Monday, September 6, 2021

Paying attention and spending time

It feels like everyone and everything is vying for our attention these days. Our eyes and ears are constantly barraged with competing signs, signals, and advertisements trying to pull our focus off of what we're intending to do so that we'll engage with something else. Most of the time, it's because a company wants us to notice their product so that we'll throw our hard-earned cash their way. In many ways, then, it can be financially costly to allow our attention to wander. But it may cost us even more than that. 

Professor Lynn Helding reminds us in her book that there is a reason we use the phrase "pay attention." It costs us our focus, our brain space, our time, and our emotional capital. When we "spend" our time paying attention to something, we are essentially investing in that thing. Therefore, when we are attempting to focus on a task and then find ourselves being distracted, we may be inadvertently and complacently investing our attention in something we don't actually value. 

The good news is that the ability to focus our attention is something we can train through practice. And it is crucial that we all practice this skill. One reason is that distractions hinder our ability to learn. Another reason is that we are in a profession that is built on the assumption that people will pay money to sit in a dark room for a few hours at a time in order to watch a play or a musical. If our society loses its collective ability to do this, we're all out of jobs! 

Even though we can train our ability to pay attention, the bad news (once again, a la Lynn Helding) is that our attention is easily hijacked. And guess what tool is able to hijack our attention more than any other? Our phones (big surprise). Those brightly-colored apps, the way the phone is just slightly too big to fit in our pockets (so we have to keep it in our hands), the Pavlovian notification sounds that cause us to unconsciously reach for the device—they're all designed to attract and keep our attention. 

So how on earth are you supposed to get serious practicing done when you have such a distracting little machine on your person at all times? 

Turn it off. 

Don't just silence it. Don't just set it to airplane mode. Turn. It. Off. Give yourself a fighting chance by eliminating the temptation entirely. In the last blog, we identified cognitive effort as one of the prerequisites for learning. Another word for cognitive effort is concentration. Concentration is easily broken by distraction. You will have greater concentration (i.e., greater ability for sustained cognitive effort) (i.e., greater opportunity for true learning to occur) when you eliminate distractions. 

Your attention is valuable. It's not just valuable because lots of people, products, and companies want it. It's valuable because what you choose to give your attention to is an indication of what YOU value. Spend it wisely. 

Now go practice. 




33 comments:

  1. I agree entirely. One of my biggest pet peeves is people who leave their phones on during movies. Is the urge to look at a screen so much that it can't be turned off for 2 hours? This is a trend that I have seen more and more present as our technology advances and becomes more and more accessible to people. Turning it off would simply delete the distractions from your world. This would allow practice to have full attention and in the long run, benefit us more because it is where our minds would be fully committed.
    -jimi barton

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  2. I have always found it hard to focus. No matter how little distractions there are, I can seemingly always find something to distract myself with. It is easier for me to not get distracted based on how interested I am in the subject or event at hand. So when I truly need to focus on something, that I'm not interested in, not only do I need to separate myself from my phone and other distractions but mentally prepare myself for my task at hand. I am working on making sure that I should give my 100% attention to my task at hand, so that I don't waste my time.
    -Noah Omelchuk

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  3. Wise words from our beloved pedagod Brian Manternach. In this world, we have been conditioned to, and are praised for being able to, multitask...to spread our attention thin. True, this attention "webbing" disables long term focus and enables the goldfish effect. I have found that detachment from cell phone engagement yields increased periods of "focal efficiency" (one focus being vocal.) Yoga, mediation, and journaling are also focus lengthening machines which have output action and squashed procrastination (not eradicated just yet...it's a process, everything's a process.) This refining of focus is one part of the equation, and a few other major components are dedication and consistency. In my experience, honing my focus can be a painless and easy task... keeping with it, historically, has been the trying part (the dedication.) A mantra I'm tossing around is "I am a locomotive of action for the highest good of self and others." Through learning from others, and personal experience, I have come to realize that we often hold beliefs about ourself based on past experiences and keep those... the old creatures of habit trap. If I say "I'm not good at focusing and being off my phone", this will likely be the outcome of various trials. So, It would make sense, logically even, that if I said "I am so good at focusing and enjoy being off my phone," instead, I would be able to interrupt the conditioning and bring mindfulness to the activity and hand and retrain success stories instead of failure stories into my subconscious. Anyways, something I'm tossing around...Baby steps!

