Jamie Kreiner Studied 1,500 Years of Distraction—Here’s What She Found

Pre-order my new book Habits of High Performers
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Jamie Kreiner went back 1,500 years to understand your biggest
problem today.





In a world obsessed with hacking attention, Jamie didn’t look
forward—she looked back.





In this conversation, we explore her book The Wandering Mind and
what early Christian monks knew about distraction, productivity,
and deep focus that modern science is only just catching up with.





But this isn’t a conversation about history. It’s about
attention. It’s about how we can train our minds, structure our
days, and create meaning in a world full of noise.





What we cover:


How monks framed distraction as a life-or-death issue

Why modern productivity might be killing your clarity

The ancient mental practice of “discernment”

The link between mind wandering and spiritual mastery

Why community, structure, and solitude work together

How writing, meditation, and “think time” build better
leaders

What monks can teach us about balance, burnout, and being
useful

Why your thoughts aren’t you—and why that’s good news






Jamie doesn’t just bring history to life—she uses it to help us
live more fully, more intentionally, and with far greater focus.





If you’ve ever felt scattered, unproductive, or unsure how to
slow down, this is the episode for you.








This episode was proudly sponsored by NZ Mortgages. You
can contact them here - https://www.nzmortgages.co.nz






Learn more about Jamie here -
https://history.ucla.edu/person/jamie-kreiner/


Grab a copy of Jamie’s book here -
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61089439-the-wandering-mind












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James Laughlin is a High Performance Leadership Coach, Former
7-Time World Champion, Host of the Lead On Purpose Podcast and an
Executive Coach to high performers and leaders. James is based in
Christchurch, New Zealand.





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