It’s not secret, we live it a world full of distraction that pulls at our attention non-stop. From the device that’s probably in your hand right now to the people you’re surrounded by, everything is vying for your attention.
Making a commitment to yourself and your business to manage your attention intentionally is highly critical.
Skillful attention management is the new key to productivity. How well you protect and use your attention determines your success.
In his book, How to Be a Productivity Ninja: Worry Less, Achieve More, Love What You Do Graham Allcott describes the enemies of attention as:
Enemies of Attention
- Stress
- Procrastination
- Interruptions
- Distraction
- Low-value commitments
- Annoying work practices
Learning to overcome these obstacles will allow you to focus on what really matters.
Time is Not the Same as Attention
Your attention is more limited than your time. Attention is your currency. Have you every spent a huge chunk of time on something and literally accomplished nothing? Your attention was not focused on the right things.
Focused attention, for even short periods of time is not easy. It takes commitment and training. It requires you closing yourself off from the distractions and people competing for your attention. You have to be willing to do that. To make yourself unavailable for periods of time. This is time you’ll spend focused on high-level thinking; Strategy, planning, decision-making, creating, and reflecting.
Time + The right attention and focus = Done
Set a plan in plan and start to intentionally schedule focused attention into your schedule.
Practicing Focused Attention
Start with 1-2 hours at the beginning of the week. This is time for planning your week. Identify the big tasks and goals for the week. Create a checklist of the projects and priorities.
Next schedule 5-10 minutes each morning to make a quick review of your weekly list and create a short “To Do” list for the day. Determine the actions and tasks you’ll focus on that day. During this time you’ll also determine and schedule into your calendar the FOCUS TIME that will be required to accomplish the tasks.
When you’ve committed your attention and are truly able to focus, time seems to expand. You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish in a short period of time when you have mastered focused attention.
Want more productivity tools? Read now – Solve the Time Management Riddle in 5 Steps