Psychologists at University College London have shown that different people have different levels of distractibility. In an article called Are You Easily Distracted? A New Psychological Test Measures Distractibility they also show that it is possible to decrease distractibility -or to put it another way to improve attention management. Now most of the work seems to be in the context of attention deficit disorder and other child learning issues – but from my experience this could have enormous implications for managers. Especially the ones who send text messages and e-mail with their mobiles under the table at a meeting – or who keep checking their incoming e-mail when they are supposed to be having a conversation with me.
How good are you at managing your attention?