This week on the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I chat with author and productivity expert Chris Bailey. After graduating from business school, Bailey decided to forego the traditional path and spend a full year learning everything he could about a topic that fascinated him: productivity.

He created a website, A Life of Productivity, where he wrote and shared his findings, and has since written two books on the topic, The Productivity Project and his latest, Hyperfocus: How to Be More Productive in a World of Distraction.

Bailey’s work has covered by major media outlets, including the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, the BBC, and Fast Company. He also speaks on the topic, and has shared his learnings with companies including Google, Microsoft, and Zipcar.

On today’s episode, Bailey shares the secrets to combatting the distractions of modern life and finding greater focus and productivity at work (which in turn leads to greater happiness overall).

Questions I ask Chris Bailey:

How are productivity and focus linked together?
Can we get more done if we’re multi-tasking?
Is email killing us?

What you’ll learn if you give a listen:

Why working with greater intention can create greater focus.
How focusing on what’s meaningful in the moment can improve our lives.
Why we’re wired to avoid our most important tasks, and what tactics we can use to get more focused.