Scarcity: when attention has room for only one thing
When something is tight, the gap fills the view. That is captured attention, not a character flaw.
English stub. When money, time, or a place in line is tight, the immediate gap gets large. Arrangements that only pay off later drop out of view.
Bandwidth is finite
Scarcity, in this piece, is a state: working memory is occupied, so the remaining judgment gets short. “Try harder” rarely helps, because the week already holds less.
Shrink the week
When bandwidth is full, another goal usually makes it fuller. Three questions are enough for a placeholder:
- Which gap has to be handled.
- What can be postponed, with a date to look again.
- What only feels urgent.
The finished essay should name its sources. Until then, treat this as a marked stub.