Be a better listener by picking the right distractions

Doing my monthly cargo bike maintenance during a recent retro. At a recent Boulder Ruby meetup, we talked about our struggles with paying attention during remote meetings, especially after several in a row. My approach raised a few eyebrows: I actively try to distract myself during meetings! It’s the only way I can pay attention: the key is finding the right distractions. For years, my computer, phone, and watch have conspired to distract me during remote meetings. I’ve had some luck hiding non-call windows, leaving my phone plugged in elsewhere, and putting my watch in do-not-disturb. Even then, I’d find myself mindlessly alt-tabbing to my browser or Slack. I’d tell myself that I was still paying attention to the person speaking, but it’s really only possible to process a single stream of language input at a time; you have to choose between listening or reading. I remembered how my old manager Ben took many of his 1:1s on foot, racking up tens of thousands of steps in the…