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  4. Each time I sit down to practice, do homework, or simply relax, I find this to be true. For whatever reason, it is so difficult to just ignore the little notification on my phone. I simply have to check it. However, what’s even more difficult is going back to the task at hand; once I let the phone into my bubble, it has already popped. On the flip side, when I dedicate my attention and focus to whatever it is I’m working on, I see amazing results. Specifically in the world of vocal practice, I’m able to learn more about where I’m struggling and what I can do to struggle less. On the days that I have an easier time focusing, I feel great about what I’ve been able to achieve. Because I’ve been able to have a few of these, I find that I am making great work towards my goals. However, it is different to sing in a classroom of peers instead of my living room when my roommates aren’t home. The next journey for my confidence is getting it to transfer from one location to the next.

    Isabelle Siebeneck

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  5. This is so true for me. Often time I have phantom notifications on my phone and watch. Where I will feel like a notification has come in, that it has buzzed, yet nothing it there. Whenever that happens to me I always take a deep breath and remind myself how addicted I truly am. I have gotten better over the years, but that distraction is always there. I think it got worse when I moved away from home. I was no longer with my friends and family so I was constantly on social media checking up on what they were doing.

    But getting in to my junior year, and also having watched "The Social Dilemma," I have really realized how vital it is to stay off my phone and be more productive. I think personally think that I do need to shut off my phone. But at the same time is so so so hard. Just because I have four parents and seven grandparents, so someone is always trying to get ahold of me. But I know that is the best thing for me.

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  6. Placing our entire concentration on the skills we wish to improve upon or merely on one form of entertainment is crucial to our development as empathetic human beings: our willingness to listen to each other, to understand the work necessary to progress. Two weeks ago, I decided to turn off my cell phone for my practice sessions. Not only has this forced me to remain fully conscious in my efforts to exercise the voice, but I have become more willing to embrace my vulnerabilities regarding my present vocal abilities. The cell phone was a place of security. A place for me to sprint to when I was struggling to produce a note or a particular pitch. A hiding place. The endeavor to eliminate distraction in my practice has contributed to a higher reverence for the space and time that I spend fortifying my confidence as a performer.

    -Camden Barrett

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  7. For me I have a relatively innate ability to pay attention but it’s always been a double edged sword. I’m a highly curious person who values the here and now but I can get so caught up in what I’m doing that it becomes unhealthy and obsessive. This can equal a high ability to focus on a specific thing while simultaneously creating a low focus on my overall needs or making sure the thing I’m giving my focus to is important to me. My distractions are not so much pop ups coming here and there but more slight interests I take down the rabbit hole. Where I need to work with my attention is to not give it to people and things that drain me. I want to save it for the things that help me grow and make me happy.

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  8. You make a great point that distraction can be very costly to anything that we value. I know that I can be very “squirrel” like, especially when I’m working on something that I NEED to do and not necessarily something I WANT to do. I’ll start an assignment for school and next thing I know I’ve deep cleaned my room and am 40 minutes into a new series on Netflix! I like the idea of completely turning off your phone while practicing. I normally mute my watch, as that is the most direct distraction, but I can certainly do more to silence distractions! I also need to watch my caffeine intake, because I’ve noticed a direct causation of how caffeinated I am to how distractedly I do just about everything. I will try the phone off method this week in my practice! Thanks, as always, for the tip! (Also, side note, no matter how big the phones get, I refuse to not fit it into my pocket. Even at the expense of ripping my pants lol)

    -Caleb Hunt

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  9. I like that you mentioned that paying attention directly relates to what you decide to spend your time and energy on. And since our time and effort are immensely precious, we need to be more mindful of how much we are sacrificing in everyday life. At this point in my life, my attention span is at an all time low, and I have high suspicion it has to do with my phone.

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  10. At times I have found myself guilty of distraction because of my phone. I felt like I needed to get on it and find out ‘what’s the latest’. Though, the acting industry currently requires us to be phone active to find jobs, I believe it’s important to draw the line. I make sure to keep myself busy during the week, so I don’t become distracted with my phone. Since then, my screen hours have decreased a lot. Because of this I realized what I should be doing, and it’s practicing. I found that turning off my phone helps me engage with myself. Working on my craft has become something crucial and reading this blog intensified the idea I have of the importance of concentration.

