Sir John Hargrave (@JohnHargrave) is the CEO of Media Shower, a content marketing and media company. Following a background as a high profile internet prankster, he has examined the conditions and obstacles that modern professionals face — many of which are mental. His upcoming book Mind Hacking discusses techniques for training a stronger mind and overcoming these obstacles.
Our conversation discusses the symptoms that affect creative pros and how we can hack our mind with simple, daily techniques and habits.
More information about the book is available at MindHacki.ng. Print and digital versions are available from the site.
Mind Hacking by Sir John Hargrave
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- Sir John Hargrave is a renowned Internet prankster
- Boston, Lincolnshire
- John is the CEO of Media Shower, a content media company
- “Sir” John received his knighthood by way of a name-change at the local county courthouse
- Queen Elizabeth II and her many, many titles
- The requirements to receive a knighthood (or a MBE, OBE, CBE, etc.)
- Mind-hacking came about from John’s work with clients and employees, many of whom are creative and seeking peak productivity
- Hacking, in the sense of tinkering, not infiltrating
- The brain is not the mind
- Most of our problems are based in the mind
- Classic creative problem: procrastination
“Mind-Hacking is a bit like training a disobedient dog.”
—Sir John Hargrave
- New Age Vibe
“We need to de-mistify meditation. It's strength training for the mind.”
—Sir John Hargrave
- Creatives can be precious, and it stops us from making decisions
- The January Joiners
- “Install” a habit (again, the computer metaphor)
- A university study of quality over quantity, life drawing — two groups, who improved more
- The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg on Amazon and on Audible
- An experiment revealed that Professors who wrote a little each day reached tenure faster
- The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin on Amazon and on Audible
- Ben Franklin’s Schedule
- “Address powerful goodness” -Ben Franklin
- 3MIT — Three Most Important Things
- “Eat That Frog” methodology, introduced by Mark Twain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W7GB5Fh2XM - Eisenhower Methodology for Urgent vs. Important
- Limbic System, a component of our “Lizard Brain”
- El Coquí (Eleutherodactylus coqui), a tiny frog native to Puerto Rico
El Coquí
- Research shows that multitasking is less effective
- Multitasking is usually “Rapid Switching”
“When you split an atom, energy escapes. When you switch tasks, focus escapes.”
—Prescott Perez-Fox
- Programmers get in the zone (hence the headphones)
- It can take 15-20 minutes or more to get back in the zone after a distraction
- Psychic Exhaustion, when you feel mentally depleted
- Manager’s Time vs. Maker’s Time, by Paul Graham
- The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber on Amazon and on Audible
- Entrepreneurs have to make the thing, manage the business, and build the business
- Mind Hacking is available as ePub, PDF, and Kindle format
- Sir John Hargrave on Twitter
- Sir John Hargrave on Facebook
- Sir John Hargrave on YouTube
Tools
- Post-Its
- Coach.me, an exercise app with goals, etc.
- Mind-Hacking program on Coach.me includes a 21-day plan
Techniques
- Learn to detach from your mind, to observe moments where we stray and get distracted
- Concentration Training aka Mindfulness aka Meditation
- Treat Concentration Training like a video game. Award yourself “awareness points” whenever you bring your mind back from distraction
- Replace “All or Nothing” thinking with “Habit Formation” thinking
- Set up a queue and a reward for each [desired] habit
- Keeps rewards positive and healthy (smoothies, relaxing with a book)
- “Eat a frog” early in the day
- Reduce Multitasking, Increase Focus
- Mental Decluttering: look for alerts and distractions you can shut off
Habits
- Produce something everyday; eventually your quality will improve as well as quantity
- Make list of “Positive Loops”, small goals which help your practice and life
- 3MIT methodology
- Get mental rest during the day, not just at the end
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