“What we give our attention to, grows.” —Kenneth H. Blanchard
Pay Attention!
“Pay attention!”
When was the last time you heard that phrase?
“Pay attention!” We say and hear it all the time. I find this phrase very curious. Usually it is said when something important is about to happen.
Interesting, whoever says “pay attention” is requesting your undivided focus. They are asking you to give the next few moments of your time.
They are literally asking you to pay them your attention.
“Pay attention!”
This is a transaction. Every moment of your life, you are paying your attention to something or someone. Once you give your attention, it is gone.
Your attention is a non-refundable transaction.
Consider you are sitting in a college classroom. You are paying good money to the college in return for an education. Occasionally while you are in the class, you find yourself in conversation with a friend. In this case you are paying money for the instruction, but you are paying your attention to your friend.
Alternatively, imagine you’re at a restaurant and notice a couple across the room, clearly on a date. As you glance over, you realize they are both sitting there scrolling on their phones. They are spending their time and money to be at the restaurant with each other enjoying a meal, but they are spending their attention on their phone.
I like to think of my attention in terms of a financial transaction. Each minute of the day I have one Attention Dollar use as I see fit. I can either spend it or invest it. Like cash, once I have spent it, it’s gone. Conversely, if I invest it I can expect to see a return. The more I invest the more it compounds returns. Let me show how this works.
A typical morning
We’ll walk through a typical morning of mine. First, my alarm sounds at 5:30 and I am presented by a choice. I can snooze for a while or I can get up. If I snooze, I am spending my Attention Dollars on sleeping. If I get up I am then presented with a choice: I can do my workout or I can check email and my social feeds.
In most instances, the easiest option is to spend your attention on something. The difficult choice is making an investment with your attention.
If I choose to workout, I am investing my attention in my physical fitness. Say I spent 45 minutes on a run. Those 45 minutes are now invested in two ways: first in the form of my ability as a runner, and second in the form of mental discipline and identity as a runner.
Then comes time for breakfast. Again I have a choice: I can eat alone while reading the news or checking my social feeds, or I can spend time with my family, investing in my relationships with them. Relationships grow when they are given attention, and starve when they are not. The news and social feeds don’t care either way—they will always be there.
The table below outlines a few more examples of the choices we make every day with respect to spending or investing our attention.
| Spending Attention Dollars | Investing Attention Dollars | Investment |
| Snoozing my alarm and sleeping in | Getting up working out | Physical fitness and discipline |
| Scrolling through Facebook at breakfast | Conversing with family during breakfast | Relationships |
| Listening to music on my run or commute to work | Listening to an audiobook or podcast | Knowledge |
| Procrastinating work with some distraction | Putting solid time into an important project | Value, quality and quantity of work |
| Checking email every 10 minutes | Checking email at purposeful intervals throughout the day | Productivity habits and clarity of mind |
| Watching golf on TV | Playing a round of golf | Entertainment, skill as a golfer |
| Playing a video game | Playing cards or a board game with your family | Relationships, entertainment |
| Watching a TV show | Reading a few chapters of a book | Knowledge |
| Scrolling through an endless social media feed | Reading an interesting article | Specific knowledge, diversity of thought, expanded horizons |
Why does this matter?
“We are what we give our attention to.” —Michael Bungay Stanier
The World Economic Forum suggests that the top skills required for the workplace by 2025 include analytical thinking, complex problem-solving, and active learning, among others. Increasingly, low-skill jobs are being replaced by occupations that are cognitive in nature [1][2]. As a people, we have increasingly become dependent on technology in every industry.
This all comes at a time where our youth (and our not-so-youthful) are spending more and more time wasting time. The Washington Post says that over the last decade, the average American spends 2 hours and 50 minutes in front of the TV every day. COVID-19 has added fuel to the fire, with more people working from home and fewer recreational opportunities outside of the house. According to Eyesafe.com, in March 2020 the total screen time among adults has soared in excess of 13 hours per day, half of it being TV and gaming.
Here is the dichotomy: the workplace requires skills centered around active thinking, while as a society we are spending inordinate amounts of time in a receptive state of mind. I call this the Attention Gap. The skills we need to tackle the challenges of the 21st century are not found while scrolling Instagram.
What is the answer?
Simply being aware that the Attention Gap exists puts you ahead of the game. When deciding what to do with some free time, think in terms of spending your Attention Dollars. Maybe you need to fill your entertainment account. Possibly, you should work on a project you’ve been putting off. Assuredly, you need to ensure you are spending enough time learning, reading, and increasing your vocational skills.
| Required by the workplace [3] | Reality |
| Analytical Thinking | Thinking driven Facebook or other social feed |
| Technology Design and Programing | Playing Fortnite and other video games |
| Stress Tolerance | Bingeing the latest Netflix show |
| Originality and Initiative | Confirmation bias machine (Social media feeds) |
| Reasoning and Problem Solving | What show should I watch tonight? |
7 ways to reduce the Attention Gap in your own life:
-Replace 30 minutes of Netflix with 30 minutes reading a book each day
-Play fewer video games. Instead, play more board games or card games with family and friends
-Reduce or completely cut out the use of social media
-Spend less time on news websites (instead, join an email list with a digest of top headlines)
-Listen to podcasts instead of music
-Exercise and do chores without your headphones in every once in a while
-Spend more time exercising—an active body promotes and active mind
4 ways to reduce the Attention Gap in the lives of the people you care about:
-Engage in deeper conversations by asking more questions
-Join or start a book club with some friends
-Do a 30 day social media detox challenge with your friends [4][5]
-Share your favorite podcasts and books
Conclusion
Your attention is your most valuable resource. It is your most powerful weapon. Think in terms of spending Attention Dollars as you go throughout the day. You have a choice every single second of the day: you can spend your Dollars on the easiest thing, or you can invest your Attention Dollars.
If you are in a relationship, invest those Attention Dollars into that relationship. If you are a parent, invest those Dollars into your relationship with your kids. If you have a spiritual faith, invest your Dollars into deepening your faith. Make the decision to invest your time and attention wisely. Start small. Read for 10 minutes before going to bed to invest in your knowledge bank. Go for a 15 minute walk or run to invest in your physical wellness. Read your child a book or play a game with them. The compounding effect of investing your Attention Dollars consistently can be enormous. Likewise, the long-term effect of spending your Attention Dollars on activities that don’t produce positive results will stack up.
What do you value?
Whatever your answer is, that is where you should begin investing your Attention Dollars.