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  11. When having conversations with kids my age I have found that one thing is seriously lacking, focus. Our ability to pay attention to something for long periods of time has greatly decreased, especially with social media. Apps like tik tok and instagram are designed to give you large amounts of stimulation in short periods of time, training our brains. I have found myself guilty on multiple occasions of my attention drifting off even as I respond to this article. Doing things like being outdoors, and working have helped me take a break from the constant distractions and allow my mind to rest from the constant stimulation. As actors it is very important to have the ability to remain focused and not allow for distractions, not only to remain in character and keep focused on the show, but also to keep your audience involved in the story.

    -CoCo Berwald

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  12. I resonated with this blog as I have found myself to be distracted often when practicing. Even at my most inspired, I have taken time to sit down and look at my phone when I’m missing valuable practice time. Even outside of practicing, sometimes when I’m working on schoolwork, it could take me 2 hours to write a one paragraph because I am just so distracted by other things on social media. In a profession where people pay so much attention to what we do on stage, the least we could do is focus on the process that gives them a satisfying purchase. I typically don’t turn off my phone during my practice sessions, but I think it’s about time that I give it a shot. The final quote in the blog about how what we pay attention to is an indication of what we value made me worried yet inspired. I’ve never thought about it that way. I don’t want my phone and social media to ever be my number 1 priority when practicing and everyday life, so I’m going to change that and start new habits.

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  13. For me, the biggest part of acting is connecting with others. In today’s world, it’s so rare to make an actual connection with someone because of all of the external distractions of society. I think it’s imperative that our generation notices the lack of concentration and connection present in our world. I loved how you talked about training to increase concentration, because just like everything else it takes work. I admit that I sometimes get caught up in social media and become disconnected with real life. I have noticed that when I take breaks from my phone and technology I feel so much better and grounded. To help keep connections with others, I make it a rule to not be on my phone at all during a conversation. I find that it is so much more rewarding to talk to the person present rather than being distracted by a world on my phone that isn’t real. I also feel happier and better about myself if I read a book or hang out with my friends instead of scrolling on my phone for hours on end. Hopefully we can learn to focus our attention on the things that really matter, instead of letting them pass us by.
    -aly carter

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  14. I really like this blog, because so often not we don't really think about our addictions whether it's small or big. I know I portray the same problems as my generation, we grew up with technology so it has become our norm. But, "that doesn't mean it has to stay that way". Sometimes I do find myself neglecting my duties because I'm too busy being on TikTok or binge watching a show on Netflix, but what I will say, when I put my practice in I feel a bit more brighter. I really liked this blog because it not only calls out the problem, it provides a solution that can help when you're stuck in that situation. I usually don't turn off my phone, I just put it in a corner and time myself on a task, and when it's completed I would reward myself with a quick video. However, I see that now that doesn't really aid in my progression and I don't want this addiction to follow me into my adulthood. I need to turn off my phone and focus on my more immediate tasks and not let my phone control me.
    -Debora Ingabile

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  15. I feel like I am someone who can get easily distracted, and my phone is definitely a big contributor to that. I feel like many of us like to think that we can multitask really well, but even when we are multitasking, we are unable to give our full attention to each of the tasks we are doing. I don't particularly feel distracted when I am warming up my voice and practicing, but I definitely do get distracted when I'm doing homework or things of that sort (like I definitely checked my phone while writing this blog post). When I am in the zone, I am IN IT and so dedicated to what I am doing, but with distractions, it definitely is harder. Going forward, I definitely will be taking into consideration how much better I can perform a task when I am not distracted by outside factors.

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  16. When I was younger, it was almost impossible for me to sit still and focus on one thing. Luckily, through years of training in theatre I've had to learn to work efficiently and professionally. I feel like now I am really good at focusing on one assignment at a time and doing good work rather than just getting it done as soon as possible. I want to produce good work and continue growing in my career, so I'm going to put the time and attention needed into my practice! Of course, I think there's still a lot of room for improvement. I find myself getting antsy to check my phone an hour or two into a three hour class. It will just continue to take practice to keep the focus where it is supposed to be, but I will move forward in this semester with more mindfulness about being present in the moment to get the most out of my education as possible!

