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Lesson 02 of 05
A young child playing with blocks at a kitchen counter while an adult works behind them

Lesson 02 · 9 min

What Steals Your Attention

Some distractions you can see. Some are inside your own head. Once you can name them, you can do something about them.

Listen first

Listen first: the attention thieves

Spoken introduction · read aloud in your browser

Imagine your attention is a balloon you're holding. Some things bump into it from outside — noises, people, screens. Some things tug it from inside — hungry, worried, bored, a brilliant idea at the wrong time.

This lesson is about spotting your thieves.

Two kinds of thieves

Outside thieves and inside thieves

Outside thieves are things around you: the TV in the next room, a notification, a sibling, a wobbly chair, someone eating crisps like the world is ending.

Inside thieves live in your head and body: being hungry or tired, needing to move, worrying about something, or having an idea that's WAY more fun than the thing you're supposed to do.

Here's the secret: inside thieves are just as powerful as outside ones. 'Sit still and concentrate' only fights the outside ones. That's why it often doesn't work.

Course tool · Lesson 02

The Distraction Sorter

Sort the thieves that steal your attention — outside ones and inside ones.

Which thieves visit you most?

One thief, one fix. That's a win. You don't have to catch them all.

Pick one

Which thief steals your attention most?

Reframe

I got distracted again. I'm hopeless.

Something stole my attention. Which thief was it?

Try this

The thief line-up

Next time homework goes wrong, don't get cross. Get curious.

  1. 01Say what pulled you away: noise, idea, hungry, wiggly, bored, worried.
  2. 02Write it or tell a grown-up — one word is enough.
  3. 03Pick ONE thief and one way to shrink it next time: snack first, door closed, timer on, fidget in hand.

You only have to shrink one thief at a time. Not all of them. Just one.

Quick win · 2 min

Fuel check first

Before homework: toilet, drink, snack, two minutes of jumping or stretching. A hungry, wiggly body will steal your attention every single time. Feed it first.

Keep this

Three things to take.

  1. 01Distractions come from outside you AND inside you — both count.
  2. 02Inside thieves like hunger, worry and wiggles need feeding, not telling off.
  3. 03Shrink one thief at a time. Small fixes beat big promises.

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Your Attention Is Alive

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Coming Back When You Drift