i'm putting myself through reversal of attention span deficiency training (RASDT). over the last few years of working at a .com, i've gotten used to having 6 browser windows open, each of them representing a thought, or a task. every email that needs my attention also has its own window, and there are other things, such as powerpoint, word, or visio files. and of course there's the leisure windows, for fantasy sports and the like. the end result is that i can't focus on any one thing anymore. while i was working, i'm sure 45% of my day was just spent flipping through the different windows, pausing to scan or think about each one for a few moments, then flipping to the next window. each time i flipped i would think, "i'll focus on this later."
the end result? i can't focus on anything. even as i write this blog, the temptation to flip to a different window and see if i've gotten any new emails, or if there's a new trade in my fantasy leagues, is overwhelming. so, thus the need for RASDT. step one: get through a magazine and retain some useful knowledge. today i tried businessweek's special edition on social security:
"To give America's struggling seniors a lifeline out of poverty, Franklin D. Roosevelt 70 years ago established the Social Security system. The program was never intended to be particularly generous - and even after increases over the decades, the average check totals just $14,000 a year. Yet Social Security remains a mainstay for America's 36 million seniors; two out of three count on it for half their income."
Did you fall asleep? Scan ahead to the next paragraph, this one? Click on "next blog?" If so, you may be in need of RASDT. When i have the program steps worked out, i'll open franchises dedicated to fixing this problem, a la jenny craig. "brian wey's attention span deficiency reversal training program." i'm gonna need some serious branding work before i can sell that in an infomercial.
Speaking of Social Security, it makes it much more fun to think about it in West Wing terms. If Martin Sheen read this article aloud to me, i might actually pay attention.
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one of the biggest proponents of RASDT, is overcoming the WGAS syndrome. WGAS, known as Who Gives A Shit syndrome, is an acute mind ignoring process where one sees the first couple of words in a given sentance, and WGASes it out of existence. for example. you attempted to tell us about america's struggling seniors. and as soon as i got to 'seniors' that sentance got thoroughly WGASed.
i believe that a key success factor for RASDT is to defeat WGAS. once we successfully turn people from exerting WGAS to GAS (gives a shit), then perhaps we'll all be more attentive, albiet more smelly, people.
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