories. And that’s why storytelling is such a powerful sales tool.
Radness
Yesterday was nearly 200km on 3 Bikes!
I haven't been riding as much as I'd like recently, so yesterday was a highlight! I started with a planned 130km ride with @the_windjammers but a slow front flat & bein’ outta shape meant it didn’t work out like I hoped.
Cooked from several 45-50km/hr efforts, I let the group go, made a wrong turn and got back to Amsterdam with 150km in the pocket. Met up with @kristyspark during her @rapha_amsterdam shift and caught her kids Simone & Errol there too!
They finished their checkers game & got a head start to @bmx_amsterdam. I traded the @speedvagen for my @cultcrew BMX & headed to #griffioenoutdoor. Our look BMX dirt jumps : )
@Gabriel_brayden & @reimiyoshi were already there and we got radical for the afternoon. Then I had to jam back to #Amsterdam & trade bikes a third time to pick up my old friend @stewartvarner at Centraal Station.
It was a rad day!