We live in an age of distraction. Every moment we are distracted by more than one object; Facebook, twitter, smartphone, IM, email and hundreds of other technologies are constantly seeking our attention.
It is incredibly hard to focus and pay attention to anything for a longer period of time. We are checking our devices every now and then and getting nothing done.
Many years ago Herbert Simon rightly warned, "what information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it."
This sole problem of constant distraction has given birth of an entirely new industry: the mindfulness industry. Big corporations like Google, IBM, Facebook are investing heavily in designing mindful workspaces and training their employees in mindfulness. There has to be something in it.
Distraction kills our productivity. It reduces our capacity to focus and deliver good work. It is important for us to master distraction and gain the capacity of focus in order to perform at our best.
Good folks of Funders and Founders, put together a wonderful infographic around the idea of focus and how one could tackle distraction which might help you to find focus and get things done.
