“Attention fragmentation is the worst it’s ever been. We’re distracted, scattered, pulled in a thousand directions. If we don’t fix it, we’re toast as workers, as learners, as humans.” That video intro by New York Times bestselling author Daniel Pink got my undivided attention. I felt both seen and called out at the same time.
In this video, Pink shared five simple, but not easy, steps you (and I) can take to improve our ability to pay attention.
I’ve heard it said this is an attention economy and that attention often has more value (and is harder to get) than money or time, which is what we usually measure.
You may think that you can’t do what Pink suggests, but you can probably do more of these than you think – especially if you are struggling to work on a big project that could have a huge payoff.
If you can make yourself do it, you’ll find that turning off all notifications and leaving your phone in another room, even for a short period of time, is a game changer.
Pink says, “Think of your brain like a toddler. It melts down if you don’t give it snacks and naps. And ignoring that fact won’t make you heroic. It’ll just make you cranky and unproductive.”
Exactly.
From the YouTube video description:
In this video, I break down the growing crisis of attention fragmentation and why reclaiming your focus has never mattered more. I’ve spent years studying how we work, learn, and think, and I can tell you this: your attention isn’t broken beyond repair. But it is being pulled in more directions than ever.
I share the simple, science-backed steps I personally rely on to stay focused long enough to write seven books, even in a world built to distract us. You’ll learn how to set a true attention baseline, redesign your environment so it stops hijacking your mind, use rituals to signal your brain it’s time to work, take breaks the right way so you don’t burn out, and make a small mindset shift that helped me finish my last book when I was completely stuck.
If you’ve been feeling scattered, distracted, or constantly interrupted, this video will give you a clear, practical path to rebuild your focus one small step at a time.
Photo by Dimitra Peppa on Unsplash
