• Session Title: The Science of Optimizing Productivity and Performance
• Workshop Description: Today’s always-on work culture is full of interruptions. Constant meetings, calls, and emails make it nearly impossible to get important, focused work accomplished. However, by exploiting our ancient biology, instead of working against it, we can all learn how to manage distractions, find time for our most important work, and stay connected in a balanced way. By equipping yourself with a practical, proven set of strategies for working smarter, especially when time and energy are limited, you will walk away with concrete tools for improving prioritization, decreasing execution time, and increasing focus for yourself and others.
• Date: July 10, 2025
• Facilitator and Coach:
  • Dr. Sahar Yousef (syousef@berkeley.edu)
  • Lucas Miller (lucas.miller@berkeley.edu)
• Resources & Materials Used in Session:
  • The Science of Optimizing Productivity and Performance (Session Slides)
  • Comms and Positioning Document (Session Pre-read)
  • Facilitator Bios

Message from the Becoming Superhuman Team:

Thanks again for the phenomenal session with Becoming Superhuman!  We hope the content resonated and that you were able to walk away with some practical productivity strategies!

In our effort to keep supporting you on your journey to better well-being and performance, join our community of 20,000+ science supporters and get first access to validated assessments we make freely available to our community, along with new neuroscience and health research bit/ly/bshnewslettersignup

As a thank you for attending our session, we have partnered with Clearspace to offer all attendees a free month of the app!  Clearspace gives you the tools to fight phone addiction and block distractions on your phone, like social media doom scrolling and digital notifications.  You can use the QR code in the attached one-pager to download the app, no code needed! 

Attached are the full slides from the presentation.  We’ve also provided some key resources below for anyone who wants to deepen their learning of these concepts.

Key Resources from The Science of Optimizing Productivity and Performance on 7/10

• 1-page summary on digital hygiene tips (attached)
• Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity (Ward, 2017)
• Doomscroll Documentary | Watch the trailer HERE
• How to Focus While Working From Home – Dr. Sahar Yousef + Headspace | Watch Video Here 
• The Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers | Adam Grant TedTalk

Our very best,

Sahar and the Becoming Superhuman Team