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  17. Another thing that I think about when trying to focus is the fact that it's impossible to truly multitask. Your neurons can only really focus on one thing at a time, so it's futile to try to do two things at a time. I always get more done if I focus on one task at a time, rather than trying to multitask or quickly switch back and forth between tasks. However, that's easier said than done. I think I'll definitely be most successful with this as I can be present in moments, and remind myself that that's the best way to get things done. Even more so than checking my phone, perhaps, I have a problem with my mind being in a different space. I sometimes just can't stop worrying about my next assignment, or performance, or stressful social aspect. But I know that's not productive, and having my attention split will simply make me frustrated.

    Thanks for the inspiring words. Now, go practice!

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  18. I find this to be an easy distraction, my phone is always buzzing with different information whether it’s important or not is neither here nor there (it never is) but it will always catch my eye. I have found that the more exhaustion I am currently feeling the harder it is to even look at my sheet music, which leads to sloppy practice and a bad attitude towards my work.

    - Tate Foshay

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  19. Personally I have never really had an issue focusing. While I definitely procrastinate and maybe put things off for longer than I should, I know when it is time to sit down and just do the work. To just focus on the task at hand and get it done. This ability of mine to focus definitely comes from the lack of a phone for much of my life. It wasn’t until my Freshman year of High School that I actually got a phone of any kind, and the phone never really felt normal to me. I mean I didn’t get social media until my Sophomore year and only really used it for calls and texts (and maybe the occasional videogame). But I never really struggled with focusing or putting the phone away. I would definitely say that having my phone for a while now has caused me to procrastinate for longer periods of time (I.E writing this response on the day it is due at 7 PM at night), but I can put it down and focus. I know where and how to use my time, and while I may not have an issue with focusing, procrastinating is definitely something that I need to work on.

    --- Matthew Jbara

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  20. I like how you pointed out how distracting phones can be and especially limiting to our brains capacity to actually give attention to something. Focusing has never been too much of a problem for me and I genuinely can shut everything down and pay attention when I need to. I absolutely can't stand when I'm trying to talk to someone and they're just on their phones. I feel that many people nowadays, including myself, have become so absorbed with our phones. I still believe people have the power to easily put it down and do what they need to, but that might not be the case in the near future.

    -Tyler Kline

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  21. I luckily never really had a screen issue, I was a very busy kid so I didn't really have the time or interest to do video games and we had very limited windows to watch TV plus not having cable meant there wasn't much to watch anyway. I didn't even get a phone until the last month of 8th grade. I actively tried to not be on my phone because I grew up the kid who didn't have a phone so I had to develop social skills and be more aware of the moment. I still try to do that now.
    However, I find this whole post to be a continuation of a huge slap in the face I've been going through this school year (a very good slap). In the best moments in my life I have been solely focused on the moment, my best performances, academic accomplishments, friendships are all rooted in me being completely present. I've always had a bit of a mind wanderer however with COVID its almost been the best excuse to really never be present, especially for those of us who missed out on the ending of our senior year. It is quite easy to zone out and dream of what we missed and how it should'v and how we would've and all that instead of thinking about how we're gonna choose to come out of this whole crazy whatever you want to call it. It has personally been a huge struggle to focus on my classes since COVID has started but it has slowly gotten easier and I think it will continue to.


    Luke Morton

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  22. I have totally noticed that what has become popular through the years has slowly shortened the length that something has to be to be entertaining. from movies, to podcasts and YouTube, to vines and tik toks that are only a few seconds long. In my day to day life I actually try to take advantage of what my phone can access, usually once I am set on doing something and I start doing it, I have no problem sticking to the task. I have noticed through covid my attention span has become more open to distractions. I do believe that I am quickly coming back to a more driven attention span with the allowance of in person school, and being able to see everyone around me work so hard... makes it exciting to do my best as well.

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  23. For me, I have always had a hard time focusing on assignments and occasionally even rehearsals. I also have noticed that coming out of this last year it’s been a lot more difficult for me than it was before. Like a lot of people, I spent the entirety of last year in my bedroom doing zoom school. I was able to find distractions everywhere, not just on my phone. This year I’ve been trying to be more aware of my distractions and have been trying to find ways to redirect my attention.
    One thing I’ve noticed with my phone is what I like to call the phantom buzz. I noticed it while I was at a theatre watching a show after I had already turned my phone all the way off. I remember telling myself that there was nothing there and that I needed to ignore the urge to pick up my phone and check. This even happens when I leave my phone in another room, or in my backpack, and I’ll feel myself touch my pocket to grab the device and it isn’t even there.
    Nate Ginsberg

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  24. Brian I completely agree! I get so easily distracted and it's one of the things that doesn't allow me to practice the way I want to. It can get sooo frustrating. I always tell myself I need to sit down and just practice my songs but it's so easy to lose focus and it becomes such a difficult thing to do. I should have made avoiding distractions one of my goals because it is something I definitely need to work on more. Thank you for bringing this up!

