Learn with Steem : Attention Management

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Nowadays attention has been stolen from us from every angle possible. Everything from our mobile phone, to our tablet, to our laptop notifications, everything is vying for our attention. Being conscious about that and really being conscious and where we give our attention; That we get the most value and meaning back from it matters.
So, how do you maintain that attention? How to keep that focus instead of just drifting off in whatever is trying to grab your attention..

Attention management is about, how can you best use the 24 hours you're given every day?
Attention management is your ability to focus. Throughout the day how well can you stay attached, focused, and working on the things that you need to get done that day to move towards your long-term and short-term goals?
Attention management is a little different than time management. Time management is there are 24 hours in a day, how do you allocate that time.
Allocating time versus actually focusing and doing stuff at the time we're supposed to be doing it is very different for anyone that's been stuck in YouTube, Tiktok, or anywhere else.
Attention management is more, we've already set up our day, we've planned it, we know that 11:00 AM we're supposed to be working on that email to Alice ; how effective are we being at focusing on that email, writing it well, and sending it on time without being distracted or without failing to complete it before having to move on to the next time-slot we've allocated for the day?

Attention management has become an essential skill in order to succeed in your work life, as an entrepreneur, and even in your personal life. There are so many things pulling for our attention and it's gotten very hard to focus.
Your email inbox and your push notifications are your to-do list as dictated by other people.
Everything that comes in your inbox, every push notification you receive is something that people want you to do that you didn't decide. It was sent to you, given to you.
Making sure that your scheduling time away from that, figure out things for yourself, being present, and knowing what you need to get done, and execute against ; will be all the difference, and a huge competitive advantage compared to everyone else who is simply just doing what they're told through an inbox or through push notifications.
It's become very important to be able to focus the same work has to get done as 30 years ago, as 5 years ago.
Building these skills now is only going to be necessary as it becomes harder and harder to focus.

There are two aspects to attention that I want to highlight; prioritization and focus.
Prioritization is figuring out what tasks you should be allocating your time to.
What matters? What needs to get done?

And then focus; is your ability to execute those tasks. The ability to be in the present give it everything you have, zeroing on it, and get it done in a meaningful manner that you can cross off a to-do list, be happy, be excited, and move on to the next task.

In the next post, I'm going to share how you can optimize your prioritization strategies and your focus throughout the day.
Before I end this post, there are a few tips, and tricks, I like to share with you.

One of the first ways that you can optimize taking the time each day is meditation. Taking the time to be present not just on our own mind, but your own body and really understanding what you're feeling and what needs to get done.
There are some great apps out there. One of them is Headspace. It's a guided meditation app that takes you through 10 days right off the bat. Another great one is Calm really lets you be tranquil. It even helps you go to sleep if you're stressed and you need help going to sleep at night.
There are some guided stories and sounds that can put you at ease. Another way to schedule a time today to keep your mind clear is to just start to unplug and power down before you go to bed.
You can keep your phone in the other room and you could pull out a book or a magazine and just take the time to read something in a print.
You'll feel much better for it and it'll feel much more intentional than just zipping around notifications and apps switching. You'll start to unwind and after a Chapter 2 or a few pages you'll start to actually get sleepy and you'll turn the lights off and go to bed. Even before that, another thing you can do is turn the night-shift mode on your mobile phone.
If you have an android you can also download an app called Flux, which is also available for your computer as well if you're doing email or you run your desktop late into the night.
Working out is also super important for scheduling time in your day to keep your mind clear. Pumping endorphins into your bloodstream is one of the best ways to keep yourself happy and keep your stress levels down.
Working out daily, maybe taking a day off or two a week, but consistently working out and keeping your body in good shape will really help you keep your stress levels down, be able to focus better when you need to.
Those are a few things you can do to optimize your overall attention. In the next post, I'm going to share with you a few ways that you can minimize distractions throughout the day.

Source : Productivity Today: Managing Attention in the Digital Age
Kevin Siskar, CEO, Finta