We are living in a century where we are bombarded with information. Thanks to the rise of social media, digital journalism, and live media, we now have access to vast amounts of information like never before. Distractions have become so common in this digital age that we have started to accept them as normal. We have reached a point where we have more ways to get distracted than to be focused. Attention Diet is a term coined by Mark Manson , the author of the popular book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck .

Distractions have become so pervasive in the digital age that we’ve come to accept them as normal. But we can escape their grip and free our minds.

— Mark Manson

What is an Attention Diet?

An Attention Diet is to be followed in the 21st century, an era where we are bombarded with information. Attention diet focuses on the amount of media, content, and socializing people are doing these days, eventually distracting themselves. The goal of an attention diet is to find highly nutritious sources of information and relationships to build our lives around them. The diet gives more importance to quality over quantity.

According to Manson, the Attention diet is all about prioritizing nutritious sources of information and relationships over junk ones. Nutritious information is reliable, long-form, and deeply engaging, whereas junk information is unreliable, short, addictive, and emotionally charged. Nutritious relationships are people or groups who make you feel better, are positive, and help you grow. Junk relationships are often with people or groups having little mutual trust, consistently making you feel worse about yourself or the world.

Why does it Matter?

It all boils down to the question: why does it matter? Why should we follow an Attention Diet? The Attention Diet is essential for weeding out all the unwanted junk in the information universe and focusing on what is important. (I have written a piece on the importance of curated content in this context! ) With the number of options we have, we are always distracted. Our attention span is very short, and we cannot focus on anything for long. We are addicted to clickbait titles and consume media more than ever before. Smartphones and social media are often called the “cigarettes for millennials.” According to Manson , you only grow in this world by your ability to correctly focus on less. Just like we tackled junk food and lifestyle diseases through nutritional diets in the 20th century, we need to improve our focus through the attention diet.

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How to Start an Attention Diet?

The concept of the Attention Diet is similar to a nutritional diet where you cut down on unwanted food and eat more healthy to balance your macros and micros. In an Attention Diet, you mindfully limit the distractions you have, prioritize nutritious sources of information and relationships, and eventually reduce your craving for junk sources of information and relationships.

Three steps to follow in an attention diet are:

• Identify nutritious sources of information and relationships.
• Weed out all junk sources of information and connections.
• Cultivate the habit of deep focus and a longer attention span.

From May 2021, I’ve been trying to adopt a lifestyle where I’m conscious about the information I’ve been consuming. I’ve been following the steps mentioned below in my attention diet. I do not claim that these will work for you, but they have definitely worked for me as I now have better focus and a longer attention span within just 3-4 months. This is a working article, and I will update it with more action items as soon as I discover them.

Reduce Social Media

I’ve been annoyed with the BS content present on social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. In April, I unfollowed everyone on Instagram and unsubscribed from every YouTube channel. I no longer have any social media apps on my phone. The only platforms I use are Twitter and Reddit, where I have better control over what I’m consuming.

Unfollow News and Media Outlets

I do not follow any news or media outlets anymore. I have removed all news and media apps from my phone. I had a habit of checking the news several times an hour, and this eliminated that habit.

Turn off Personalized Suggestions

By tracking our search results, Google ensures that there is always content available for us to consume 24x7. I see far fewer ads and recommendations after turning off personalized results and suggestions.

Try to consume long-form content

I consume long-form content such as books, podcasts, well-researched articles, and documentaries. I take notes while reading books or articles. Long-form content is generally better researched and less full of fluff, which enhances my attention span.

Mute all notifications

All notifications are muted on my phone except for call notifications during work hours.

Find Sources of Accurate and Meaningful Information

The majority of the information I consume now comes through newsletters. For trustworthy publications, bloggers, or writers, I usually subscribe to their newsletters, allowing me to consume information through my email. Besides this, I do a lot of research using Wikipedia. I only consume external content when researching a particular topic, like writing this blog post.

Time Blocking

I use the technique of time blocking for reading emails, social media, or entertainment. I try to spend no more than 1.5 hours per day on emails. I limit social media platforms like Reddit and Twitter to a maximum of 30 minutes per day. Entertainment, such as music or YouTube, usually accounts for a maximum of 1 hour per day. The rest of my time is spent reading books, building stuff, or learning something new.

No-Distraction Time

I usually have these phases of no-distraction throughout the day. For example, when I’m writing an article or learning something, I turn on Zen Mode on my phone. This ensures that I cannot use my phone during this period. Also, on Sundays, I try to avoid smartphone use for as long as possible. Outside office hours, my phone is usually set to Airplane mode to avoid unnecessary calls or messages.

Set Phone Display to Monochrome

Most smartphones have an option to set the display colors to monochrome. I use a OnePlus handset, and it allows me to do this. My phone is usually set to monochrome, making the display less appealing and reducing my usage.