Have you ever picked up your phone to check one thing and then looked up wondering where the last half hour went?
I did Adam Williams’s Attention Tax Calculator before we recorded. When I first saw my screen time, I was mortified. Looking closer, I could see how much I use my phone for work, directions and listening to podcasts, sometimes without looking at the screen at all. Even social media can be useful, though I know how easily checking one thing can turn into a scroll. It got me thinking about which of those uses help me and which pull my attention away from things I’d rather be doing.
In this episode of It’s a Mindset, I’m joined by Adam Williams, The Attention Architect® and author of Mega Focus: Take Back Control. Join the Attention Revolution. Adam spent 30 years helping organisations capture people’s attention. These days, he helps people work out where they want to give theirs.
We talk about what Adam calls the Attention Tax™: what we miss out on when something that matters less takes more of our attention than we intended. We also get into the quieter ways it shows up, like spending another hour polishing something that was ready to send, or doing all the easy jobs on the list while the important one sits there.
What stayed with me was Adam’s idea of making a trade. Once you see what’s taking up your attention, you can choose what you’d rather give it to. For me, one thing that came up was sleep. I already knew I sometimes stayed on my phone longer than I meant to, but seeing what it was costing me gave me a better reason to put it down.
Key Episode Takeaways:
The real cost of an attention habit is what it crowds out. Two people can spend the same time on their phones and get very different value from it.
Perfectionism can carry an attention cost too. Adam shares how polishing or researching past the point of usefulness can delay the step that matters.
Notice the habits you’re already doing on autopilot. Adam’s “attention mirror” is an invitation to observe where your attention goes before deciding what to change.
Make one deliberate trade. Choose something that could have a little less of your attention and decide what you’d like to give that time to instead.
Ask what you can remove to improve. Giving yourself fewer competing priorities can make it easier to give the important ones your full attention.
About the Guest:
Adam Williams is The Attention Architect®, author of Mega Focus and creator of the Attention Tax Calculator™. He spent 30 years working in the attention business, holding senior roles at Optus, Aussie Home Loans and ARN and creating campaigns for major brands. Today, he works with people and organisations to help them notice what competes for their attention and direct it towards what matters to them.
Show Resources:
Try Adam’s Attention Tax Calculator™
Explore Adam’s work at The Attention Architect®
Explore my book, Worthy & Wealthy
Follow me on Instagram: @emmalagerlow
If you LOVED this episode, make sure you share it on your Instagram Stories and tag me @emmalagerlow. I’d love to hear what you want to give more of your attention to.
Yours in making time for what matters, Emma. X.
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