In her new book — Attention: A Love Story — Casey Schwartz considers the role of attention in defining us. She cautions that as our attention spans have shortened to a period of fewer than ten seconds, we are losing hours of our daily lives to anxiety-inducing digital distractions. In Vanity Fair, Mary Alice Miller unpacks the ways these impacts are being ramped up during COVID-19, and the opportunity we all have to do better.
“This version of togetherness—in which connection must happen through the same medium as work, errands, and news-gathering—contributes to a special type of exhaustion, one that had already been brewing for three decades as our lives transitioned into their virtual expressions. Now, forced to live 100% of the time in what tech ethicist James Williams has described as a “new mode of deep distraction,” it seems the pandemic has expedited an inevitable breaking point. “This is a unique opportunity,” Schwartz said, “to rethink our relationship to constant stimulation.”
Constant stimulation is what causes Digital Burnout, which we want to help you avoid (particularly right now). COVID-19 has introduced many new challenges and adjustments to our work, whether we’re working remotely, looking for work, or working longer hours. Setting healthy boundaries, managing and restoring our energy, and navigating increased screen time are just a few of the many challenges we’re confronted with.
So in partnership with The Burnout Project and Hydra Labs, CSI is offering an action-oriented workshop to help you:
- Connect with others navigating stress, productivity, and burnout.
- Explore and unpack sources of burnout
- Learn the signs and signals of high stress
- Learn ways to manage your energy and time during COVID-19
- Build healthy habits for a post-pandemic world
(The fee for this workshop is $20, but no one will be turned away due to their financial situation. Please a message to theburnoutproject@gmail.com if cost is a barrier.)
