How to Calm Your Mind

Description

A toolkit of accessible, science-backed strategies that reveal how the path to a less anxious life, and even greater productivity, runs directly through calm.

A PENGUIN LIFE BOOK

When productivity expert Chris Bailey discovered that he had become stressed and burnt out because he was pushing himself too hard, he realized that before he could continue to give advice on productivity, he needed to learn how to rein things in and take a break. Productivity advice works—and we need it now more than ever—but it’s just as vital that we also develop our capacity for calm. By finding calm and overcoming anxiety, we don’t just feel more relaxed and at ease—we invest in the missing piece that leads our efforts to become sustainable over time. We build a deeper, more expansive reservoir of energy to draw from throughout the day, and have greater mental resources at our disposal to do good work and live a meaningful life.

Among the topics How to Calm Your Mind covers are:

• How analog and digital worlds affect calm and anxiety in different ways
• How our desire for the neurochemical dopamine can lead us to feel anxious and appreciate everyday experiences less
• How hidden sources of stress can be tamed by a “stimulation fast”
• How we can use the science of “savoring” to become present and enjoy life more
• How “busyness” is as much a state of mind as it is an actual state of life

The pursuit of calm ultimately leads us to become more engaged, focused, and deliberate—while making us more productive and satisfied with our lives. In an anxious world, investing in calm can be considered the best productivity strategy around.Praise for How to Calm Your Mind:

“After rebounding from his own burnout, Bailey devised a clear-eyed, concise method that marries science and self-help; he’s equally proficient in probing the roles of serotonin and endorphins while charting concrete steps in chapters titled ‘The Mindset of More’ and ‘Heights of Stimulation.’ Slow down, breathe, and submerge into these pages.”
—Oprah Daily

“How to Calm Your Mind is an oasis in a sea of productivity porn. It is the antidote for the chaos of our daily lives and the relentless pursuit of more at the expense of meaning.  In this enlightening book, Bailey not only explains why finding calm matters, he provides a step-by-step guide for how to find it and keep it.  Reading it will help you find balance between getting things done and doing things that matter.” 
—Samantha Boardman, MD, author of Everyday Vitality

“How to Calm Your Mind inspires us to do the unimaginable—to remain calm in a world filled with stress and anxiety. Chris Bailey helps us understand why calm seems so hard to achieve, and then gives us the means to achieve it. This is a book that shows how to regain one’s inborn resilience and tap into a calm mind to create a thriving life.”
—Henry Emmons, MD, author of The Chemistry of Joy and The Chemistry of Calm

“People have said that Chris is one of the most productive men you could hope to meet. Personally, I know him as one of the calmest. This book explains how both statements can be true for him, and how they can be true for you too.”
—Cait Flanders, author of The Year of Less and Adventures in Opting Out
Chris Bailey explores the science behind living a deeper, more intentional life. His drive to free up time for relaxation has led him to intensively research and experiment with the subject of productivity for the last decade. Chris has written hundreds of articles on the subject and has garnered coverage in media as diverse as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, GQ, The Huffington Post, New York Magazine, Harvard Business Review, TED, Fast Company, and Lifehacker. The best-selling author of The Productivity Project and Hyperfocus, Chris’s books have been published in 26 languages. He lives in Ottawa, Canada.US