In our constantly connected world of social media, 24/7 news, and endless information streams, it's easy to get caught up following every single story, controversy, or piece of drama that arises. But the hard truth is that not everything deserves our undivided attention. Selectively deciding where to focus our limited time and energy is crucial. I realised this lesson a few years ago when I was spending way too much time following the never-ending beefs between various music artists. You know what I'm talking about - when Rapper X disses Singer Y on social media, their fans all take sides and instigate more drama. It's a toxic but admittedly entertaining cycle to get sucked into. At first, I told myself, It's just a bit of harmless drama to keep up with. But before long, I wasted hours every day reading celebrity tweets and gossip sites and watching diss tracks on YouTube. It was like overindulging on mental junk food - briefly satisfying but leaving me feeling gross and unfulfilled. As the philosopher Seneca wrote, People are frugal in guarding their personal property, but as soon as it comes to squandering time, they are most wasteful of the one thing about which everyone is very stingy. The reality is that most of this manufactured celebrity drama has almost zero impact on our actual daily lives. Yet, we give it so much weight and headspace. We'd be much better served investing that time and mental focus elsewhere on things that move the needle for us. In our era of insane informational overload, filtering out the noise and identifying what's truly important is paramount. Not every controversy, hostile communication, or internet beef requires our rapt attention and engagement. As author David Foster Wallace said, Everything I've ever let go of has claw marks on it. Deciding what doesn't merit our attention is as important as choosing what does. We all have limited reserves of time, energy and mental focus every day. When we squander those precious resources on trivial things, we have less available for what truly deserves it. Those beefs between musicians whose names I can't even remember anymore? It's definitely not worth the insane amount of headspace I gave them. So, how can we cultivate a better filter for where to direct our attention? Here are some tips: 1. Understand your values and goals: Make a point to define what matters most to you and where you want to see progress in your life. Then, stack-rank how you spend your time and energy based on that. 2. Turn off notifications: Constant pings and alerts make it extremely difficult to focus on priorities. Shut them off and check specific apps/feeds at designated times. 3. Follow sources selectively: Only subscribe to news, social media, podcasts, etc., that are high-quality and further your interests/goals. Apply curation rigorously! 4. Practice monotasking: We aren’t as good at multitasking as we believe. Give your full attention to one thing at a time, focus entirely, and then move to the next. 5. Schedule time for distractions: We all need mental breaks! Just time-box them so they don't bleed into priorities. 6. Remember your why: Constantly return to your core motivations. It's easy to get distracted by flashing objects unless we remind ourselves of our deeper purpose. To illustrate further, let's talk through a few examples of where I frequently have to be intentional with where I apply my focus: • When a new controversy arises around a comedian/celebrity I enjoy, I ask, Will engaging with this actually improve my life or work in any way? Usually, the answer is no, so I tune it out. My time is better spent levelling up my skills and impact. • New research in my field gets published. Some of it is groundbreaking and demands my full attention as it expands my knowledge. But let's be honest: Most of it is incremental and can be skimmed or even skipped entirely. There is no need to obsess over every paper. • I get pitched on a new business opportunity or asked to give feedback on something outside my core priorities. While these are great in theory, if they're too much of a tangent from my current goals and focus areas, I politely decline. As Greg McKeown says, If it isn't a HELL YES, it's a no. The common thread? My time and attention are extremely limited. I'm much more impactful and fulfilled when I selectively choose where to direct my focus based on what will actually move my important needles. But you know what? That doesn't mean no room for fun, relaxation, or even the occasional dive into silly drama or guilty pleasures. There absolutely is! As long as you time-box it and don't let it monopolise your headspace and priorities, harmless indulgences can be healthy and recharging. Everything in moderation, including moderation, right? So the next time some buzzworthy drama arises, whether in entertainment, politics, or even amongst your social circles, take a deep breath and ask yourself, Does giving this more attention serve me? And if the answer is no, have the discipline to tune it out. Save that precious time and mental energy for what truly enriches your life, goals, and priorities. Not every trivial thing requires our undivided attention and engagement. Learning to filter the noise is true wisdom.
