Tag: attention
Understanding your audience: Write what the reader needs
Great writers are good at understanding their audience. They know what the reader needs, and focus their writing on that need.
Learning something new takes a lot of effort
The next time you’re putting yourself under pressure for not meeting expectations, remember that learning takes effort. Be kind to yourself.
It’s not your job to read everything
Information management is about improving the quality of information in my stream, not creating an infinite list that I need to finish.
Lazy productivity
A productivity approach where you tailor your environment so that the easiest, most natural action aligns with your goals. By doing so, even when taking the path of least resistance, it contributes to your overall objectives.
When information is cheap, attention is expensive
When information is cheap, attention becomes expensive. James Gleick (2011). The Information. We work in an information-rich environment but this abundance isn’t useful when it mainly serves to distract us.
Attention is your most valuable resource
Your attention is your most valuable resource. Choose carefully how, where and when you will allocate it to do your most important work.
Writing regularly changes what you pay attention to
I often find my attention being hijacked by whatever happens to show up in my feed. And in the moment, that content may very well be interesting. The problem is that so much information can be interesting while still having relatively little value. When I’ve set aside 1-2 hours of writing time every day, my attention…
Device ‘notifications’ are really ‘interruptions’
Instead of trying to manage “notifications”, the better approach is to manage “interruptions”. Start by taking an audit of the notifications on your devices and ruthlessly eliminate anything that isn’t essential. Then be intentional about setting boundaries around when and how you’ll allow your focus to be interrupted.