Forget Time Management, You Need Attention Management
Time management has been thought of to be the key to becoming an effective and productive human being. It’s believed if you can understand where your time is going then you can manage it to use your effort and time efficiently.
If you know exactly how much time it should take to get all your morning emails written and sent, then you’ll have a few more moments to get a head start on the next task.
I’ve worked in a corporate office where I had a co-worker attempt to use time management as a way to do more in a day. He collected data of where all his time was going. He would calculate exactly how much time it should take to send off emails, listen to the voicemails, return calls, and other average daily tasks. His goal was to find more time to be productive. He started taking shorter breaks and even working through his scheduled lunch for the sake of “efficiency”.
However, when group meetings were held, and individual projects or assignments were being discussed this co-worker seemed to have the same output as the rest of us. He did not have any dramatic increase in productivity that would set him apart from the group, who were not using time management strategies.
24 Hours in a Day
There are and will always be 24 hours in the day. Time management is the act of becoming aware of where exactly those 24 hours are spent. When you start using time management strategies as a tool to improve your performance, what you are really doing is finding out how much time and where your time is being “wasted.”
When you look at your typical day and see that you had two 15-minute breaks and a half an hour for lunch, it might look like you’ve burned a whole hour doing nothing. Time management wisdom might suggest that this time would be better used elsewhere. This may cause you to take the step to work through those periods of time to be productive, however you may not receive any benefit from it like my dear co-worker.
A secondary issue with time management is that it is commonly used to predict how long a task should take as a method to complete goals more regularly.
For example, you set 15 minutes at the beginning of the workday to read, reply, and clear your email inbox. However, as you start you find that some emails require a more thoughtful response than a quick sentence or two. Additionally, two more emails have arrived as you complete the first response. Depending on your personal response to this situation, the day could be entirely thrown off.
You can keep to the original task of clearing all the emails and end up taking a half an hour instead of the outlined 15 minutes. Creating a significant shift in your carefully planned day. Or you can stop mid-email when those 15 minutes are up and move on to the next scheduled task. Leaving those unfinished thoughts floating around in your mind.
If you continue with the emails, you may think you wasted 15 more minutes than necessary. If you left the task unfinished, you’ll likely be distracted in the next project. Either way your efficiency and productivity suffer.
Managing Attention Brings Greater Value
Organizational psychologist, Dr. Adam Grant defines attention management as:
The art of focusing on getting things done for the right reasons, in the right places and at the right moments.
Notice that the beginning of the definition highlights the motivation behind getting the task done, “getting things done for the right reasons”. Productivity is not solved by being more efficient, rather it’s more important to understand the underlying motivation. A person who is naturally drawn to a task will sustain more effort than a person who has no interest in said task. If you want to be more productive for the sake of productivity, then you rely on willpower to get you there. But if you know exactly why you’re doing your doing your task and who you’re doing it for, you will be naturally energized to take on the project. The personal connection to the task is where you will place your effort and attention.
Your attention is valuable. Unfortunately, humans are notoriously bad at multitasking. Research has shown that our brains are not as good at switching between tasks as we think we are. When working on two tasks at the same time, you’re quickly shifting your attention from one to the other rather than both tasks simultaneously. In doing this quick shift, it is more difficult to tune out distractions which will interfere with your productivity.
Rather than analyzing time, attention management also involves being intentional about the timing.
Time management suggests you eliminate wasted time on distractions; however, attention management understands that distractions are a natural part of any process. Rather than trying to block out all distractions to use all the time available to you, attention managements suggests that you are thoughtful in the timing of those distractions.
A powerful distraction for me is my phone; the notifications that light up the screen or the number in the corner red bubble begging for me to click on it. As soon as I pick up my phone my attention has dramatically shifted. I fall into a black hole of scrolling on an endless wheel of unnecessary posts. Instead of never picking up my phone or not using it at all during the day, I create a simple mental rule. I can use my phone to make calls, check my to-do list, track my water intake, and share posts if I must. But browsing social media and reading emails can be done at another time, like at lunch or the end of the day when work is over.
This plan allows for my attention to be where it needs to be while recognizing that there will be an opportunity for my attention to get momentarily lost in the distractions.
If you’re able to sustain your attention to a specific task you are much more likely to achieve the state of flow.
Flow
Flow is a state of being completely absorbed into a challenging yet achievable task. Flow is characterized as an optimal performance state where an individual’s work seems to flow out without much effort.
A common example of flow can be seen in performers in sport and art. It can be seen in the athlete who seems to be completely dialed into the game, reading the plays before they happen, making adjustments, and playing at a higher level. Or the artist who is so involved in a painting that the next moment she looks up the day is almost done.
Flow occurs in work as well. For example, when I am writing certain distractions melt away and I am completing absorbed by the task of getting my thoughts through the keyboard and on to the page as quickly as possible. My attention is completely on my current task which allows for to put my best work forward.
Flow is a desired state for top performers. It is where the creative and new solutions can be identified. A state that improves well-being and personal satisfaction in your work. However, flow can be spontaneous and at times elusive. You can intentionally create an environment for flow, but you cannot force yourself in to flow.
Time management works against flow by placing restrictions on how much time should be spent on certain projects. If I only allowed myself to write for 30 minutes before I needed to get working on the next project, it will be very unlikely in that time frame I will get in the groove before time is up.
However, attention management allows the space for flow to occur. If I know that today I want to place my attention on writing to complete this piece, then I sit down in front of my laptop. Knowing that motivation is key to attention management, I reflect on what is my motivation to write about it. The reasons that come to mind begin with learning how to improve my own performance, improve my ability to coach by explaining it to others, and challenging myself to put everything together into a cohesive piece. These ideas excite me, and I am naturally pulled into the direction of starting my research and note taking. Flow is not too far behind.
Be Intentional
Getting more done does not come from knowing exactly where every minute is spent but rather from where you place your attention. Notice what activities draw your attention. You will be much more efficient and productive in areas where you can sustain your attention.
Reflect on the motivations you have for upcoming tasks. Identify a connection in what benefits your work provides, who you’re doing it for, and how it improves your quality of life. This will spark motivation to generate the attention management necessary.
Recognize your flow state. Recall when you have felt in flow. Think of times where time seemed to pass without you noticing it. An event where you felt completely involved with the task that you didn’t notice distractions going on around you. Where the task was challenging, yet almost felt effortless. Identify the timing, situation, and tasks of these past flow states. Recreate those elements to increase your likelihood of achieving flow in the future.
Time management places emphasis on where and how time is spent. This often leads to feelings of guilt and worry over wasted time. Whereas, attention management recognizes the value of using your attention wisely to complete tasks successfully.
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