Slow Attention Helps To Pay Attention
The world is operating at warp speed. And for many of us, the challenge of keeping up can feel overwhelming. There’s too much to be done, and it all needs to be done yesterday. The days are too short, and the nights barely exist. Alerts, messages, deadlines, decisions. Screens blinking. Phones pinging. The only way to keep up is to run faster – and even if you do, you still fall behind.
The Myth of Multitasking
When we have a lot to do and not enough time to do it, a natural response is to multitask. We quickly reply to emails while we’re preparing a presentation. We shoot off a message on WhatsApp while juggling a Zoom call. We listen to a podcast while skimming an article we need to read for a meeting later in the day. This lets us tick off multiple items on our to-do list simultaneously, and it feels like we are winning back more time by doing more at once.
But we’re mistaken. Research consistently tells us that multitasking significantly reduces our efficiency. This makes sense. The brain can only process a limited number of stimuli at once. For instance, working memory – the number of items we can hold in our minds while working on a task – is famously limited. When we keep giving our brains more stimuli and more things to remember, the result is that our cognitive performance declines.
Slowing Down to Speed Up
When we try to do too much all at once, or try to do too much too quickly, we don’t do anything well. And, curiously, we do it more slowly, too.
We need what we might call the practice of “slow attention” – the practice of focusing entirely on one task, one moment, one breath at a time. It’s the practice of being fully present for what we do.
When we’re faced with overwhelming demands, with alerts and pings, with multiple competing claims on our energy and attention, the most efficient way to respond is to slow down. Instead of trying to do 10 things at once, it’s better to do one thing at a time and work sequentially through our list of tasks.
Ancient mindful practices, particularly from the Buddhist tradition, have long emphasized that calm is what unlocks true clarity. The Buddha described the “monkey mind” as constantly distracted and unsettled. His solution wasn’t to outrun it, but to relax it. When the mind is calm, productivity increases.
We need to slow down to be present. And being present – truly present, not performatively present – transforms how we relate to ourselves and others. It allows for deeper listening, authentic engagement, and greater empathy. We stop performing and start connecting.
Always pay attention to who is present and genuinely involved in your life at your most challenging times, and most of all, never take a woman for granted!
Blessings, dear friends,
Naomi
Well, well!! These words ring loud, true and clear! The first few sentences and the last two sentences sum up the whole of these wise words. I’ve often heard that behind every successful man is a good woman!! I tend to believe that behind every successful man is a supportive woman! In all facets of our lives we need to support each other’s creativity, encourage quality over quantity and slow down the pace to ultimately gain distance! A woman of great importance in my life, my mother, told me to never rush to judgment but to wait patiently for the right time to reveal the fruits of our labors. God’s peace to all!