But before you decide what you want to accomplish, there’s a more important question to answer:

Who owns your attention?
Attention is the real currency of the modern world. Not time. Not money. Time passes whether we notice it or not. Money can be earned, lost, and earned again. Attention, once spent, is gone forever. And today, there is a global economy built entirely around capturing it.

Every notification, autoplay video, breaking-news alert, and “recommended for you” feed is part of a silent competition. Platforms bid for our focus using algorithms shaped by psychology, data, and relentless testing. The goal isn’t to serve us - it’s to keep us.

And the competition never stops.

Most of us believe we’re in control. We tell ourselves we’re just checking something quickly, staying informed, or taking a break. Sometimes that’s true. Often, it isn’t.

The most effective distractions don’t feel like distractions at all. They feel useful. Entertaining. Necessary. They don’t pull us away from what matters - they disguise themselves as what matters.

When attention isn’t chosen deliberately, it’s taken quietly. And the longer that goes unnoticed, the more ownership slips away.

What we give our attention to repeatedly becomes our mental environment. And our mental environment shapes how we think, how we feel, and how we act.

• Urgency breeds anxiety.
• Outrage breeds anger.
• Comparison breeds dissatisfaction.

Over time, attention doesn’t just influence our mood - it shapes our identity. Our beliefs, priorities, and sense of direction are downstream of where our focus flows.

So the question “Who owns your attention?” is really asking something deeper: Who is shaping the person you are becoming? One of the greatest losses of constant distraction is depth. Deep thinking. Deep work. Deep relationships. All of them require sustained attention.

Most goals don’t fail because of laziness or lack of ambition. They fail because attention leaks away in small, almost invisible increments. Five minutes here. Ten minutes there. A quick scroll. A harmless interruption.

Individually insignificant. Collectively decisive.

Fragmented attention produces shallow results, no matter how strong the intention.

Owning your attention doesn’t require abandoning technology or retreating from the modern world. It requires intention.

Start with awareness. We should notice where our attention goes when we’re bored, stressed, or uncertain. We should pay attention to what consistently pulls us away from what matters most.

Then we should design our individual environments accordingly. Reduce unnecessary notifications. Create friction around our biggest distractions. Make focus easier than distraction.

Finally, we should align our attention with our values. We need to regularly ask ourselves: Is how I’m spending my attention aligned with the life I want to build this year? If not, the issue isn’t discipline - it’s direction.

At the start of the year, we chase outcomes: productivity, success, happiness, growth. But outcomes are downstream of attention.

A better resolution might be simpler - and more demanding:

Choose your attention deliberately.

Because when we reclaim our attention, we will reclaim our time. When we reclaim our time, we shall reclaim our direction. And when we reclaim our direction, the year ahead stops happening to us and starts being shaped by us.

Before the year fills with noise, pause and ask the question that matters most:

Who owns your attention - and who should?

The answer may define this year more than any goal you write down.

Craig Cuyler
Designated Safeguarding Lead/Director of Wellbeing/
Head of PSHEe/Assistant Housemaster (Main School)