What is Attention Compass - Workflows 1 & 2 - DBR 023

• What's a backlog
  • Processes turn a list into a backlog
  • The workflows are intended to maintain the backlog
  • Farming the backlog
• Submarine analogy
  • Exposed is dangerous, but necessary
  • So with our attention – exposed is dangerous
  • Communication channels expose our attention
  • Hijacking and curiosity
  • But channels can absorb more attention than warranted
  • Quiet-chatty balance
  • Be on guard, your attention can escape you
• Constant capture
  • In order to reduce the most difficult form of wasted attention, distraction, we need to capture everything that we become seriously aware of
  • How capture keeps us away from distraction

The Capture workflow

• You're already doing capture – we're just formalizing it
• Aware of new or changed information
• Capture = Throw the info toward the backlog
• Quick and easy and back to work
• So capture is semi-continuous
• Capture can happen during other work
  • And during exposure to communication channels
  • 'capture during other work' is distraction and is expected to go away
• So we eject stuff from our skulls
• Good capture keeps stuff from lodging in our brains
  • The monkey brain slows down
  • Capture needs to be extra fast
• Good capture does two related things:
  • One: give us confidence that we're aware of the stuff
  • Two: give us confidence that we don't need to store things in our brain
  • Brain = workbench, so keep it clean
• Capture is a fundamental act and core workflow
  • There are times when we intentionally capture, as well

• The backlog has an intake
• Processing deals with the captured stuƯ from the intake
• and can help capture work better
• Processing on a routine, rhythmic basis
• Ideal workflow rhythm
• Aside on work blocks (a dedicated time period for focus)
• Back to the work rhythm
• First rule: process to empty
• 'mechanics' of processing: turn it into what it is and put it where it belongs
• Actionable vs. reference information
• Turn it into what it is
• We don't know where it belongs until we know what it is
• Then we put it where it belongs
• In general, it belongs where you are confident you'll see it again at the right time
• Processing to empty (or current)
• Recap: three things about processing
• Process in two layers
• We process the intake of our backlog
• The same mindset of processing applies to any information channel.
• Then we process our 'master' input channel – intake to the backlog
• The tool has to create new places where things may belong
• The tool must have certain properties
• One is support for an 'emergent' storage schema
• You have to create your own schema
• The tool has to have a few organizational schemas
• Actionable information requires a 'Reminder' schema = tickler system
• But it also has a reference information schema
• And a priority schema
• Data storage must support multiple different schemas for proper organization