Remember: Sturgeon’s law was published in 1957—think of how much cheaper it has become to produce information since then!

Protecting one’s own attention (regulating the information that comes in)

  • Physical space. Clearing the clutter on one’s desk. Putting away food containers with writing on them.
  • Digital space. Hardcore ad blockers! Email filters. Not using email or social media. Keeping the functionality of every tool to an absolute minimum. Checking communication tools once a day. Make it really easy to do the essential tasks and really awful to do other stuff.
  • Sound. White noise, ambient music.
  • Mental environment. Mindfulness and CBT superpowers. Avoiding binge browsing. Sleep. Exercise.
  • Social environment.

Protecting others’ attention (regulating the information that goes out)

  • High-quality communication: detailed when it needs to be (overcommunication is good communication!) but avoiding unnecessary details or topics.
  • Involving the essential people only.
  • Sending messages to a given recipient in bulk as much as possible (it’s easier to read one message on five topics than five messages at different times on different topics).
  • Ideally, placing a delay between the impulse of needing to communicate with someone and actually sending the message.

“He went away, deep into the mountains, and no one knew where he went.” Chuang-tzu 28 (Abdication)