The second way that our attention is limited is that after focusing on something, we can hold only a small amount of information in our short-term memory.

First, there’s a finite limit to how many things we can focus on.

MIND YOUR ENVIRONMENT Look up and around you: Where are you reading this book? How likely are you to be distracted or interrupted as you read, and is there a place you could go to avoid those distractions? Or are you reading in an environment where you don’t have much control, such as on the train or the subway?

While falling into autopilot mode can help us keep up the pace of work and life, attention is our most limited and constrained resource. The more we can manage our attention with intention, the more focused, productive, and creative we become.

Without selective interest, experience is utter chaos. —William James Your focus determines your reality. —Qui-Gon Jinn, Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace

First, there’s a finite limit to how many things we can focus on.

Your focus determines your reality. —Qui-Gon Jinn, Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace

This is the problem with managing your attention on autopilot mode. The most urgent and stimulating things in your environment are rarely the most significant.

After consuming one of those products, will you be happy with how you invested your time and attention? Just as you are what you eat, you are what you pay attention to.