Staying focused in the world of endless emails and notifications from social networks is a real struggle with yourself. We usually consider deep focused attention to be a victory in it. But it has other facets. For example, the creativity that arises from boredom, the comfort that meaningless routine actions give us, or the satisfaction that we feel from completing a difficult frightening task.
The author of the book reflects on this G. Mark. Attention Span: Finding Focus for a Fulfilling Life "Concentration of attention: finding a focus for a full life," psychologist and professor of computer science at the University of California at Irvine Gloria Mark. She believes that attention has two dimensions. The first is how difficult it is for us to do something, the second is how involved we are in the process.
Deep attention implies a high level of complexity and involvement. At the same time, we can consider some task difficult, but not be involved in it, and vice versa. Depending on the ratio of components, Gloria Mark identifies four types of attention.
When we talk about intense productive work, we most often mean this type. With concentrated attention, we are completely absorbed in some business, and it requires some effort from us, challenging our knowledge and skills. For example, we are assembling furniture or completing an important project.
According to Gloria Mark, we spend almost the entire working day Feeling distracted? You need to understand the 4 types of attention / Fast Company in concentrated attention. But its "schedule" is constantly changing: rises alternate with recessions, and it usually reaches its peak at 11:00 and 15:00.
This type is accompanied by motivation and creativity. It is from the state of concentrated attention that we can get into the state of flow, when we are completely immersed in work, forget about time and use our skills in the optimal way.
With this type of attention, we are involved in the task, but we consider it not difficult, but rather routine and automatic. For example, when we check social networks or play time killer on the phone.
Many people are used to considering such activities meaningless, but they can be very useful if used strategically. Mechanical attention allows us to replenish resources by maintaining brain activity without much effort and energy expenditure.
This type of attention, like concentrated attention, has a certain rhythm. It is activated by 9:00 and persists until about 14:00.
We encounter this type when what we do is neither difficult nor exciting, so we get bored. For example, when we quickly switch TV channels or tabs in the browser and do not even have time to understand what we see on the screen, because absolutely nothing "catches" us.
With unfocused attention, we perceive the passage of time much more acutely. Every minute lasts forever for us, and all we can do is think when it will end. That's because we don't use our cognitive resources. Our brain is actively working, but we have nowhere to put this energy.
Nevertheless, this type of attention (it usually increases around 13:00) can be turned to your advantage. For example, if we are trying to dispel boredom and find a new interesting activity, then we move from unfocused attention to focused.
This type of attention occurs when a high level of complexity of what we are doing is combined with a lack of involvement. The task before us is so difficult and unpleasant that we cannot bring ourselves to do it in any way.
Gloria Mark describes There Are 4 Different Types of Attention, and Understanding Them All Can Help You Improve Your Focus / Well+Good this type of attention is like the feelings of a programmer who is struggling to fix a bug and does not find a solution. At such moments it seems that we are banging our heads against the wall, but we are unable to break through it and move forward. At the same time, it is also impossible to abandon the task — we are constrained by a strict deadline, management requirements or other obligations.
Forced attention consumes a lot of energy and cognitive resources, so we try to avoid it at all costs.
No matter how valuable focused attention is, it requires significant cognitive resources and a lot of energy. Unfortunately, our reserves of both are limited, so it will not be possible to stay focused for a long time.
Nevertheless, it is quite possible to develop the ability to concentrate and improve productivity. To do this, you need to find a way to regularly switch between focused and mechanical attention. If you use the first type throughout the day, it will quickly "devour" all available resources. The second type requires much less of them, the third — defocused — even less, and the fourth — forced — on the contrary, more.That is why it is better to use mechanical attention to restore strength. It does not take away resources, maintains a high level of engagement and brings satisfaction. You can play simple games on your phone, go for a walk or find any other easy, even meaningless activity that will allow you to relax from focused attention. After the break, it will be easier to return to a focused state and continue serious work.
Learning to manage your attention and control the reserves of internal resources is incredibly important. This will help you notice the decline in strength in time and switch to the desired mode in order to recover, have more time, maintain productivity and avoid burnout.
