Comments on: Attention and Distraction

By: Gaspar Almeida

Gaspar Almeida — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:57:59 +0000

So refreshing and true. Yes, laugh often.
This is it !

Gaspar Almeida

By: Raza Khan

Raza Khan — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:47:20 +0000

Hei

Thanks for your email read now it best for us improve our business/

Raza Khan

By: tiare

tiare — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:53:08 +0000

hi jY, RHnk you for the letter,,, i am a stay at home mom looking to further my families life quality. the other day i was on the computer for no more than 20min and wihtin that time, my kids had been sititng with me doing work , eating and chatitng, i realized i truely missed the evtire 20 min,,, i was so into the computer and what i could learn i didnt hear my kids although i was with them. wow , made me realize how to prioritize and schedule my computer time,,, to all the moms out there who are trying to help the husbands financially, i know and understand but remember, your children are your first priority, lov eand laugh often,,, aloha

By: Desa Abbamondi

Desa Abbamondi — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:12:45 +0000

Meditation 100% works for me. I meditate every day and use the “theatre of the mind” to bring myself to focus on 1 task at a time…I NEVER try to multi-task and because of this I get an enormous amount of stuff accomplished. Also, I do not watch television – that eliminates a lot of distraction right there.

By: Kirk Paterson

Kirk Paterson — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:02:37 +0000

I’m with Parky on this one. Balance is best.

By: Jamie

Jamie — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:52:45 +0000

Hi Jay,

This was a great article. I am inclined to believe that every author you’ve cited has some astute observations, but I’m not so inclined to think that google is making us stupid, however, there are certain sites, google included that tend towards making us think less critically, taking most things we find on the net in a “sum total” fashion, as if that were the end all be all of the definition of our search.

The overload of information that people can find on the internet can of course be something of a cause to this, however, another thing that I am finding more and more disturbing, is really that with this technology comes the marketing. Now being a marketer, it might seem odd to say this, but has anyone really paid attention to their television lately? Most commercials tend to cause that all desired urge to want what is offered, whether what is offered is really good or not. Not to mention the speed at which technology develops continues to cause an overloading bombardment of “you gotta have it”. This combined with the entertainment factor in a commercial, a viral video on the net, a humorous article, all add up to a pull of our collective senses towards the acceptance of the message.

I think that in order for Google to have made anyone stupid, they’d have to have allowed it, and it’s less likely Google than more passive modes of information bombardment, such as television commercials.

All in all, I think that perhaps people do need to realize that everything we create might make our lives easier, but we also need to be mindful of the fact that as human beings, we are designed to be active, to be thinking, to be creative. In order to do this, we must be aware that unless something is proven with empirical evidence, we have to think critically about it, and draw our own conclusions. If we fail to keep doing this one thing, we fail to continue to grow and expand as the species we are. Technology, for all of its benefits, is only beneficial if properly used. To use anything properly, we must balance it with other things that other commentators on the subject have touched on already. Downtime, exercise, real life experiences, reading a book, taking some time contemplating and critically analyzing what we read, hear, and see… Regardless of the agenda of Google, Wikipedia, Myspace, Facebook, or any other commercially driven machination of our modern tech.

We are human, and as such, we are easily distracted. Therefore, we should harness that to be distracted by our reality, and affect change within it in a way that benefits us, our environment, and utilizes little technology as often as possible.

Great article Jay, and I hope my post made sense. Peace.

Jamie

By: Kelowna Lund

Kelowna Lund — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:22:42 +0000

The one word that keeps shouting to me is balance, balance, balance.
I think modeling balance to the up and coming is going to be paramount too.
Put another decade into technology and what they’re going to be doing on a daily basis might make us look like we’re standing still.

By: Tracey Hausel

Tracey Hausel — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:50:28 +0000

Jay, I do agree that we have to learn to be balanced and to organize our distractions. However, please keep in mind that the only people who should be taking Adderall (and other medications) are those who can not control their attention in other ways and without improving their attention they would have far less success in life. I do agree with you that medication should the last resort, as it should always be in any situation.

I am always impressed with your articles and look forward to reading more. Can’t wait to meet you in Vegas.

By: Rebecca Melechinsky

Rebecca Melechinsky — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:25:16 +0000

Due to my old-fashioned nature and stable, conservative family heritage, I, at 55, am struggling to learn internet “things” so that I can be a successful marketer. I find the distractions irritating, rather than appealing. I reared my five children in the country, home-schooled quite a bit (some years the children attended a private, Catholic Academy), and taught my children to be able to entertain themselves with very little. We were close, and I was always there. My eldest son is now a novice technical trader, and his two brothers are working on rational wealth strategies because I guided them in that direction. I may be old-fashioned in taste, but I’m very realistic about life. I have had to gently monitor and guide my family away from becoming too involved with internet distractions and computer games. We have to consider the consequences of our actions and how we live, and consider the big picture. We must always have a sincere and compassionate consideration of others, especially those with whom we are in close, day to day contact. We must consider what good or damage we are effecting with our lives, and life is really short, after all. Time is infinitely valuable, and we would all do well to evaluate more objectively how we spend it. I am so grateful for how my five children “turned out.” We would not be close now if they had been able to overdose with the net.

By: Wayne D. Giardina

Wayne D. Giardina — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 20:57:14 +0000

I agree totally with this Jay. We must maintain our perspective. The computer has robbed us from spending time on the important things. The most important being time in Prayer to GOD, and time with our Families. We must remember to keep things in order of importance, and to spend quality time with them. We cannot allow our obsession with the internet to rob us of these relationsips, and to keep them alive and well. After all, when everything is said and done, they are all that matters. Wayne G