Paying attention differs from spending time or being aware.

Evidence

The Attention Economy is a unique and refreshing book on a topic that has not received a lot of attention. It differs from many books on time management and self-awareness in that paying attention is not the same thing as spending time or being aware. Attention is differentiated by its sharp focus and the mental effort it requires. Attention management thus goes far beyond simple prescriptions of scheduling and organization. — Thomas Davenport & John Beck, The Attention Economy, 22

Categorization

• DEFINE: Distinguishes attention from time and awareness — the book’s core definitional move: attention is sharp focus plus mental effort, not mere scheduling.
• XREF: Connects to the reader’s attention-economy frame: this is the early scholarly claim that attention is a distinct scarce resource, distinct from time. — connects to: Attention is an interactive relation to one’s life-sustaining environment, not a resource — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 86; Attention also varies in quality and mode, not just quantity — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 123; Attention consists in labor that augments our ability to notice the neglected — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 269 (+4 more)

Related

• Attention also varies in quality and mode, not just quantity (similarity 0.88)
• Attention is an interactive relation to one’s life-sustaining environment, not a resource (similarity 0.87)
• Attention is the scarce resource that powers the information economy. (similarity 0.86)
• Attention is socially and materially mediated, not just a scarce mental resource (similarity 0.86)
• Attention is becoming the hegemonic resource restructuring material production (similarity 0.85)
• Attention is fundamentally a collecting and filtering act for survival. (similarity 0.85)
• Attention is a socially produced and politically governed resource, not merely a scarce one. (similarity 0.84)
• Attention consists in labor that augments our ability to notice the neglected (similarity 0.83)
• Attention is the mind’s selective possession of one focus amid several possible ones. (similarity 0.83)
• Attention is a currency that is always being spent and cannot be saved (similarity 0.83)
• Attention is a fundamental life resource, not a discretionary commodity. (similarity 0.83)
• Attention functions as a political economy embedded in specific temporal contexts (similarity 0.83)
• Attention-economy analysis must be reframed within a broader attention ecosophy (similarity 0.83)
• The attention economy rests on a hidden false premise about attention. (similarity 0.83)
• Attention operates as a form of capital that accrues interest and concentrates inequality. (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• Attention is the mind’s selective possession of one focus amid several possible ones. #expands (0.90) — Michael H. Goldhaber, The Attention Economy and the Net, 5
• Attention is an activity that forms persons, not a resource that platforms act upon #expands (0.85) — Annual Review of Anthropology contributors (⚠ verify author line), The Political Economy of Attention, 68
• Attention is socially and materially mediated, not just a scarce mental resource #expands (0.80) — Annual Review of Anthropology contributors (⚠ verify author line), The Political Economy of Attention, 26
• Attention itself can be the creative medium, not just the output #expands (0.75) — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 52