I speak to a lot of people every year. People think I can’t see them in the audience because of the lights, but I can. In fact, I make it...
The post The Generational Attention Gap appeared first on Neen James.
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Overtired. Overstressed. Overwhelmed. Stop the Over Trilogy.
I imagine you are a high achiever. You want more, you hustle, you want to be at the top, have the best team, achieve the pres- ident’s award, or get...
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Tuesday, April 09, 2019
The Great Multitasking Myth
In our modern world, the number of things that demand our attention has dramatically increased.
We are being pulled in so many different directions and being asked to produce better results faster and with fewer resources. Our solution has been to multitask or manic-task, as I call it. I’ve been guilty of this.
We frantically switch between screens, paper, calls, and to-do lists in an attempt to get it all done.
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For years, we’ve been told that multitasking was the way to be more efficient and productive. Too bad it’s not true. The reality is we are multitasking more yet achieving less. We are busy, but not productive. We still feel like we can’t get it all done. Don’t you feel that? And it’s stressful, right?
One Big Lie.
The idea that multitasking will help us get more done is a myth. As a result of numerous studies and neuroscience research, we now know that the brain is incapable of performing multiple tasks simultaneously (yes, including talking and texting). Rather than multitasking, the brain is rapidly shifting from one task to another. And each time the brain switches tasks, it has to go through a start-stop-start process. Some estimates suggest that productivity goes down by as much as 40% to 50% when we task switch. Other studies have found that because this task switching increases the cognitive load on our brains, it also increases the chances of making mistakes and missing important information and cues, as well as hinders problem solving and creativity.
In his book Free, Chris Anderson, founder of TED Talks and editor-in-chief of Wired magazine, asked the reader, “Does multitasking just slice the same attention more finely?” The answer is yes.
We are splitting our attention in many different directions, giving a piece of our attention here, a piece there, and another piece over there. As a result, nothing is getting our true attention and everything is getting short-changed.
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We need to replace our manic-tasking with single-tasking or sane-tasking, as I call it—staying sane while focusing our attention on the important conversation, proposal, or project at hand until it is completed.
Which do you do more of—manic-tasking or sane-tasking?
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Tuesday, April 02, 2019
Our Attention-Deficit Society
Have you ever heard someone say, “I have ADD today”?
ADD (attention-deficit disorder) has become a catchphrase for laziness, often used as an excuse for procrastination, lack of productivity, being easily distracted, not paying attention, and not completing tasks. People seem to wear it like a badge of honor, which is odd if you think about it.
ADD and ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) are true disorders that require medical treatment. They are physiological, biochemical disorders that make it hard for a person to stay focused and pay attention, thus limiting their ability to perform to their full potential.
Attention-Deficit Society
When I say that we have become an attention-deficit society, I don’t say it lightly. One of my family members was diagnosed with ADD in 1992, and I have seen the impacts of this firsthand. But I use this phrase intentionally to drive the point home that there is an epidemic of inattention in our world—a widespread, serious condition that has real consequences. Consider the following:
- Nine people die every day and 1,153 people are injured because of distracted driving. These are not just nameless, faceless These are partners, mothers, fathers, children, siblings, and friends. Possibly yours.
- Distraction results in an increased death count of pedestrians in Minneapolis, Minnesota. People are so consumed by their cell phones, they miss the fact the train is coming when they cross the tracks.
- The Information Overload Group says businesses lose $588 billion every year from interrupted employees.
- In a study of 2,000 respondents, Think Money found a total of 759 hours (that’s 31 days!) in lost time every year due to
- Since the year 1900, about 477 different species have become extinct because of our inattention to our environment and the destruction of natural
- The Global Nonrenewable Natural Resource Scarcity Assessment found that 23 of the 26 (88%) nonrenewable natural resources it analyzed will likely experience permanent global supply shortfalls by the year
Our inattention has real, often lasting, and sometimes devastating consequences. We allow other people, devices, and circumstances to control our attention.
We think we are paying attention, but we aren’t.
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It’s a Choice.
Those with true ADD don’t have a choice in how well they pay attention. The rest of us do. We don’t have ADD rather IBC—inattention by choice. We have control of our brains, our thought processes, and our habits. Stop thinking that you have no power over your inattention and lack of productivity. Nothing could be further from the truth.
So, how did we get here? How did we become an attention-deficit society?
It’s not because we’re not smart or because we don’t care, but because so many other things are competing for our attention, both online and offline. The causes of the attention-deficit society are both internal and external forces. Our fast-paced, device-dependent, the hyperconnected world is speeding up, not slowing down. We have so many distractions and decisions, we can’t focus in the moment for a minute.
If you are ready for you and your organization to begin paying attention to what matters most, book Neen James for your next conference and team event. Stop being crazy busy and start driving profitability, productivity, and accountability.
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Monday, April 01, 2019
Friday, March 29, 2019
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Yoga for the Mind
Why is it that despite the face we’ve been told from childhood to pay attention, we still haven’t figured it out? It’s not that we aren’t smart. It’s that so many other things are constantly competing for our attention, and all the competition leads to endless distractions and interruptions.
We must commit to change our focus, our habits, and our brain in order to pay attention to what matters and make your attention pay.
We need to be intentional, mindful, with who gets our attention and we must be productive in what gets our attention too.
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In order to change our brain’s way of thinking about attention, we need to stop some of our behaviors. It may feel uncomfortable – like yoga for the mind – to stretch our minds to embrace something unfamiliar and different than what we’ve become accustomed. Like building muscle, it takes practice, routine, and habit. Like yoga for your mind, intentional attention is the deliberate act, daily practice, and commitment to following through with the stretches that make us grow. It’s so worth it.
Are you ready to come to the mat every day, ready to work with the body and mind we have, to get the strength we need to do great things?
Let’s truly pay attention to what matters so we can be happier in our relationships, more fulfilled in the work we do, and safe inter the world we have created. This way we can create meaning, create success, and create a legacy.
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