Focus & Attention

It’s widely believed that 90-95% of the thoughts people experience are repeated thoughts from the previous day. And many of those repeated thoughts are unhealthy ones. I believe this repetition occurs when we become unaware of our attention’s whereabouts. When left unchecked, our attention gravitates towards the dark place in our mind where bad tho... See more

Perhaps that is why so many of us have half-done tasks on our to-do lists and half-read books on our bedside tables, scroll through Instagram while simultaneously semi-watching Netflix, and swipe between apps and tabs endlessly, from when we first open our eyes until we finally fall asleep. One uncomfortable explanation for why so many aspects of m

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Philosophers have been worrying about distraction at least since the time of the ancient Greeks, who saw it less as a matter of external interruptions and more as a question of character—a systematic inner failure to use one’s time on what one claimed to value the most. Their reason for treating distraction so seriously was straightforward, and it’... See more

This inclination towards external stimulus, even if harmful, highlights the reluctance many people have towards quiet introspection. I could only speculate that some of my workaholic acquaintances fall into the same category as those who would prefer self-inflicted discomfort over stillness. They continue to shoulder an increasing workload, even wh... See more

“Attention isn’t free. It’s the most valuable thing you spend.”

Her class was also less about consumption and more about conversation. Before arriving, we were responsible for reading 10 pages and writing a 750-word reflection on them. Class always began with small group conversations, in which we discussed the reading from the night before. By ungrouping and regrouping into different groups, we gained differen... See more

If I wake up and touch my phone, I’ve already lost hours. Not because I’m browsing social media for hours, but because the mind has already been agitated, made unquiet, and the context switch back into thoughtfulness can take the whole morning. In other words, the addict part of my brain takes over and contaminates my ability to be contemplative. I... See more