Lifelong learning in the age of distraction
We live in the age of information. With an endless supply of data available to us anywhere, anytime, we are all empowered to become lifelong learners and accrue deep knowledge in an area of interest.
And yet, with this abundance of information only a click away, we often find ourselves preoccupied or not taking advantage of the information at hand. We mindlessly scroll. We inadvertently consume advertising. We read and watch content without discern or critical thinking.
Why? Because there’s just so much content to wade through.
It’s estimated that we are presented with up to 10,000 messages every day. So, just as it is the age of information, it is too the age of distraction.
Andrew Sullivan articulates this well in his article I Used to Be a Human Being for New York Magazine, ‘Although I spent hours each day, alone and silent, attached to a laptop, it felt as if I were in a constant cacophonous crowd of words and images, sounds and ideas, emotions and tirades — a wind tunnel of deafening, deadening noise.’
In this environment, even the most productive lifelong learners or knowledge enthusiasts would struggle to identify gems of information amidst the white noise - much less compartmentalise and process this information into deeper insights, creative thinking or innovation.
This is why we have created myhaventime. We saw the need for a space that supported deep thought away from distraction. A space for self directed learning and the convergence of information into great ideas. We identified the need for better knowledge management so when a gem — a piece of outstanding information, data or insight — is found or had, it is securely stored and easily accessible. Ready to be developed upon or revisited in the future.
A calm space free of distraction for focus and continuous learning
Cal Newport, author of Deep Work and professor at Georgetown University advocates uninterrupted environments and expanses of time in order to produce work of value. He writes, ‘Humans thrive on concentration and presence’.
We developed the myhaventime interface to support exactly that: concentration and presence. Our interface is intentionally minimal and customisable, allowing for gems (whether they’re your own ideas or external media) to be displayed in a simple and visual way.
A room full of gems will give you a macro view of your thought process and knowledge development over time. The collation of gems into one space will also trigger new insights or help develop existing ideas - a useful tool for creativity and innovation management.
Although you can add an infinite number of gems to any given room, we suggest that you only upload your most impactful ideas or data to create a fertile environment for exceptional insights and learnings to occur.
Unlike other digital platforms, there will never be distracting ads, and nor will your data be available to third parties. Your ideas and insights are fully secure in myhaventime.
Knowledge management for personal growth and professional development
When we do stumble across a real gem we might store it in a folder, bookmark it, screen shot it, save it on Instagram, pin it to a wall, scribble it in a journal or add it to the cloud – storing it for later (or perhaps never when it’s forgotten and lost to the ether).
myhaventime provides a structure for knowledge management. It is an intuitive and easy-to-access platform for storing all media filetypes.
Our inbuilt learning coach offers subtle reminders on a predetermined basis, so you can set journal prompts daily or weekly to add new gems to your room. This is especially useful for habit building or if you are working on a time-sensitive project that requires heightened conscientiousness.
New insights develop exponentially as your ideas and information collate over time.
Whether it is in a professional, educational or personal context, eliminating the white noise allows for our most effective ideation, insight development and deep work.
So too does the considered storage and consolidation of ideas, knowledge and insights into one accessible location.
myhaventime facilitates lifelong learning and knowledge development through our minimal, intuitive and distraction-free platform.
