Welcome to Sunday Reads on Refocuser, a collection of weekly links from around the web to help you do incredible things.  These links span topics like creativity, performance, focus, exercise, nutrition, and positivity.

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On Living Well

While I’m not usually a fan of these, 12 Signs You’ve Done Well in Life is a keeper.

Strength training is the true fountain of youth.  Training with resistance boosts brain health while simultaneously making you less fragile.

The Mediterranean Diet may slow the aging process by 5 years.  As usual, this headline is a bit on the extreme side.  But “there is an increasing amount of evidence that eating a healthy diet rich in fish, vegetables, legumes and nuts is good for your brain.”

Speaking of diets, many of you probably read the (many) articles about how red meat is “proven” to cause cancer.  Of course, it’s tempting (though dangerous) to read too much into articles like those.  If you’re looking for a breakdown, the following articles are good reads: 1) What Does the WHO Report Mean For Your Meat-Eating Habit, and 2) So Will Processed Meat Give You Cancer?

On Productive Work

Jack Dorsey picks themes for days of the week in order to effectively run two companies at once.  If you have the flexibility to do, focusing on one area (and nothing else) for specific days throughout the week is a great idea.

Great article about The Effort Trap.  In short, “it’s dangerously easy to feel as though a 10-hour day spent plowing through your inbox, or catching up on calls, was much more worthwhile than two hours spent in deep concentration on hard thinking, followed by a leisurely afternoon off.”  Since society values hard work – and it can be just as tiring – it’s easy to congratulate yourself even though you didn’t actually get any meaningful work completed.

In 5 Ways to Improve Your Work-Life Balance Now, there are some great tips for staying sane in a busy world.  I’m especially fond of treating weekends like vacations.  Protect your weekends and you’ll more effectively recharge and come back ready to go on Monday morning.

How does the brain multi-task?  Using a “switchboard” which is “continuously filtering sensory information and shifting more or less attention onto one sense — like sight — while relatively blocking out distracting information from other senses, including sound.”

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