In his book Pre-Suasion, author Robert Cialdini offers some great nuggets about paying attention. Here are some of my favorites.
When you pay attention to something there is a cost. The cost is the attention lost to something else.
We think we can multi-task but we cannot. Have you ever tried singing two songs at the same time?
There is also a fee for switching back and forth between two things. You hit a dead spot while switching!
People believe that what you attend to, you value. If someone is having a conversation with you, don't make them feel unimportant! Focus on them.
I don't know about you, but I have some work to do!