Prioritization of Attention

The other day, my brother Ryan recommended to me a YouTuber he’d been enjoying.
I watched his most recent video on life-organization, and was immediately hooked. Not only is he well spoken, charismatic, and an incredible editor, what he had to say really struck me as well.

He talked about the concept of Time and Attention: the only two truly limited resources for all of humankind.

Hilariously, on my way to write the post, I stopped by my sisters blog and read her post for the day – surrounding the exact same topic. Honing the list of things to focus on, cutting out the chaff of life as it were.

I desperately want to spend my time only on the things that add value to my life. Not things that are productive, but things that add VALUE. Reading books and blogs from authors that I love is not productive, but it does add value. Watching movies is not productive, but it does add value. Opening Instagram to check how my most recent poster is doing is not productive, and in no way does it add any value. In fact, it so easily adds stress / resentment / bitterness / self-doubt when that post is not somehow EXPLODING in popularity.

I want to spend my time adding value – now I just need to make a list of truly does bring me, personally, value. And what brings me disgust (as Austin Kleon talked about in his blog post today). I’ll start that list here…

Adds value:

1. Reading a book.
2. Silence.
3. Watching a movie.
4. Sticking my head out of the window.
5. Writing down my thoughts.
6. Checking things off my to-do list.
7. Sweeping the floor.
8. Drinking water.
9. Texting a friend.

Brings me disgust:

1. Needlessly going on my phone eleventy-seven times a day.
2. Staring at my computer screen 3+ hours in a row.
3. Comparing my worth to others via numbers and statistics.

These lists are not good, but they are a start.