Attention conservation
Think carefully about what you choose to focus on. (Image by Javier Rodriguez)
Our most precious resources include not just our time and energy, but also our attention.
I have observed that attention is finite. I see that in my students and clients, and I see it in myself over the course of a typical day. Attention gets used up, and we need to rest to replenish it.
But to the degree that we can focus, we can conserve our attention in order to accomplish what matters most.
In the image below, a flashlight is trained upon a page of sheet music. It's illuminating most of the page, dimly.
Next, see what happens when we move the flashlight closer to the page:
The beam of light gets brighter -- and smaller. The flashlight bulb puts out a consistent amount of light, so as it covers a smaller area, it is more highly concentrated.
Our attention works the same way. It's called concentration, get it? The more focused we are, the more attention we are giving to the task at hand, making us more effective.
If we want to really excel at something, we need to treat our attention like that beam of light. We need to view it as a precious resource that might be wasted if scattered too widely but can also be highly effective when deployed with intention. We need to block out distractions and focus completely on the one thing we are trying to accomplish (or even part of one thing, which we would do if we were going to learn the Scott Joplin piece above).
This may seem obvious, but many of us do not behave in a way that reflects an understanding of this concept. For example, the typical pianist starts at the beginning of a piece of music and hacks through it until it's over or until they run out of steam, whichever comes first. And then — horrors! — they might just go back to the top and try again. Meanwhile, they’re getting frustrated and conclude that they just don’t have the talent or aptitude.
A better approach would be for the musician to aim all of their precious attention at a tiny section and polish it until it shines. When they’re doing this right, they will be totally exhausted well before they learn the whole page. That’s normal. The attention has been used up in service of learning the smaller section well. The learner can build their reserves back up by taking a break.
It's okay for us (and our kids) to do a million different activities, if that's what we enjoy. But if we want to go deeper and achieve more, we may actually have to do less.
Even if we don't choose to do less, it helps to be aware of the trade-off and embrace it. It’s a shame to spread our attention everywhere, and then be disappointed in ourselves when we aren't able to achieve amazing results. We need to recognize that we are working with limited resources of time and attention, and we need to use these resources wisely. If we don’t like the results we are getting, we can make a change. We can train our attention just like a beam of light on the work we are doing and enjoy a more dramatic impact on a smaller area.
