Learning to give your undivided attention in the digital era
In the last years, I have spent a lot of time training myself to pay attention to things. It’s interesting to see how the process evolves and I would like to share something of it with you — how I manage to give things more attention in the midst of so many distractions.
To start with, perhaps it would be a good idea to reflect on our everyday distractions and digressions. When our minds wander, it means that we are not concentrating properly and this can affect what we are doing. Distractions can be caused by external factors or they can be internal, when we start thinking about something else.
I work at home and I use a number of tools to control external distractions, so I think that this is a challenge I have overcome. I switch off my cell phone notifications, and this means I don’t have everyone yelling in my ear with the latest thing from the internet. I also have well-established routines to help me keep calm and get things finished. I work very well with the help of music, especially outside my house where it’s very noisy, and I find I am able to ignore what’s happening out there.
By the way, if you also enjoy listening to music while you work, try my playlists on Spotify.
We live in a very distracting world. Modern life awakens our most primitive instincts. It’s full of meetings, traffic jams, noise, messages pouring in, bad news, pressure, competition. It really is a lot to cope with and the stress can get very bad. But strange as it may seem, handling all this volume is much easier than controlling our internal distractions. That little nagging voice inside telling us that everything’s got to be done perfectly, by yesterday.
Have you heard that little voice?
The more distracted we are, the less we concentrate, and the slower we work. So a wandering mind is not good for our happiness or wellbeing. The digital organization can be a big help in controlling these distractions since a lot of them come from the internet.
Now I want to take this a little further and tell you about what I’ve been doing during the year to achieve undivided attention in this digital era with all its noise and rush.
What does undivided attention actually mean?
Undivided Attention is the process of concentrating on what you are experiencing at this very moment, and you can achieve it through meditation and other types of training. This technique, or lifestyle, helps us attain self-knowledge and wisdom, which can make us free and stop us from suffering when things are difficult.
When we give undivided attention, we can see how we react to things in life and face up to challenges differently, at home, at work, in our relationships. It is extremely important, and it’s a great help in combating symptoms of stress and anxiety.
To achieve undivided attention, here is what I do:
Daily meditation
I meditate for at least 20 minutes each morning. I no longer need a guide for this, but when I started I used the Headspace app a lot. Now I use Timeless on my Apple Watch, to control the time I spend. To find out more about meditation and productivity, I recommend this video from the Produtividade na Verdade [Productivity in fact] series.
Pit Stops
I make pit stops of at least 10 minutes during my daily activities. It could be to make myself a snack, to look out of the window, to think about my breathing or just to drink a cup of tea and enjoy the scent and the warmth of the cup.
Listen to people
I listen carefully to what people are saying and I am one of those who like to look them in the eye. When I have a conversation I pay attention to how I should interact, because I want to be sure whether it is my ego or my empathy that is in play. I watch when I feel the desire to contribute and whether anything makes me uncomfortable. It’s an exercise that has made me grow a great deal as a person. And ah! I have to mention that I don’t let my cell phone interrupt conversations.
Practice Yoga
I do a quick 30-minute sequence if possible at least three times a week, even when I am on a trip. During the routine I pay attention to what my body is telling me, tense muscles, pain, breathing. I don’t try and change anything, just observe and continue the routine.
Keep a journal
At the end of the day, I put aside a few minutes to jot down what I’m feeling. I write about how my day has been. Whether I am satisfied, agitated, stressed, or anxious. I don’t try to change anything, I just listen to my feelings and record them.
Make Digital Organization work
Since many distractions are online and the virtual environment raises so many questions and makes me anxious, I really have to practice what I preach. The digital organization has been a great help to me in being able to apply undivided attention because it has made room for what really matters.
All this helps me to pay attention, to relax and not to judge what’s going on. These last weeks of the year bring a million things to do, and my mind has been more agitated than ever. It is precisely at these moments that I need to practice ways of calming my mind and my heart.
And what about you? What do you do to concentrate when the world is rushing by?
