In the information age, attention is the currency you spend on content. Most of us are willing to give attention away freely, because it’s so easy. However, if you treat your attention like a resource on par with your money, you could get more done.
Picture: English106/Flickr
Despite how freely we can let ourselves distracted, we’re limited in how much we can pay attention to in a given day. Social networks, TV shows, news sites, even productivity blogs are all vying for your attention. Before you spend time reading, watching or listening to something just because it popped up in front of you, ask yourself if this is the kind of thing you’d spend money on if you had to.
Of course, none of those things are inherently bad, and it’s not like you should feel guilty for relaxing with a bit of Facebook for a few minutes a day. But most of us don’t stop to think about which things are worth paying attention to. We simply give our attention to whatever demands it. Start protecting your attention like it’s a finite resource and you might find better uses for your time.
The Cost of Paying Attention [New York Times via Rockstar Finance]
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