You’ve seen it while driving. The car in the lane next to you suddenly drifts over into your lane and nearly clips your fender. Only your attention to conditions and your quick reflexes allow you to avoid a collision. The driver who did this remains unaware of the near hit.

You are sitting two cars from the front of a red light in a turn lane, and it turns green. Five seconds go by. You tap your horn. Another five seconds go by. Finally, the first driver starts moving through the intersection. Then, you get the yellow light just as you get to the intersection. This annoying waste of your time seems to happen every day.

In electrical work, the stakes are always high. Having to redo work because of poor attention can push the profit right out of the project and maybe cost you your job. Inattentiveness around energized equipment could cause an arc blast, in which case fast reflexes won’t save you.

Inattentiveness seems to dominate our culture. Much of it stems from the mistaken notion that a human being can perform two attention-demanding tasks at once. This theory is contradicted by science. The reason you can’t write an e-mail and carry on a conversation at the same time is because both activities tap into the language center of the brain. The brain is not a parallel computing machine; it’s a serial task manager. Each specialized area of the brain (e.g., language) can do one task at a time. You can walk and chew gum at the same time because each activity uses different brain areas, so there’s no cognitive traffic jam.

The attempt to multitask isn’t the only reason for inattentiveness. Another cause is sleep deprivation. You’ve probably noticed that when you are tired, you have a hard time focusing. The Sleep Institute found that 20% sleep deprivation puts you at the mental acuity of a person who is legally intoxicated. This is because sleep is required for your brain to unload metabolic waste.

So, how can you insulate yourself from inattentiveness? Let’s examine three methods that address the first major cause above (trying to multi-task) and two that address the second (sleep deprivation).

Method 1: Choose

Suppose a friend asks you to play a game of pickup basketball, and another asks you to play a game of volleyball. Would you choose between the two, or would you run back and forth between the basketball court and the volleyball court?

When you’re on the job, choose to be fully there. That means you choose not to answer text messages, chat on the phone, discuss football, mentally make after-work plans, or do anything else unrelated to the task at hand — even if it’s a work issue.

For example, you are taking voltage measurements in a live panel. Does it matter if your coworker asks you about a recent football game, or your boss asks you about some other project? In both cases, distraction could prove lethal. Choose either to work or to talk, but not both.

Method 2: Habitualize

Make a habit of focusing on what you are doing. Being generally inattentive and expecting to be attentive on the job will probably lead to disappointment. The habit of inattentiveness may die hard, but you have less chance of dying if it does. You can’t flip a switch to go between modes. You are either generally attentive or generally inattentive. Taking a generally inattentive behavior pattern on the job means no matter how hard you try to be attentive, you won’t be.

Bad habits take time to develop. Use that time to develop good habits instead. No matter what you are doing, pay attention as you are doing it. This will help you make a habit of attentiveness. If someone or something distracts you, then stop what you are doing and address the distraction.

For example, you are working when your phone alerts you to a text message. Now you can’t get that text message off your mind. You keep thinking about answering it, but you don’t want the distraction. However, you are already distracted. The best solution is to stop working on your task at a safe stopping point (e.g., disconnect your meter, close the enclosure door, get down off the ladder, etc.). Deal with that text message, and then turn your phone off so the problem doesn’t recur.

Method 3: Practice

Actively practicing attentiveness is different from becoming habitualized. Practice does not make perfect; practice makes permanent. Practice attentiveness.

When you practice, you are using challenging activities to train your mind and body to act a certain way. You can choose from many different methods for practicing attentiveness. For many people, taking up a concentration-dependent activity works well. Such activities include martial arts, skeet shooting, woodworking, meditation, puzzles, climbing, yoga, chess, and computer gaming.

The timer approach also works well. Set a timer to one minute less than what you think your maximum focus time is, then engage in a task and think only of that task. When the timer goes off, stop. By not going into a state of inattentiveness, you program yourself only for attentiveness.

Method 4: Shut down

One reason many people have trouble falling asleep is they are still in a relatively high state of stimulation when they get into bed. Have a shutdown time, and don’t deviate from it unless there’s an emergency. This sets you up for going to bed at a consistent time. Is it early enough for adequate sleep? If you need an alarm clock to wake you up, go to bed a little earlier each night until you can wake up when you want without an alarm.

Your brain needs to wind down. Find something that works for you. You could do one big thing, such as read a novel for 30 minutes, or you could do several small things back to back. For example, shut down all your electronic devices (computer, smart phone, television, etc.), and read to your child.

Method 5: Darken

Light pollution in the bedroom, especially the blue light emitted by phones and other electronics, triggers your “wake up” state. One short exposure to light can drop your melatonin level below what you need for good sleep.

Empty the bedroom of light-emitting objects such as cell phones. Try to eliminate all light sources. If you leave your bedroom door open to allow your dog or cat to come and go during the night, install a pet door and set the flap in the up position so it doesn’t wake you. This will cut down on light and also help in case of fire (versus a wide-open door). Also, check your window treatments. If light is coming in from outside, install shades made especially for the purpose of darkening a room.

Staying alert

If you employ these five methods, you should beat the most common reasons for inattentiveness — and remember that electrical work requires a nimble, alert mind at all times.

Lamendola is a freelance writer based in Merriam, Kan. He can be reached at  [email protected].       .