Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/322467
WWW.CHANGINGL ANESDIGITAL .COM APRIL | CHANGING L ANES 2 different quadrants of the Eisenhower Decision Matrix can help you concen- trate on what really needs to get done, instead of using up your attention in putting out little fires. • Plan out your day and week. While we typically think of planning as time management, at its core, planning is attention management. Every time you sit down to plan out your day you're essentially deciding what you're going to pay attention to that day. Without planning, you end up spending your attention on whatever unforeseen dis- tractions pop up and make a play for it. • Conduct an audit to see how you cur- rently spend your time. Even if you say you know what's important to you, do you really put your "money" where your mouth is? Paying attention takes time — figure out how you spend the latter, and you'll know how you're directing the former. • Generously embed moral reminders into your life. Moral reminders are things like posters or personal mani- festos that contain or symbolize your values and goals. Whenever you see these prompts, your drifting attention will be brought to heel. How to Manage Your Voluntary and Involuntary Attention Our involuntary attention is uncon- sciously activated by stimuli in our environment – it comes online when we hear a dog bark or see an email land in our inbox. Voluntary attention is consciously con- trolled – we use it when we deliberately try to ignore these competing stimuli in order to concentrate on a single task. Distractions are like guerilla warriors that attack your voluntary attention units on the way to the battlefront, weakening the troops and diverting resources before they can be put to work where they're really needed. The trick then, is learning to protect your voluntary attention so it's at full strength and ready to fight, as well as giving these troops ample rest once they've seen combat, so they can be re- turned to the frontlines ready for action. Know your attention's "circadian rhythms." Attention — like its closely related brother, willpower — ebbs and flows throughout the day in ways that are unique to each individual. I tend to have a more focused, sustained attention level at the beginning of the day. That's why I try to do my narrow-focused attention work (like writing) first thing in the morning. As the day progresses, my ability for narrow-focused attention wanes so I shift my attention to tasks that require a more open focus like research, podcasting, brainstorming ideas, or answering email. Everyone's attentional circadian rhythm is different. Find yours and plan your day around it. Take attention breaks. Your voluntary attention is much like a muscle. It needs breaks every now and then after a sustained focus session. How often should you take an attention break? Well, that's hard to say. Several lifehack and productivity blogs say that it's best to work in 45-minute focused sessions and then take a 15-minute break, but I wasn't able to find any research that backs up those specific numbers. Experiment and see what works for you. Get out into nature for an attention reset. Sometimes just taking a break to goof off on the internet or chat by the water cooler isn't enough to completely refresh Health Tips Continued 34 www.jobsfor teams.com JOBS for TEAMS | JobsForTeams 0614_HealthHelp.indd 2 5/6/14 4:35 PM