The Focus Stack
The journal

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Pouches

The Pouch Era: Why Supplements Are Leaving the Capsule Behind

Nicotine pouches taught a generation a better way to take something functional. Now supplements are following, and L-theanine might be the perfect fit.

9 min read
Focus & Habits

Friction Design: Make Distraction Harder Than the Work

Willpower is a terrible focus strategy. Here's how to engineer your phone, browser and desk so the easiest thing to do is the thing you meant to do.

8 min read
Focus & Habits

The Focus Stack Protocol: A 90-Minute Deep-Work Block

Every layer (room, fuel, sound and the rules of the session) combined into one repeatable block. Run it, then tune it to you.

6 min read
Supplements

Caffeine, Done Right: Dose, Timing and the Afternoon Cut-Off

The world's favourite focus drug is also the most misused. How much actually helps, when to drink it, the myths to drop, and how to keep it from wrecking your sleep.

8 min read
Supplements

Caffeine + L‑Theanine: The Best-Studied Focus Stack

Coffee brings the push, L-theanine takes the edge off. The key trials, the doses they used and how to build the stack yourself.

8 min read
Supplements

Creatine for Your Brain: The Gym Supplement Hiding a Cognitive Upside

Creatine is one of the safest, cheapest and most studied supplements on earth. The evidence for its brain benefits is real, but it helps some people far more than others.

7 min read
Sleep

Sleep Is the Stack: The Biohack Every Other Hack Depends On

No supplement outperforms a good night's sleep. What short sleep really does to focus, and the simple levers (light, timing, temperature) that fix most of it.

9 min read
Focus & Habits

Pomodoro, Timeboxing or 90-Minute Blocks? How to Structure Focused Work

The three most popular ways to structure a work session, what each is good for, and how to choose based on the task in front of you.

6 min read
Pouches

ZYN and Focus: An Honest Look at Nicotine Pouches

Nicotine pouches made the format famous, and plenty of people swear they help them lock in. What the research says, what it leaves out, and the nicotine-free alternatives.

6 min read
Supplements

The Nootropic Hype Check: Bacopa, Rhodiola, Ashwagandha, Lion's Mane and More

The supplements all over your feed, checked against the actual human research. Some earn their place. Some are mostly marketing.

9 min read
Body

Move to Think: How Exercise Sharpens Focus (Even in Ten Minutes)

You don't need a gym session to get a cognitive boost. What a single bout of movement does to attention and creativity, and how to fit it into a workday.

6 min read
Body

Cold, Breath and NSDR: Fast Ways to Switch Your Mental State

Feeling flat, wired or foggy? Three tools that change how you feel in minutes, what the research supports, and how to use them safely.

7 min read
Body

Fuel for Focus: Water, Meals and Beating the Afternoon Slump

Mild dehydration measurably dulls attention, and a heavy lunch can wipe out your afternoon. Simple, evidence-backed eating and drinking habits for a clearer head.

6 min read
Environment

Your Room Is a Supplement: Air, Light and Temperature for Focus

Before you buy anything, fix the air, light, temperature and clutter around you. The free upgrades most people never make.

7 min read
Environment

Sound for Focus: Binaural Beats, Brown Noise and the Lyrics Problem

Binaural beats claim to tune your brainwaves and brown noise is everywhere. What the studies say, and how to build a focus soundtrack that works.

7 min read