Your attention is one of your most valuable and limited resources. Protect it by deliberately choosing what information you consume and ignoring what doesn't serve your priorities.
selective ignorance: the discipline of intentionally remaining uninformed about things that don't meaningfully improve your life.
1. The hidden cost of information
Attention has an opportunity cost. Every minute spent scrolling, watching news, or following controversies is time you cannot spend on meaningful goals or making art.
Information overload weakens concentration. Constant stimulation and interruptions make sustained focus increasingly difficult and it creates clutter and noise where otherwise creative ideas could have formed.
Learning can create false productivity. Watching educational content feels productive, but knowledge only becomes valuable when applied.
Unnecessary information creates anxiety. Following problems outside your control can generate worry without producing solutions.
Key lesson: Judge information by whether it improves your decisions, skills, behavior, or circumstances.
2. The discipline of selective ignorance
You cannot know everything, so deliberately choose what deserves your attention.
Use these principles:
Relevance: Does this information support my goals or solve a problem?
Importance over urgency: Just because something is trending doesn't mean i need to know about it.
Depth over breadth: Develop deep knowledge in a few important subjects instead of shallow knowledge about everything.
Accept not knowing: i dont need an opinion about every topic.
Intentional curiosity: Entertainment and curiosity are valuable when consciously chosen rather than consumed compulsively. creating before consuming
Key lesson: Being informed about everything is less valuable than being knowledgeable about what matters.
Before opening an app, video, or article, ask:
Why am I consuming this?
What will I gain?
Is this worth my attention right now?
And extra how does this relate to my art
Eliminate distractions at the source
Turn off unnecessary notifications, unfollow irrelevant accounts, restrict algorithmic feeds, and remove distracting apps.
Use a second phone for social media.
Forward everything people send you to that second phone.
The most important question to remember:
Is what I'm giving my attention to right now helping me become the person I want to be?
