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This week, Dr. Whitney explains the “attention economy” phenomenon–why it’s so hard for all of us to pay attention to everything these days. She talks about what that looks like for working moms and how we can fight against it.
EPISODE Highlights:
Attention economy was a term coined by economist Herbet A. Simon, saying that “attention is the bottleneck of human thought that limits both what we can perceive in stimulating environments and what we can do.” He was also quoted as saying, “A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” He was a huge proponent of the idea that multitasking is a myth and that with so many pulls on our attention, we have a much harder time thinking clearly. Like money, our attention is a valuable but scarce resource.
Part of the reason that it’s so easy to give into the attention economy is because it’s so much more comfortable to stay busy and distracted than it is to be quiet with our thoughts and feelings. It’s scary to sit with our thoughts because when we’re quiet, things might come up that are uncomfortable. It’s uncomfortable to be still because we don’t feel like we’re being valuable if we aren’t productive. It feels too self-indulgent.
The only way to get better at sitting in the moment without all the extra stimuli is to practice doing it. We have to practice getting quiet without all the other stuff that gets in the way.
What does this look like for busy working moms? I know how difficult it is for moms to find a moment of quiet so my goal is not to create additional stress for you. It’s to help you think about how when we practice this in small increments of time, it does allow us to be more aware of when we’re pulled in multiple directions and are distracted, more often.
For me, I give myself 5 minutes of time to myself every day. It’s either journaling, or a quick walk, or just in the shower. But I take them completely by myself, no kids, no electronics. In the end, it comes down to practice!
If we can get to the WHY behind what we’re feeling when we sit in our thoughts, it’s easier to make a commitment to ourselves that being productive and restful is actually the way to be more efficient in the end. Rest is productive. No matter what the world tells you, you'll be able to experience more in your personal and professional life, if you rest. But you have to practice first! Check out Modern Mamas App for helpful ways to get started on meditation practices.
Challenge: take 5 minutes a day for yourself (showers, walks, sitting in the quiet) with no distractions. No kids. No music, no screens. It will be scary to start and that’s okay. DM me on social media so I can know how it goes!
