In today’s lesson, you’ll learn why attention residue is a nasty byproduct of procrastination and the two things you need to wipe your mind clean of attention residue.
Video Lesson
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Time: 2:54
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Click full screen (lower right corner) to increase the size
Attention residue
Attention residue is when person’s attention is only partially focused on a current activity (task or social interaction) because a prior activity is still holding part of his or her attention.
Examples of attention residue:
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Having dinner with friend while still thinking about a conversation from earlier in the day OR
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Working on a new project while pondering how you could have solved another project a little better.
Attention residue is a nasty byproduct of procrastination.
It’s that same nagging feeling you get, when you don’t finish what you started.
Completion vs. closure
And according to a study by Sophie Leroy—published in the journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes—attention residue is a real thing.
This residue gets all up in your brain’s business when you prematurely switch tasks.
The study says you need two things to wipe your mind clean of attention residue: completion and closure.
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Completion means the job is done.
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Closure means you’re mentally done with the job.
Here’s an example:
Let’s say you’re working a dead-end job for a major asshole of a boss.
One day your boss asks you to make him a cup of coffee.
You decide…
“Screw this, I quit. I didn’t want to work here, anyway.”
That’s closure—not completion.
Why? Because your mentally done with the job even though you didn’t make him coffee.
Now, let’s rewind. Rather than quit, you knuckle down and make your boss a cup of coffee. Later, on the car ride home—pissed at your boss’s insulting request—you can’t help but think I should have spit in his coffee too that fat bastard!
That’s completion—not closure.
Why? Because you completed your work, but you’re still thinking about it.
Leroy—argues that, without completion and closure, we cannot focus on our next task.
The lesson?
You need completion and closure before moving on to your next task.
Using your kanban for completion and closure
In your kanban, to get
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completion, set up each task as a SMART goal. (Remember, SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.)
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closure, move your Trello card from the “Doing” to the “Done” column.
See how that works?
Your kanban lets you clearly define your task (making it clear when you’ve completed it) and gives you closure by visually and physically moving the card to the “Done” column.
Please do not underestimate the power of completion and closure. They ensure progress, improve your focus, and boost your morale.
Try it today.
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