Tony Schwartz's Blog

How to Think Creatively
Creativity, Mental Needs | November 10, 2011
I grew up hungry to do something creative, to set myself apart. I also believed creativity was magical and genetically encoded. As early as the age of 8, I began sampling the arts, one after another, to see if I'd inherited some gift.Eventually, I became a journalist. For many years, I told other people's stories. I was successful, but I rarely felt truly creative.
Read the full post
A 90-Minute Plan for Personal Effectiveness
Focus, Mental Needs, Renewal | September 20, 2011
For nearly a decade now, I've begun my workdays by focusing for 90 minutes, uninterrupted, on the task I decide the night before is the most important one I'll face the following day. After 90 minutes, I take a break. To make this possible, I turn off my email while I'm working, close all windows on my computer, and let the phone go to voicemail if it rings.
Read the full post
The Power of Deceptive Simplicity
Mental Needs, Productivity | April 25, 2011
Most people who give advice for a living either offer too much or too little. What moves me most is deceptive simplicity. By that, I mean ideas that may seem obvious at first blush, but whose accessibility turns out to be the product of rigorous thinking, skillful synthesizing, and a commitment to clarity. I say this because so many of us are so busy and so barraged by information that we're reaching a point of saturation. There's just not much room left in our working memories to deeply absorb anything truly new or complex.
Read the full post
Six Secrets to Creating a Culture of Innovation
Innovation, Mental Needs | April 11, 2011
When IBM recently polled 1500 CEOs across 60 countries, they rated creativity as the most important leadership competency. Eighty percent of the CEOs said the business environment is growing so complex that it literally demands new ways of thinking. Less than 50 percent said they believed their organizations were equipped to deal effectively with this rising complexity.
Read the full post
Take Back Control of Your Work (and Your Life)
Creativity, Focus, Mental Needs | March 16, 2011
I just got back from the SXSW interactive conference in Austin. I went there to give a talk about fueling sustainable productivity by balancing periods of fully absorbed attention with intermittent renewal. Peering out into that vast hall, I fear I saw the future: a sea of the digital elite hunched over blinking technologies, tweeting and texting as I talked. Here's what I later learned some of them were saying, all in 140 characters or less:
Read the full post