by Maura Thomas and Shawn Thomas
Although we recognize the pitfalls of using artificial intelligence to power our work, we are also excited about the potential it provides to increase productivity in a variety of ways. These include automating routine tasks, gathering and organizing information, optimizing decision-making processes, generating ideas, and personalizing workplace experiences. We’re already beginning to see data showing the ways AI can increase productivity and free people to do more complex and interesting work.
But, while we’re excited about the potential of AI, we’re even bigger fans of human intelligence. Regardless of the ultimate impact of AI, the human mind will continue to be the most valuable tool that we use at work each day.
We expect human insight, creativity, problem-solving ability, empathy, adaptability, critical thinking, collaboration, intuition, and many other human capabilities to continue to serve as the most significant drivers of accomplishment and success.
Artificial intelligence will have positive effects for individuals and businesses, but we don’t think it will help us realize the true potential of human intelligence at work. For that to be the case, we need to learn not only how to make the best use of the digital tools that are available to us, we also have to learn to make the best use of our own minds. And this is not something that is taught in schools or at work.
Attention is the Gateway to Human Intelligence
To capitalize on the potential of human intelligence, we need the ability to marshal our unique mental strengths in an increasingly dynamic and distracting world. The human mind is the most important tool that information workers bring to work every day, but we also must remember that:
- Our brain power depletes throughout the day, so we must use it wisely to ensure our success.
- The muscle we use to manage this important resource is our attention.
Attention acts as a filter through which we access our mental assets, including creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. When our attention is fragmented, we cannot fully muster these resources. To make matters worse, when we allow others to hijack our attention, we are not investing our attention in the service of our most significant results.
Think of your attention as a spotlight. Where you direct that light determines what gets illuminated. You have control over where that spotlight shines. You get to decide what deserves access to your mental capabilities and what you should relegate to the background.
One way we define attention management is the ability to choose where you direct your attention in any given moment.
The Threat of Distraction
We really wish this were an easy thing to do. But, the reality is that others recognize the high value of gaining our attention and directing it to their own ends.
In truth, we often distract ourselves, preferring, for example, to be entertained, to socialize, or to avoid stress or boredom than to stick with the task at hand. We humans distract ourselves with side hustles, conversations, ruminating about personal problems, reading the news or social media, browsing the internet, or any of the seemingly infinite ways to just do “something else.”
Modern information workers are especially vulnerable to interruptions in the typical workplace. As Maura wrote in one of her articles for Harvard Business Review, maintaining focus has become increasingly difficult due to a constant barrage of emails, chats, texts, social media posts, and spontaneous conversations.This continuous state of distraction not only reduces productivity but also increases stress levels, interfering with our well-being and our personal lives, and making it difficult for us to achieve what’s most important.
Distractions are the biggest threat to individual and organizational success. Anything that pulls our attention—and as a result, our mental resources—away from the task at hand carries a significant cost for individuals and organizations.
This cost shows up on both sides of the productivity equation, increasing the time and effort required to get things done, and reducing the value of products and services through errors and extended timelines.
The Shift from Time Management to Attention Management
Unfortunately, when people go looking to resolve their productivity problems, they typically start with a search for time management solutions. But not having enough time is not the challenge we think it is. While our goals and ambitions may be big, we generally have the time we need to be successful. In an era dominated by digital distractions, where we switch what we’re doing every minute or two, the traditional go-to concept of “time management” is losing its relevance.
We’ve all had days that end with the thought, “I was busy all day and somehow I feel like I got nothing done!” And, hopefully, some days that end with, “That was such a good day—I got so much done!” In each case, you had the same amount of time in the day: 24 hours.
If we could magically give you 26 or 28 hours in the day, but you still spent many of those hours switching what you were doing every minute or two, you wouldn’t get any more done, and it wouldn’t get done any better. You simply can’t solve distraction and disorganization problems with a “time” solution.
These days, our biggest challenge is not that we don’t have enough time. It’s that we have too many distractions, inflicted both by ourselves and others, causing wasted time and effort.
The antidote to our productivity problem is not better management of time, but more effective management of attention.
It’s time for us to stop looking for time management solutions and, instead, to start learning how to master management of our own attention.
What is Attention Management?
Contrary to what most people think, Attention Management is not just about sustaining focus for extended periods of time. That is an important part of it, but it’s just a part.
Attention Management is about being in control of the metaphorical “spotlight” mentioned above. It’s about choosing where and for how long we direct our attention in any given moment.
Consider the fact that, depending on the work a person is doing in a given moment, it may be perfectly reasonable for them to be distractible. Think of a professor’s office hours. During a certain period of time on certain days of the week, they tell their students, “You can come in and get my help with questions or problems at these times and on these days.” The same may be true for leaders who leave the door open to interruptions at different points in time to help their teams answer questions and solve problems.
The key factor in both cases is that the professors and leaders choose when to allow the interruptions, which means they will be switching from person to person, topic to topic, as they field the problems. But they are in control of when they allow themselves to be rapidly task switching, and they avoid doing work that requires sustained attention during those times.
Attention Management involves a collection of behaviors, including awareness, focus, concentration, mindfulness, presence, flow, and other “brain states,” like mind wandering. The ultimate payoff of practicing attention management is the developed ability to:
- Recognize the brain state you’re in at any given moment.
- Decide if it will offer you the best results for the given task or situation.
- Consciously shift to a more effective state of mind when required.
People who master attention management have the ability, and the integrity, to dedicate their attention to the things they’ve agreed to do. They get things done efficiently and with fewer errors. They are empowered to end their work days thinking: “That was such a good day—I got so much done!”
The Right Path to Productivity
It’s time that we put time management to rest. Time management has lost its relevance. Attention Management is one of the most powerful ways to accomplish more with less stress in the time we have. And when we practice attention management, it allows us to fully muster the human qualities that make us who we are—the right person for the job, the loving and attentive partner, parent, friend, and the smart, creative, innovative colleague or team member.
It’s time to make sure we put human intelligence at the peak of the “contribution mountain.” AI is going to add a tremendous amount of value, but human intelligence will drive the development and use of AI for the foreseeable future.
Rather than asking ourselves whether AI will replace humans in the future workplace, the question should be, how can people most effectively partner with AI to create new opportunities for humans in the future workplace?
It’s time to place a premium on what we firmly believe is the single greatest skill of the 21st century: attention management. Not only is attention the gateway to our cognition, it’s also the gateway to our experiences—the things we pay attention to determine the experiences we have, and the experiences we have ultimately determine the quality of our lives.
Every moment could be one that changes your life forever, changes someone else’s life, or creates a memory that stays with you forever—but only if you are fully present for it.
The way we see it, if you aren’t in control of your attention, you aren’t in control of your life.
Want To Learn To Manage Your Attention?
The foundation of the proprietary Empowered Productivity System is Attention Management, and we offer Empowered Productivity training for individuals and teams. This training will help you master the art of managing your attention.
Individual Training
Maura’s self-paced, online Empowered Productivity training will put you back in the driver’s seat of your life and your work. Watch the bite-sized videos and do the exercises. Within just a week, you will begin to unleash your genius and accomplish more with far less stress.
Team Training
We provide in-person, virtual, and online on-demand training solutions, as well as group and individual coaching. Through an initial consulting call with key leadership, we customize each training package to meet the unique needs of the organization or team. Reach out here to schedule a free discovery call. We look forward to helping you and your team conquer distraction and procrastination in the service of achieving your most significant results.
