Western Europe
Western Europe
Australia
Canada
New Zealand
The Netherlands
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
West and South Asia

TASK: Attention Management – Map Your Day Pt 1

What You Need:  Pen and Paper

Time: 10 minutes
Our attention can be divided (roughly) into 3 types:

Proactive attention: This is where you are fully focussed, alert, in the zone and ready to make your most important decisions or tackle your most complex tasks. This level of attention is extremely valuable

Active attention: This is where you’re plugged in, ticking along, but perhaps flagging slightly. You’re easily distracted, occasionally brilliant, but often sloppy too. This level of attention is useful

Inactive attention: The lights are on but no one appears to be home. There’s not too much brainpower left and you’re likely to really struggle with complex or difficult tasks. Your attention here isn’t worthless, but its value is limited.

3 Cat Cupcakes
Task:

> Map out an average day in your working life in whichever way works for you – as a flowchart, list, line chart, mind map or table.

> Include start and finish times, as well as any scheduled breaks and what happens immediately before and after work (e.g. the journey home, or if you check emails before you arrive).

> Think carefully: label your attention span for each of these categories: which are your proactive times, which are active, and which are inactive? Any surprises?

Hang on to this list – we’ll be using it for a future task.

Example:
7am – 8am active
8am – 9am proactive
9am – 12pm active

 

Like this? Try these

Find out more about attention management

Sign up to one of our new-style time management courses

 7 Tips to Manage and Use Your Attention Wisely – Life Optimizer

Why You Need More Margin in Your Life (and How to Get It)  – Lifehacker

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *