Thank you for being a part of the journey. This is week 177 of The Lindahl Letter publication. A new edition arrives every Friday. This week the topic under consideration for The Lindahl Letter is, “Your valuable attention: Why Your Focus Is Under Siege.”
In a world where your attention is more valuable than ever, every scroll, click, and swipe is part of an invisible economy. This “attention economy” drives social media platforms, streaming services, and even productivity tools. It’s not your time they want—it’s your focus. The cost of lost attention is both personal and societal. On an individual level, fragmented focus lowers productivity, weakens relationships, and diminishes a sense of purpose. On a societal scale, the effects ripple outward, creating polarization, misinformation, and a culture that values busyness over depth. Occupied time is not always productive. We have to move to strengthen the fabric of civil society. It’s our general civility that has become unsettled.
The statistics are startling. The average person now spends over seven hours daily consuming digital media. We are focused on digital driving through a forever updating sea of digital content. Notifications, pop-ups, and infinite scrolls have rewired our brains and expectations to crave constant stimulation, sadly leaving little room for deep thought or creativity. The attention span of the modern human is estimated at just 8.25 seconds—shorter than that of a goldfish [1]. This isn’t an accident; it’s by design. Technology companies have mastered the art of capturing your focus. Every feature on your favorite app, from autoplay videos to personalized algorithms, is crafted to keep you engaged for as long as possible. The longer you stay, the more data they collect and the more ads they show. Attention has become the currency of the 21st century, and you’re the commodity. People have been saying that attention is the new oil for about 7 years [2][3].
Your attention is the gateway to everything you value—learning, relationships, civility, and achieving your goals. Without the ability to focus, time slips away unnoticed. Productivity declines, creativity dwindles, and even happiness suffers. The constant pull of distractions chips away at your ability to live intentionally. Yet, understanding the problem is the first step to regaining control. When you recognize that your attention is being diverted, you can begin to take deliberate steps to reclaim it.
The attention economy thrives on a simple premise: the longer you stay engaged, the more valuable you are. Algorithms study your habits, preferences, and vulnerabilities, ensuring that the content you see is optimized to keep you scrolling. But the effects go beyond wasted time. In the workplace, frequent interruptions reduce productivity and lead to decision fatigue, costing billions in lost output annually. In personal relationships, divided attention weakens connections, leaving friends, partners, and colleagues feeling undervalued. On a mental health level, the endless cycle of notifications and comparisons fosters anxiety, burnout, and a distorted sense of self-worth. It feels good to feel busy, but that does not translate to actual outcomes.
The good news is that you can fight back. Reclaiming your attention starts with awareness. Recognize when and where your focus is being pulled, then take actionable steps to protect it. Turn off non-essential notifications; your phone doesn’t need to buzz for every like, comment, or update. Set digital boundaries using tools like screen time trackers or app blockers to create intentional limits. Schedule time for focused, uninterrupted work on meaningful tasks. Most importantly, reconnect with presence during conversations and relationships. Put away your devices and engage fully.
Your attention isn’t infinite, but it is powerful. By reclaiming control, you can transform your relationship with technology, your work, and the people in your life. The battle for your attention isn’t just a personal challenge—it’s a societal one. As individuals, we must learn to resist the pull of distractions. As a society, we must demand ethical technology that respects our focus rather than exploits it. Your focus is your greatest asset. Don’t let it be stolen. One of the big changes that I made was shifting to a fitness ring instead of allowing alerts on my wrist from a watch. For me those wrist alerts shattered my efforts to achieve deep work and sustain focus. Sometimes you just need to focus and those alerts, notifications, or messages just need to wait a little bit in the attention priority queue.
Footnotes:
[1] I’m not entirely sure this citation is the best source for this metric, but it does seem to be commonly cited and is from 2015 Time magazine https://time.com/3858309/attention-spans-goldfish/
[2] https://www.google.com/search?q=%22attention+is+the+new+oil%22
[3] https://medium.com/@setsutao/attention-is-the-new-oil-not-data-bf54c64d3279
What’s next for The Lindahl Letter?
Week 178: Inside the Mind: The Science of Focus and Distraction
Week 179: Designed to Distract: How Technology Grabs Your Attention
Week 180: The Focus Formula: Prioritize What Truly Matters
Week 181: Your Attention Fortress: Building a Distraction-Free Life
Week 182: Deep Work, Rare Results: The Art of Uninterrupted Focus
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