When we learn how to take back controls that we’ve given away, we can get better at managing our attention and not surrendering to every distraction. Below are five elements of a broad basic plan for managing our attention, with techniques for developing habits to help us find focus and achieve our goals...
1. Energy - monitor our brain’s energy supply. When we invest our energy wisely, we can make sure the tank is full, allowing us to feel more positive.
2. Emotion - the on-off switch for learning and peak performance. Our emotional state drives the quality of our focus, and the results we can achieve. Working within a group that is high on trust and low on fear will help us achieve our best. The better we understand ourselves, our personal psychology, and our emotional hot buttons, the better we’ll be able to achieve the right emotional state for focus. Positive emotion galvanizes our engagement.
3. Engagement - we must be interested in order to pay close attention. We must also be motivated. Interest and motivation equal engagement. Do what you love and what you’re good at. There should also be room for creative input, to prevent boredom.
4. Structure - How we shape our day, how we spend our time, the boundaries we create, the rules we follow, which assistants we apply, which filing system we use, which hours we keep, which breaks we take, which priorities we set up, which tasks we take on vs farm out, which plans we make and what flexibility we build in. Without structure, chaos reigns. We need to take control.
5. Control - in today’s world, if we don’t take control of our time, it will be taken from us. Most of us flush at least 150 minutes every day without even noticing we’re doing it.
These five elements combine to create a plan that will allow for optimum results without feeling frazzled and frantic. This plan can be individualized to one’s own situation, personality and emotional make up, but the basic elements can work for everyone.
— Dr Edward M Hallowell, MD (from Hallowell Center’s in Sudbury, Mass., New York City, and San Francisco, all specializing in training attention in people of all ages).
Great advice, a great plan and the ideal time to try it out. Nothin’ to lose! Just sayin’ :) Hugs. XO
Blessings,
Chatgirl
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