Your Brain is Just a Muscle

Do I have your attention? Do you think I can keep it?

Kolbe says that we often focus on the things that make us happy and ignore other responsibilities of life. Similarly, while your Unique Ability might give you energy-life dictates what to do in those less than unique categories.

Clay Johnson at InfoVegan.com says writers need to work on managing attention instead of managing information. He offers some drastic measures you can take if you find you are just not able to concentrate. We're quick to blame our environment for deviant behaviours, but Johnson says “It is as much Twitter’s fault that you have a short attention span as it is your closet’s fault it doesn’t have any running shoes in it.”

The onus falls on us to follow through on things we consider to be important.

One of his tips on how to train your brain:

The Pomodoro Technique: this is one we employ around Infomatix. With a 7 Quickstart, Steve, gets distracted easily. But as soon as he implemented the Pomodoro Technique, he became more productive without getting too off-track. It helped him to stay focused on what's really important!

Begin by setting a timer for your desired amount of concentration time. On the beep, set it again for a short break. Then back to work on the next. A simple solution that leads to great results!

The Pomodoro Technique website has a lot of great resources from an e-book to cheat sheets for getting started. The taglines are “Eliminate the anxiety of time” and “Enhance focus and concentration.”

Check it out!