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  25. I find it a lot easier to get distracted when you aren't pushing yourself of fully engulfing yourself in something. There's a major difference between practicing your duet with you and your piano in your own house / room versus actually being in a practice room with a live accompaniment and your partner ready to get as much out of that time as possible. It's definitely an extremely important lesson we all need to learn, however. Finding ourselves engulfed in everything we do and not letting something as small as a little vibration within our pocket take away from that experience. I've found myself turning my phone off / silencing it more and more often when I ever go out to eat with family or friends because being absorbed by what's happening on my phone is making me lose memories and taking me away from a great time. Silencing my phone has allowed me to not even recognize it being there unless I really need it or I am expecting someone to reach out.

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  26. I can recognize that I have had problems with screens and still do and this blog is an amazing reminder that I need to make sure that when I have an objective, that I stay true to it and not wait until I think it is a good time. I need to make sure that I am keeping phones down and keeping track of how I am doing with that. Thank you for this. it was very informative and will start turning off my bad habits

    Alex Fish

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  27. I think being distracted can almost be at the root of all shortcomings in any profession or hobby, my time being split between two different things will most certainly hinder my ability to do both effectivly.I know I have a problem with being engulfed with something for a short 2-3 weeks and then I become bored or "distracted" by another interest and I drop the first one entirely. SO then I become mediocre at many things but not an expert at one, which in my opinion hurts me as an artist in many ways.

    Josh Wheeler

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  28. I've noticed that post-quarantine, my attention span is worse than ever. I've always been pretty confident that I have ADHD but this past year and a half has almost cemented that for me. As a result, I feel like i need constant stimulus. I've started listening to music while I do my homework (which I was never able to do before because it was too distracting) because that's the only way I can read the articles I need to be reading for class. The thing that I feel about myself, though, that is different than what you're saying is that once I start something, I'm generally really good at seeing it through to the end. The starting of it is the issue and where I feel most of the distraction comes in. I can have the intention to start something but spend my time doing something else so the thing never actually gets started. I would argue that attention wise, this is the most harmful thing to me.

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  29. Seconding what Fynn said- post quarantine, my attention span feels as if it has been decimated. I was so thrilled to be back in class that I forgot that theatre is still WORK. That a music rehearsal can feel tedious, that learning a dance requires watching closely and paying attention for a whole hour. I am reconditioning my brain in this way-but as far as homework goes, I have found that it helps to fully delete my apps during days that I have to get large amounts of work done. If it isn't an option, it isn't a problem. This works better for me than turning my phone off, just because with my phone off, I have an anxiety that I will miss an important call or text. This is a whole different anxiety to unpack (human beings should not be 'reachable' all the time, a response is a courtesy and not necessary, etc...) It is also difficult when tools for completing homework are the same ones that distractions live on-my vocal recordings are on my phone, my canvas page is on my laptop...it is unavoidable. Limiting distraction comes from straight up willpower. And if you don't have willpower like myself, I suggest you delete your apps. You can always re-download TikTok;)

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  30. I am totally with Fynn and Abby on this one!! My bit is just having difficulty getting started in a practice session. Finding the motivation to start, and guide myself through a a solid warm up, it can all feel pretty daunting at times. Fynn mentioned how their ADHD affects his attention span and I couldn't relate more! A common symptom of ADHD is decision paralysis which is essentially your brain telling you that there's something you need to be doing but the body is like "NO!!! You can't!!! Because what if this, this, and this." or "NO!!!!! Don't do THAT!It'll be way more funn to be stuck on the couch for two hours, way more fun too". So there's that. But I find that once I'm able to get into the swing of practicing I can just keep going and going. Like after my voice lessons I will go home and sing for at least another 30-35 minutes and then do a little cool down:)

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  31. I've noticed that when I'm busy I'm able to focus more easily in addition to turning my phone off. I've been so good these last few days on focusing on what I need to do (because there's been so much of it) but as soon as I sat down to do math homework today I got completely side tracked by my phone. So what you said about turning off your phone is absolutely true.
    -Myles Davis

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