The word I use a lot for our attention is fractured. And when our attention is fractured,

we're losing that energetic sovereignty, that feeling of independence.

Hi, this is Monica Packer, and you're listening to About Progress, where we are about

progress made practical.

Have you ever picked up your phone for just a second? And then suddenly 20 minutes are gone.

If you're anything like me, a busy woman juggling a lot of responsibilities, your attention can feel completely fractured. Not because you're lazy or

undisciplined, but because you're overwhelmed, overstimulated, and honestly just trying to cope.

It doesn't help that one of our most common coping mechanisms, our phones, are literally designed

to distract.

So what do you do when your life is less about being present and paying attention and more about being scattered and scrolling?

Today's conversation goes far beyond productivity hacks or unrealistic platitudes like

just use less screen time. Instead, we're talking about

something much deeper. How our distraction-heavy world is affecting our sense of agency,

our embodiment, and even our health, and what we can gently do about it. My guest, Cody Cook-Parrott, calls attention to practice, something we can

experiment with, reclaim, and rebuild without shame. In this episode, you will learn how to start

doing that in very small, doable ways. We will explore how to reclaim your attention through practice, compassion, and small

experiments, and how doing so can change your health, your relationships, and your ability to

truly show up fully to your life. Cody Cook Parrott is a writer and artist living on the

Lelania Peninsula in northern Michigan. They teach classes about

writing, quilting, and creative practice. They author the weekly newsletter Monday Monday,

and are the host of Common Shapes podcast. Cody is the author of the books How to Not Always

Be Working and Getting to Center. Their work has been featured in the New York Times,

...