Attention Retardance - A Silent Killer of Your Work

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Pick a few windows during the day when you will deeply focus on the task of processing and replying to messages. This change might mean giving up your self-definition as a fast responder in your social circles. I used to pride myself on replying to every text quickly but not anymore. There are very few things in life that are truly urgent and most people will call you if there is a real problem.

Today at a Glance:

When compared to our ancestors, our lives appear to be filled with significantly more attention-grabbing pulls in a variety of directions. Our attention is more divided than ever.
Attention residue is the idea that there is a cognitive cost to shifting your attention from one task to another. When our attention is shifted, there is a "residue" that remains in the brain and impairs our cognitive performance on the new task.
To fight back: (1) Work in deep focus blocks, (2) take regular walks or breathers between higher value tasks, and (3) batch processing times for messages. Implement these three strategies and you will immediately see a difference in your work quality and efficiency.