The average knowledge worker switches tasks every three minutes, and, once distracted, a worker takes nearly a half-hour to resume the original task, according to Gloria Mark, a leader in the new field of “interruption science” writes Marci Alboher for the New York Times.
In this very short article, Maggie Jackson who has been invited by Marci Alboher offered her view points on distractions at work and how we can arrive at what she calls a “renaissance of attention.”
According to Maggie, the first step is to learn to speak a language of attention. The exciting news is that the enigma of attention has just begun to be mapped, tracked and decoded by neuroscientists who now consider attention to be a trio of skills: focus, awareness and so-called executive attention.
Think of it this way: You can be “aware” that you’re in a beautiful garden and then you can “focus” on an individual flower. The last piece, “executive attention,” is the ability to plan and make decisions.
Back to how I can apply these very short piece of advice in my daily life. I need to practice to be attentive to my works, in this case research. I also see prayer as a channel for me to concentrate and focus, some of you might want to call it meditation.
When I really need to focus on a particular work, I will just stop hopscotching distractedly through the Internet, switching off my mobile phone, pray for a moment, start collecting my mind and find the time and space to focus.
Let’s focus!
4 comments ↓
Haha, looks like your focusing efforts have paid off nicely. Your supervisor didn’t screw you up and that’s good news indeed.! =)
I agree! Many people today claim they can do ‘multitasking’ but the work all messed up! Focus! Concentrate! Anything that’s worth doing is worth doing well!
ColourfulWorld,
Lots of hardwork ahead. Still have several huge slabs to cast and then to test. Am currently working on the analysis and a conference paper. Really hope to get things done by end of this year, Insya Allah.
suituapui,
Multitasking, how I missed that word. I used to multitask but now I have learned to settle one thing at a time, all thanks to the wonderful advice of Dale Carnegie.
“Anything that’s worth doing is worth doing well!” This is a good quote from you, I will keep it in my heart.
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