Metacognition of Attention
Awareness and monitoring of one's own attention and attentional processes.
Also known as: Attention awareness, Attention monitoring, Meta-attention
Category: Concepts
Tags: attention, metacognition, self-awareness, focus, mindfulness
Explanation
Metacognition of attention is the capacity to be aware of and monitor your own attention - knowing where your attention is, noticing when it wanders, and understanding your attentional patterns. It includes: introspective awareness (noticing current attention state), pattern recognition (understanding typical attention behaviors), and strategic awareness (knowing what helps or hinders focus). This meta-level awareness is crucial because: you can't manage what you don't notice, early detection of wandering enables faster correction, and understanding patterns enables better design. Meditation particularly develops this capacity - regular practice trains the skill of noticing attention drift. Without metacognition, attention management is reactive (noticing distraction only after significant time lost). With it, management becomes proactive (detecting and correcting early). For knowledge workers, developing attention metacognition means: practicing noticing where attention is, identifying personal attention patterns, and using this awareness to make better attention choices.
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