#attention

#attention

The contention that underpins the book is that our most valuable resource isn't time. It's attention if only we could take back control of where we place it. Montminy saw this in herself while researching the book, swapping in and out of the many, many hats of her own working week. We are in a crisis of distraction, she says. We are constantly task-switching. Our attention has been hijacked in so many ways.

Sam sits in his noisy apartment, surrounded by the distractions of his digital life. His research is scattered across a dozen tabs. He writes a sentence, then deletes it. Doubt creeps in: "Is this the right way to start?" Before long, he's scrolling through social media, half-heartedly checking his email, and staring at his chaotic desk-a mirror of his cluttered mind. After two hours, he has little to show for it but frustration and dread.

Monitoring your phone to check whenever it lights up seems innocent enough -- a minor habit, utterly devoid of consequence. But is this seemingly harmless gesture actually working against you, subtly undermining your privacy, focus, and even your phone's longevity? Placing your phone face down is a small change that can have surprising ripple effects on your digital well-being and device health.

When we think of 'digital product design', it's tempting to frame it in terms of usability, engagement, or revenue. But those are surface-level outputs. Underneath, design decisions are time-shaping mechanisms.

"Reading has been unfairly maligned as an indoor activity for far too long. As a child, when nice weather came around, I was told to put down my book and go play outside."

I have come to see that where people place their attention often predicts the direction of their outcomes.

The phenomenon of mind blanking has a specific brain activity pattern resembling sleep, highlighting the inevitable nature of these mental lapses.

That's how severely I don't like being the center of attention. That's all it comes back to. I don't want to be the focus of anything.