What Happens When You Don't Control Your Attention?
Attention is both a skill and an art
As a skill, it means staying focused. As an art, it means knowing what deserves your focus.
You develop both by slowing down and paying attention to your life.
When I switch tasks, I pause, take a breath, and check in with myself. Sometimes I write down my thoughts. It takes seconds but helps me clear my mind and refocus.
“We do not learn from experience; we learn from reflecting on experience.” — John Dewey
“At the end of your life, looking back, whatever compelled your attention from moment to moment is what your life will have been.” — Oliver Burkeman
Every time you switch tasks, you lose focus—and a piece of yourself.
When you give attention to things you don’t care about, you spend your life on them.
Your attention shapes how you see the world. It affects your experiences, relationships, and goals. Most people treat attention like it’s endless. They bounce between emails, social media, and conversations without seeing the cost.
Divided attention always has a price.
I wrote this while listening to a pointless hour-long meeting with 90+ people where nobody knew why they were there. Attention is valuable, and we waste it.
That realization drove me to write. I want to transform stagnation into growth. I write about software engineering because it’s my career. I write about creativity because that’s what knowledge workers do. I explore monetizing this workflow through automation and AI because I’m building a solo business.
Writing helps me think through complex software engineering concepts. It’s how I experiment with code design and find evidence for better development practices. The more I write about programming, architecture, and workflows, the clearer these concepts become.
Good software design connects different patterns—object-oriented principles, AI-assisted workflows, clean code practices—and shows how they work together.
Fresh perspectives on familiar problems can transform how we write code.
My mission is helping developers understand their craft through practical insights and clear thinking about software engineering, Real experiences using LLMs , learning strategies, building digital/media businesses overall, my creative process and everything related to being a knowledge worker and human being in the digital age.
Thank you for reading.
📣 Whenever you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help you level up your thinking and engineering:
1. Staying Relevant: How Can Writing Grow Your Solo Business In The Digital Age?
Learn to think clearly, communicate with purpose, and build momentum through daily writing. “Staying Relevant” will help you sharpen your ideas, make better decisions, and lead with clarity—on paper and in life.
👉 Grab the book
2. 16 Ways to Level-Up Your Codebase
Transform your code quality in just 20 minutes a day. This guide is packed with practical, high-leverage strategies to write cleaner, happier, more maintainable code—without burning out.
👉 Get the guide
3. Architect Like a Pro (Event Modeling For Ruby On Rails Teams)
Confused architecture? Misaligned teams? In this 1:1 workshop, I’ll work with your engineering leaders to map your app using Event Modeling—so your Rails system becomes scalable, predictable, and easier to evolve.
👉 Book a session