The Currencies Of Time And Attention
Nothing vast enters the lives of mortals
without a curse – Sophocles
This time condensed wisdom from a very wise man
(not me 😊). Nir Eyal
is the bestselling author of Hooked (2014) and Indistractable (2019) and I came
across a very good podcast of Nir and Shane Parrish (Farnam Street) discussing Mastering
Indistraction. While I have tried my best to summarise the key points, I would
encourage you to check out the podcast episode yourself, link at the end of the
blog.
The timing was particularly apt as I have been
wrestling with the question of screen time and how much of it is good, both for
us and our kids. Like most things in life, there is no correct answer and the
truth is always nuanced, but the podcast does offer a very balanced view and
helps provide a good perspective.
Many of us cannot choose to be away from our
phones. Technology is a great enabler for us to lead better lives, get more
done and expand our horizons. However some of the same technologies also lead
us to be less productive and hold us from being our best. So how does one deal
with this?
Most of the distractions beings from within. It
is not dependent on external factors but internal factors. Boredom, fatigue,
uncertainity, anxiety. Time management requires pain management. All human
behaviour is driven by avoiding discomfort. We can choose to avoid discomfort in
a healthy or unhealthy way.
Addiction and distraction are different
things. We need to gain back control. Traction is the opposite of distraction. Any
distraction can be converted into traction by scheduling time for it so that we
can do things as per our agenda.
We need to make choices. We can choose to
spend 1 hour on social media or 2 hours on the play station. That is not distraction.
Distraction is what takes us away from what we are doing and what we want to do.
We pay attention. We spend our
time. No wonder we have been always told that time is money. No it is not just
a saying. This is real. Spend your time wisely on things that are important to
you.
If something is really important and needs to
be done, it needs to be on your calendar, not on your to do list. Putting time
against a task helps to finish it by actually spending time on it. Tip –
filling up your calendar with things is not good either.
Blamers – social media is addictive, my
boss/spouse/kids. Shamers – I have a short attention span/there must be
something wrong with me. Claimer – while we can’t change how we feel, how do we
react to an emotional trigger can be changed, with practice. The podcast has
some very good tips on dealing with external and internal triggers.
Indistractible is not about never getting
distracted. It is about realising the triggers that lead to distraction and
doing things to get the control back. External triggers, internal triggers,
lack of planning.
Work is Reflective or Reactive. Reactive time
keeps you busy responding to triggers. Reflective work is difficult and is a
big competitive edge. It is a good idea to keep time throughout the day to
respond to mails and messages. It is not such a great idea to keep looking for
the latest mail and message to respond to.
This is in no way a template. Please pick up
and implement what works for you. And while I haven’t read the books yet, I plan
to correct that very soon 😊
Source –
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