Paying attention

I was much amused by an article I read yesterday in the NY Times called Ear Plugs to Lasers: The Science of Paying Attention.  The ostensible reason for the article was a bit of new research on the role of gamma waves in the brain. But I liked the practical hints the article included about attention and modern life. 

I've always considered myself a bit attention-challenged. Maybe I think that because I tend to be a bit absent-minded and forgetful (this was true even when I was young), or perhaps because I just plain hate being interrupted, which I suppose isn't much of a virtue when you're a mom. Once interrupted, I can't pick up the train of thought where I got off.  It's long departed. Others seem to be able to field multiple requests and switch topics on a dime. I'm a deer in the headlights.  I hope there's some corresponding virtue on the other side of this coin (which is apparently not a dime).

So, what I like about this article is that it frankly admits some things I've been thinking for a long time, along two lines:

Limit distractions

First of all, that Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and yes, those annoying TV screens in cabs (I suspect that ours isn't the only family that makes a game of seeing how fast we can turn them off), are fracturing our attention.  Use if you like, but in moderation.

Secondly, that it takes the brain about twenty minutes to reboot after an interruption.  I think most homeschoolers must know this instinctively, but that's why our family tries to be really careful about taking on activities that require that we drop what we're doing and leave home.  We also find that we can only do a few things really well on any given day.  

And here's a useful quote from the article: "Multitasking is a myth," Ms. Gallagher said. "You cannot do two things at once."  Thank you, Ms. Gallagher!  Now I can admit my limits and stop trying to do the impossible.

The article also recommends that you spend the first ninety minutes of each day concentrating on your most important task.  That must be why I get up, look out the window, read my Bible, and write in my journal.  It's my favorite time of day.

Don't worry

But there was another major point to this article:  You can waste your life worrying.  Ms. Gallagher of the article has had ample motivation to gain control of her attention to worry.  She's had cancer.  The article states that she remained relatively cheerful during her treatment by (among other things) keeping in mind this line from Milton: "The mind is its own place, and in itself/ Can make a heav'n of hell, a hell of heav'n." I think that's a very useful thing to learn, and though the article made no mention of Ms. Gallagher's faith, how much more should Christians learn it!

Ms. Gallagher also noted that the typical person's brain can process 173 billion bits of information over the course of a lifetime, so we should prioritize what we spend them on.  One thing that I resolve not to worry about is how many of my bits I've already used up.  And what is a bit, in terms of the human brain, anyway?

Sometimes it doesn't take much to encourage us, just a tiny acknowledgment that we can live peacefully within our limitations.  I know that isn't always the most popular message on the block, but the older I get, the more I like it.