The Importance of Breaks in Learning

It's really important to become aware of your own attentional capacity and understand when your tank is starting to get low.

Our attention has become a commodity and is getting hijacked by technology. Dr. Gloria Mark (@Dr.GloriaMark) is the author of a groundbreaking book called Attention Span. Attention Span is a must-read as it covers Dr. Mark's decades of research into how our minds have been affected in the digital age. Gloria received her Ph.D. from Columbia University in psychology. She studies the impact of digital media on people's lives. Her work is a deep dive into examining multitasking, interruptions, mood, and productivity due to digital devices becoming so intricate in our lives. She has published over 200 articles and has presented her work at multiple venues.

Author and Creative Dr. Gloria Mark(@Dr.GloriaMark) is a Chancellor's professor of Informatics at the University of California Irvine. She has published and presented her work in venues such as the Aspen Ideas Festival, and it's appeared in popular media such as New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, BBC, Atlantic, and more. Her new book, Attention Span is a must-read as it covers Dr. Mark’s decades of research into how our minds have been affected in the digital age. 

“We have a limited set of attentional resources, or it's been called mental resources or cognitive resources. And you can think of it as your attentional capacity. And it's limited, these resources are limited, and they're very precious.”

- Dr. Gloria Mark

Key Takeaways:

• 3 Types of Attention: Intentional attention is when you use your mental focus to do an activity such as writing, lifting weights, or scuba diving. Exogenous attention, or the default mode network, is when we respond to things outside of us. Kinetic attention is shifting from an iPhone to a computer or from one screen to another. Recent studies show that most people average 40 seconds per screen.

• Technology as and Extension of Self: Devices like cellular phones and computers have become an extension of ourselves. Our lives have become intimately intertwined with their devices in this modern age. However, where is the line, and how can we draw it? Learning to be sovereign from our devices and drawing a healthy line for our identity is important.

• Switch Cost: Every time you switch your attention, you incur an extra cost in time. Imagine you have an internal whiteboard in your mind and are writing everything you need for a specific task; if you switch in the middle of that list, you are erasing the board for the new task you have changed to. Therefore, when you return to the first task, it takes longer to reorient yourself. Multitasking or switching focus takes time and creates exhaustion and a lack of clarity.

• Saying No in Service to Your Yes: Monotasking, a good night's sleep, and taking breaks throughout your day allows you to have balanced energy levels and replenish them if needed. Knowing how to say no in service to your bigger yes will allow you to be clear on what tasks/commitments are important and which ones you need to let go of or delegate to others.

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Links for Dr. Gloria Mark:

Website

Twitter

Attention Span