Attention is necessary for learning. You can only learn what you attend to. If you have ADHD, it is hard to keep your attention tuned to one channel. You keeping switching channels to see what else is on. It’s often easy to spot the hyperactive students (usually boys) but the inattentive students (usually girls) get under-diagnosed because they sit quietly, equally unable to pay attention.
The problem is that attention is either-or. You can’t half-way attend. Either you watch TV or read. You can’t do both simultaneously. You can switch back and forth quickly but can’t see both at the same time. Do you remember those visual illusions where you can see the stairs ascending or descending but not both at once? Or the picture that looks like a vase or two faces? We either attend to something or we don’t.
What Exactly Is Attention?
Attention has three components: focus, avoidance and reduction.
Attention requires focus. Focus, quality and clarity go together. When your vision is blurry, the images are out of focus. But when an image is in focus, its quality is improved. There is clarity and visual definition. In our experience, the center of the eye produces the clearest images, so we think in terms of focal points and the center of attention. We use focus to refer to the center of a target or the singular task we need to complete.
Focus is limiting your effort to one project at a time. [clickToTweet tweet=”We do best when we are dealing with a single issue.” quote=”We do best when we are dealing with a single issue.” theme=”style1″] Alexander Graham Bell is attributed as saying: “Concentrate all your thought upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays to not burn until brought to a focus.”
Focus and goals are often linked. [clickToTweet tweet=”Anthony Robbins says “Focus on where you want to go, not on what you fear.”” quote=”Anthony Robbins says “Focus on where you want to go, not on what you fear.”” theme=”style1″] This is attention as single-mindedness and purpose. Dorothea Kopplin provides a similar observation when she says “No one ever gets anything worthwhile by accident.”
Attention requires avoidance. You can’t attend to everything. Avoid doing things that aren’t needed right now. Don’t write your novel, watch TV and answer your email at the same time. Use external memory aids. Don’t try to recall everything you need at the store; write it down. Don’t write down everything the prof says, choose the most important points. One way to know what is important is to keep track of things that pop up in lecture, in the notes and in the book; those are items that need your attention. In general, avoid the footnotes.
Attention requires reducing your cognitive load. If you can’t avoid it, reduce it. If you can’t avoid stress, minimize it. If you can’t avoid your crazy relatives, limit the time you spend with them. If you have to eat something you hate, pick the smallest piece. Reduction works when we are learning something new too. If you have a choice, choose a short list to learn and not a long one. When blogging, limit your posts to your audience. You might have some wonderful insights to alligator shoes but don’t share it on your tech blog or your stamp collecting videos. Don’t do everything, reduce it.
For more on this topic go to:
http://psychlearning.com/top-ten-tips/
Also:
- VeryWell: How Psychologists Define Attention
- Wikipedia: Attention