To Control Your Life, Control What You Pay Attention To

Your attention determines the experiences you have, and the experiences you have determine the life you live. Or said another way: you must control your attention to control your life.

Attention Management
To be consistently productive and manage stress better, we must strengthen our skill in attention management.

Attention management is the practice of controlling distractions, being present in the moment, finding flow, and maximizing focus so that you can unleash your genius. It’s about being intentional instead of reactive. It is the ability to recognize when your attention is being stolen (or has the potential to be stolen) and to instead keep it focused on the activities you choose. Rather than allowing distractions to derail you, you choose where you direct your attention at any given moment, based on an understanding of your priorities and goals.

Better attention management leads to improved productivity, but it’s about much more than checking things off a to-do list.

Deliberately Choosing What You Attend To

First, control external factors:

Control your Technology
Control your Environment
So you must also learn to control internal factors:

Control your Behaviour
Control your Thought
Practising attention management will not eliminate distractions from your day. But as you start to recognize when you become distracted, and build your “attention muscle” through habits like those above, you’ll start to reclaim your life and devote more of yourself to what’s really important to you. Don’t allow distraction to derail your aspirations and intentions. Instead, control your attention to control your life.

Source: Maura Thomas