MODERN THINKING
Tackling the attention crisis
By Alison Hill
me to feel like today was a success what would that be ?’.
Delegate or eliminate ruthlessly Be ruthless with your to-do list . Just because you ’ ve always done it a certain way doesn ’ t mean that it can ’ t be done differently . What could you delegate to others or what tasks can be eliminated altogether ?
With over 300 billion emails sent around the world every single day , over 5000 new books published every day , and Snapchat bringing out new filters quicker than you can say ‘ woah check this one out ’ we are currently sitting smack-bang in the middle of a crisis of attention . Now more than ever there are a multitude of things vying for our attention in any given moment . So why is it that in the workplace Sally produces outstanding results whilst working across ten different projects , and Tim struggles to keep up on anything more than two tasks ?
Back in the 1980s we were sold the belief that multi-tasking was the answer — the ability to do not just one thing but five things at once . This may have been a great idea for workplaces , but it was a terrible idea for our brains . Research is now finding that our brain is incapable of multi-tasking . Instead of attending to multiple tasks , our brains have been shown on MRI scans to be rapidly switching between two tasks . In this rapid attention splitting , our brains get fatigued and there is a lag in reorientation when we come back to a task . Ultimately taking a toll on our productivity – known as ‘ switch cost ’. If you ’ ve ever had a busy day at work , felt completely exhausted but still feel like you didn ’ t really get anything done , then you would have experienced the impact of this ‘ switch cost ’.
How then do we manage competing priorities that are all grabbing for our attention at once ?
Clarify priorities When everything is important nothing is important . Take the time to pause and get clear on what ’ s priority . Ask yourself , ‘ if there was only ONE THING I got done today for
Finish what ’ s in front of you Resist the urge to quickly check your emails , or grab a cuppa tea . When you notice your attention get pulled elsewhere bring it back to the task and finish what ’ s in front of you , even if it means letting others know you ’ re currently not available shortly .
Alison Hill is a psychologist and co-founder of Pragmatic Thinking , a behaviour and motivation strategy company . An international and indemand keynote speaker , Alison is also the best-selling co-author of Dealing with the Tough Stuff , and Stand Out : A real world guide to get clear , find purpose and become the boss of busy ( Wiley $ 27.95 ). For more information visit www . alisonhill . com . au or contact info @ pragmaticthinking . com .
10 ModernBusiness November 2016