In other words, roughly how much of your time do you spend deliberately and with intention, deciding in advance what you want to do and when you’ll do it?

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.

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

(One of the most underrated skills: letting other people finish their sentences before starting yours.)

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.

Becoming aware of what you’re thinking about is one of the best practices for managing your attention. The more you notice what’s occupying your attentional space, the faster you can get back on track when your mind begins to wander, which it does a remarkable 47 percent of the time.

Maintaining a distractions list as you read will capture the important things that float to the surface of your consciousness. Writing them down to make sure they don’t slip through the cracks will let you refocus on the task at hand.

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?

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