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Book review "Attention Management": Skeptic about the impact

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Attention Management is a self-help book on productivity written by Maura Nevel Thomas. The core theme of the book is how to give more attention to the work you are doing in a world full of continuous chaos and distractions. 

Attention Management is a relatively new term in the field of productivity. The idea of attention management is to stay fully focused on your work. Unlike time management, it is not about how long you are doing your task. Rather, it is about undivided attention while doing something no matter what amount of time. I first heard this term from a youtube video of a lecturer of BUET (Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology).

Cover of Attention Management
Book cover

The book has five chapters (except Introduction and Conclusion) where Thomas tried to explain how to become good at attention management. Some of the tips were new and attractive to me. But there were some instructions (e.g. taking breaks after a certain time, turning off your digital device) that seemed like the classical tips for time management to me. They were like old wine in a new bottle.

Personally, I am not a big fan of self-help books. Many parts of these books seem to me as a repetition of the same ideas. This book is not an exception. Although some ideas of this book intrigued me, I am doubtful about their success. I don't think that these tips will boost your productivity dramatically.


The cover of the book is good. The book is written in simple English. I had to use the dictionary only a few times. Given that, my vocabulary is not that rich, it is really easy to read. The book is short, you can finish reading it within an hour. Whatever, I am not recommending this book.


At a glance:


Name of the book: Attention Management 

Writer: Maura Nevel Thomas

Number of pages: 136

Published by: Simple Truths, an imprint of Sourcebooks

Location: Bangladesh

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