Apr 13, 2023 | Amy S. Dufrane, Ed.D., SPHR, CAE, CEO of HRCI
Do you find yourself falling into the “Monday morning trap?” You sit down at your desk, fresh off the weekend, and find it hard to get your work week started. You check your email, calendar, Slack, Asana, and social media. You connect with your team and talk through the week’s projects. You write down your to-dos for the day, and you’re ready to tackle the week. And before you know it, it’s the end of the day, and you accomplished much less than you had hoped. You did, however, manage to check your Instagram stories, make dinner reservations for Friday night, send a tweet (or twelve), order new patio furniture, text your significant other a hundred times, and seemingly, scroll the day away.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. In fact, you’re in the majority: faced with endless interruptions that have, in essence, taken away your ability to concentrate on anything for longer than a few minutes. This phenomenon is the subject of
“Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention – and How to Think Deeply Again” by Johann Hari. In the book, Hari, a journalist and social scientist by training, addresses what’s happening and what we can do about it, as illustrated by a series of case studies he researched.
Reading a book might sound arduous if you’re already having trouble focusing, but luckily, “Stolen Focus” comes in different formats, as all
learning opportunities should. And if you aren’t feeling such pressure, I still recommend picking up a copy because you never know who you might be able to help by understanding this experience – a friend, colleague, or loved one. Let me know what you think once you’re done.
If you have questions, please connect with a member of my team at [email protected].
Keep on learning,
—Amy Dufrane, Ed.D., SPHR, CAE
HRCI CEO
Let’s keep the conversation going: Follow me on Twitter.
