The speaker introduces the concept of smart living as being productive and poses questions on productivity and efficiency.

• Smart living begins with productivity, which implies achieving more without working harder.
• Everyone has the same twenty-four hours a day, and productivity is about recognition without additional hours of work.

The speaker discusses the information overload challenge and its impact on focus and productivity.

• Information overload is a double-edged sword, providing access to knowledge but making it hard to choose and focus.
• Self-distraction is common, with people often missing their surroundings while engaged with their phones.

Interactive exercises demonstrate how easily people can miss obvious changes when their attention is focused elsewhere.

• An interactive counting exercise is presented where a dancing bear goes unnoticed by most participants.
• The speaker's point is that the brain is limited and can truly focus on only one thing at a time.

The speaker mentions the economic and personal costs of attention deficits and the varying levels of attention among individuals.

• We live in an 'attention deficit disorder economy', which leads to less focus and potentially shallow thinking.
• The economic cost of attention deficits in the US is estimated to be significant, and individual attention capacities vary.

The speaker explains brain function during attention tasks through the metaphor of an orchestra and the concept of functional connectivity.

• The brain works like an orchestra, with different parts needing to work in harmony.
• Functional connectivity is used to measure and quantify attention, revealing individual differences in attentiveness.

The first tip is to reduce the amount of information one needs to process by simplifying tasks and messages.

• Simplify your message whether you are selling, teaching, or introducing something.
• Steve Jobs' presentation of the iPhone is given as an example of effective simplification.

The second tip emphasizes relaxation, including deep breathing and taking walks, to enhance focus.

• The Yerkes-Dodson curve shows that performance peaks at a moderate level of arousal and decreases when over-aroused.
• Deep breathing and taking walks in green spaces can help relax and improve attention.

The final tip is to focus on one task at a time, as multitasking reduces performance and efficiency.

• Multitasking is less efficient than unitasking, as demonstrated by an interactive arithmetic exercise.
• The speaker advises checking phones or emails only after completing a period of focused work.