Can I have your Attention Please..............
The world plagued by 'busyness', distractions and complex scheduling it is no surprise that our performance is affected by our attention. Increasing points of communication and interaction result in a sea of plenty where relevant elements are easily lost. We have limited attention resources being competed for by unlimited stimuli without clear labels as to which ones are necessary. With attention being our ability to actively select relevant stimuli in your environment, logically active living begins at such distinctions.
Consider the following, the average attention span dropped from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds in 2013 while the average worker checks their email approximately 30 times per hour. Dukette and Cornish (2009) showed that adults can only sustain attention for about 20 minutes while short term response to stimuli that attracts stimuli is 8 seconds. Therefore one has 8 seconds to grasp attention which will be lost in 20 minutes. James Cutting found a rhythm to human attention span which requires consistent changing of subject for maximum attention during presentation. Likewise effective performance involves access both explicit and implicit memory. The former involves conscious recall while the latter is the memory of skills and how to do things. Research suggests that performance in explicit measures are enhanced while the use of implicit skills are sensitive to level of attention during their use. If we can imagine, the competition in our minds for attention is like unravelling a ball of yarn.
Such information provides a unique view on squeezing positive results out of each day; (i) addressing the necessary parts of our day require constant focus, (ii) we need to consistently train our attention based on the context of our days, (iii) shorter and more intense periods are more effective and (iv) getting back on track is as important as staying there.
Ensure to give attention to the important things, it may surprise you as to what they really are........
[In April, we will be emphasizing the importance of attention management in releasing the experience matrix. Inspiregraphs wants our audience to be as fully engaged in their lives as possible]