This document provides tips for mindful social media use and managing attention online. It suggests that self-knowledge is the first step, and includes a 10 question assessment to determine one's "attention score" regarding anxiety and distraction related to online activities. A score of 0-5 indicates mindful online habits, while 6-10 suggests needing help to establish better attention habits. The document advocates paying attention to breath, priorities, and bringing focus back when attention wanders. It also recommends establishing small, repeatable habits to develop mindful attention routines.

1. Mindful Social Media
Mini-Workshop by Beth Kanter, Beth’s Blog

2. Managing Your Attention Online: Why Is It An Important
Work Skill?

3. Self-Knowledge Is The First Step
A few quick
assessment
questions
Add up your
score: # of YES
answers

4. Self-Knowledge Is The First Step
1. When you open email or do social media tasks, does it make you feel anxious?
2. When you go online to do social media tasks or email, have you ever forgotten what it was in
the first place you wanted to accomplish?
3. Do you ever wish the email or social media would just go away?
4. Do you experience frustration at the amount of electronic information you need to process
daily?
5. Do you sit at your computer for longer than 30 minutes at a time without getting up to take
a break?
6. Do you constantly check (even in the bathroom on your mobile phone) your email, Twitter
or other online service?
7. Is the only time you're off line is when you are sleeping?
8. Do you feel that you often cannot concentrate?
9. Do you get anxious if you are offline for more than a few hours?
10. Do you find yourself easily distracted by online resources that allow you to avoid other,
pending work?

5. What’s Attention Score?
Source: Tzofia
Source: Lulumonathletica
0…1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10
Mindful Online………………………………………………………..Need Help Now

6. What is mindfulness online?
• Pay attention to your breath and cultivate
mindfulness
• Understand your goals and priorities and
ask yourself at regular intervals whether
your current activity serves your higher
priority.
• Notice when your attention has
wandered, and then gently bringing it
back to focus on your highest priority
Source: Howard Rheingold
NetSmart

7. Sometimes your goal might be to learn
or deepen relationships – in which case
– having fun or making small talk or
exploring from link to link is
permissible – and important. Don’t
make attention training so rigid that it
destroys flow.

9. What small habit will you change?
To establish new attention
habits, start small, find a
place in your routine for new
behavior and repeat until
paying attention has become
a habit
Source: Bandragirl: http://bandragirl.tumblr.com/