Find the right words for every moment.

"Focus improves when you design your day instead of drifting through it."

"Missing once is an accident; missing twice is the start of a new habit."

"Only once you give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all can you make your highest contribution."

"If you’re not comfortable going deep for extended periods of time, it will be difficult to get your performance anywhere close to its potential. Depth is to knowledge work what practice is to athletics: the essential environment in which you sharpen your abilities."

"Protecting time to work without distraction sharpens focus."

"The only thing that matters is showing up and doing the work."

"When your battery is full, staying focused becomes easier."

"Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you want to become."

"Trade-offs are not something to regret, but something to embrace."

"The best students I met were not necessarily the smartest; they were the ones who understood the role intensity plays in productivity. They went out of their way to maximize their concentration, and in doing so radically reduced the time needed to prepare for tests or complete projects—without sacrificing quality."

"Curiosity pulls focus forward when motivation fades."

"Procrastination is Resistance in its easiest form."

"Intentional leisure is as important as intentional work."

"The difference between motion and action is the difference between preparing and producing."

"Instead of forcing execution, Essentialists invest time in creating systems that make execution almost effortless."

"Sometimes to go deep, you must first go big. A grand gesture—like locking yourself away for a week, flying across an ocean to write on a plane, or clearing your calendar for a month—can push your mind past the usual surface skimming and into a deeper gear."

"Focus means refining the same thing again and again."

"The most important thing about art is to work."

"If you don’t choose what to focus on, something else will choose for you."

"Environment is the invisible hand that shapes focus."