BRING BACK FOCUS TO FIGHT CRISIS OF ATTENTION
Managing priorities better can be as simple as introducing some sensible habits into your routine
NOW, more than ever, there is a multitude of things vying for workers’ attention at any given moment – be it one of the 300 billion emails sent around the world, or new Snapchat filters created, each day.
Psychologist and author Alison Hill, co-founder of behaviour and motivation strategy company Pragmatic Thinking, says they are signs people are in the middle of a “crisis of attention”.
“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,” she says. “This may have been a great idea for workplaces, but it was a terrible idea for our brains.”
She says research shows the brain is incapable of multi-tasking and rather switches 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’,” Hill says.
“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’.”
To better manage competing priorities, she advises to:
CLARIFY PRIORITIES
“When everything is important, nothing is important,” she says. “Take the time to pause and get clear on what’s the priority. Ask yourself, ‘if there was only one thing I got done today for me to feel like today was a success, what would that be?’.”
DELEGATE OR ELIMINATE RUTHLESSLY
“Just because you’ve always done it a certain way doesn’t mean that it can’t be done differently,” she says. “What could you delegate to others or what tasks can be eliminated?”
FINISH WHAT’S IN FRONT OF YOU
Resist the urge to quickly check emails or grab a cup of tea.
“When you notice your attention is getting 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,” she says.