#43 Come to Attention

Learn some tips on how to stay focused on important tasks in this week’s 𝘐𝘯 𝘢 𝘕𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭: 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Do you ever struggle to get through your daily to-do list, silently berating yourself, “If only I could stay focused!”

In psychologist Gloria Mark’s* book, Attention Span**, she 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘆𝘁𝗵 that we should 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 strive to be 100% focused to be productive. Instead, she clarifies***, people’s attention naturally ebbs and flows.  In the morning, our pool of attentional resources is usually full.  By late afternoon, after five meetings, dozens of emails, thirty texts and Teams messages, much of these resources have been spent, and we’re more easily distracted.

Dr. Marks recommends a number of solutions, including:

• Planning your daily schedule to do the most cognitively difficult work 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁

• 𝗔𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗲𝗿, 𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀 (e.g. completing a timesheet or checking your LinkedIn

• 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗲𝗱 (e.g. going for a walk, chatting with a friend, or even washing some dishes)