It is More Important to Consider Attention Management Than Time Management as a Student

Article written by Sathyani Kotakadeniya, law and psychology double degree undergraduate from the Queensland University of Technology, Australia (QUT).

We live in an increasingly distracted world: devices around us are constantly buzzing with emails, text messages, social media notifications, and the like. It’s not a surprise that modern-day students have an attention span of a goldfish, myself included.

In the words of Adam Grant (organisational psychologist, top-rated professor at Wharton, best-selling author, and host of TED podcasts):

“Time management is not a solution — it’s actually part of the problem.”

“Attention management is the art of focusing on getting things done for the right reasons, in the right places and at the right moments.”

Do you focus on how fast you can complete a task or only attempt to complete a task simply because the day before, you chose to slot in two hours to your schedule? Do you find this effective in creating a desirable output? It may be effective to a certain extent, but not entirely. We only have a set number of hours each day. This is not something you can change. Attention management is a more positive approach to your studies because you shift your mind to focus on what you can control instead of what you can’t.

Here are some things to consider for attention management:

• Focus on the purpose/intent of starting a task in the first place: the “why” and “when” factors instead of measuring it based on how much time it will take to complete.
• Consider where you study. Is it conducive to your learning? Just because your friend can focus on writing her dissertation in a coffee shop might not mean you can. Figure out what works for you and stick to that.
• Think about what consumes your attention. What draws your attention to or away from something? Note down what thoughts cross your mind when it happens and the things that distract you as an experiment for a week. Read through those notes at the end of the week. It will give you an idea about areas that require amendments.
• Set clear priorities. This will help you understand where to allocate your attention.
• Avoid multitasking on tasks that require deep focus. Multitasking causes attention fragmentation, resulting in shallow learning, lower quality of work produced, and may increase cognitive load.
• Consider studying in short 15–20–minute bursts if you get distracted during long study sessions. Taking frequent breaks is a great way to manage your attention when engaging in a task. But make sure those short breaks between study sessions don’t distract you further and make it especially difficult to refocus when you return to your task.

Our attention is one of the most, if not the most important, resource we have in the modern world. So, find effective ways to manage it. It will help you gain a competitive advantage in the academic world.