Hey Friend
Six years ago, while watching the Daily Vee show (by Garry Vaynercuk), I remember hearing that "we're no longer fighting for time, we're fighting for attention", we're fighting to capture it, to give it, to receive it.
While I understood the concept at the time, I could never have imagined the impact our waining attention would have on so many areas of our lives - in how we work, how we interact, how we play, how we live.
We are in the middle of an attention crisis!
I can feel it, I work with leaders who are experiencing it and I have children who are constantly distracted because of it...so much so, in fact, that we've banned electronics during the week (except for tv in the evenings). Our hope is that they'll engage in reading, creative play or some kind of physical activity that will increase their attention and improve their focus. I'm not sure how long the ban will last, we're only a few days in and the house is in complete chaos, there's shit everywhere, it's noisier than even and their constant rough-and-tumble has replaced the solitary silent scrolling of one 7-second TikTok video after another.
They've come alive again!
In a work context I see leaders...
Attending a meeting with one group while simultaneously typing emails or responding to team chats and constantly switching their attention from one to the other.
Asking questions multiple times because they haven't heard the response or have only heard a small snippet.
Showing up late to meetings and sitting in a dazed state while they reconcile what they've just come from.
Talking over people to indicate they heard all they need to and it's time to move on.
Blaming their people for things they're doing themselves - like taking shortcuts or not managing expectations well.
Going home to their families and remaining disconnected with thoughts of what's happened or what's to come.
Running out of time to make themselves a priority and doing things that fill their cup.
It all comes down to our ability to pay attention and remain focused. If you can improve, even just a little, you'll see just how important it is and you'll make it a priority in your life. Perhaps start by picking up a book and reading for ten minutes each night instead of disappearing into the social media vortex!
If you want some support and guidance in figuring this out find a time to chat here.
S. 😁
P.S. If you're wanting to learn more about how to improve your attention I would recommend reading a book by Benjamin Hardy called Willpower Doesn't Work. He shares that, along with knowing what you want your outcome to be, you need to pay attention to your external environment. He says "The environment is more powerful than your internal resolve. As a human-being, you always take on the form of the environments you continually place yourself. Consequently, the best use of your choices is consciously designing environments that facilitate your commitments."
