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Greetings, Optimalists. :)
We launched this newsletter on January 28th with the hope that it would allow us to write about what we were learning, and share it with an interested audience of educators who we knew would be ready to dig in alongside us. Today we deliver to you the 12th issue of The Optimalist. We also officially bring Focusable out of beta and open it to the public. It’s not an exaggeration to say these two entities could not exist without one another.
One of the best things about building this community and product together has been the relentless drive to tackle difficult topics. Over the past few months we’ve explored everything from reimagining mindsets to not avoiding the struggle of focus to how to make goals work better for us. And through all of it we’ve woven a single thread: how does it affect your work and life as educators?
So today we celebrate many milestones. A thoughtful newsletter that aims to change the way we approach our work. A growing group excited about learning alongside us through reading and discussion. A foundation of educators embracing the struggle of focus as they incorporate Focusable into their days, and introduce it to their schools. And the opportunity to launch live to the rest of the world today.
As part of that celebration, we’d like to turn our attention to you. What do you want to see from us here as we move forward as a community dedicated to bringing bold ideas to life? We invite you to take part in our very first reader survey.
At the beginning of this year, we got a lot of questions about the word optimalist (“You mean like optimism?”), and then eventually, about the word focusable (“Wait - is that a word?). One of my favorite tenets of optimalism is the belief that solutions can emerge, even without immediate clarity. It has taken quite a dedicated school of fish to swim against the grain of immediate clarity this year, and we believe this is the beginning of something special. Thank you for being on the journey with us so far. On we go!
The Optima List
The best possible list of opportunities
🧠 Thank You to Our August Beta Cohorts
The launch of Focusable to the public today could not have been possible without the help of our Focusable Pros - 70 educators who participated in training and onboarding to test Focusable in time for back-to-school. Focus is everyone’s problem, but one that we are all capable of addressing — thank you for taking the chance to try the software we have been building to help. Check out how educators have been using Focusable to bind themselves to more manageable chunks of time, and find some flow.
💬 #Optimalist Chat
On Sept 1, we started talking about Focus as a Skill by asking the question, What Happens When You Start with Five Minutes? Thank you to Jillian DuBois for leading us in the discussion, and to the #Optimalist community for showing up and lending their ideas. This is how real change starts.
Join us next week, Thurs 9/15, at 8:30 pm ET for a new host and a new topic as we continue to explore Focus as a Skill this month. Interested in co-hosting with me in the future? Leave a comment on this post!
As always, you can just search the tag #Optimalist on Twitter to follow or participate!
📚 Book Study News
You asked, so we’re bringing it back! That’s right - we are continuing our book study program into the fall. The last 2 studies have brought together such a great group of voices, and have immediately served to shape the way we talk about attention, focus, and flow. So we’re excited to announce the next book in the Optimalist Book Study is Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence by Daniel Goleman. You can find all the information and sign up here.
📰 The Optimalist Recommends…
It’s no secret that we are kinda fixated on focus. Check out this clip describing how Steve Jobs saw the powerful role of focus in shaping our experience.
When it comes down to it, how we focus comes down to how we manage our time, or even how we perceive time. Like attention, it’s often something we struggle against, rather than making it work for us as it is meant to.
Take a look at how Warren Buffet suggests we all approach our relationship to time.
🐦 Follow us on Twitter
Let’s connect and explore the world of focus together. Are you ready to join our school of fish? 🐠
Follow → Sara // Arlen // Andy // Brian // Ali // Alli // focusable
Don’t be afraid to say hi, and use the tag → #optimalist