# Attention Budget and Session Card

Use with [Protect Your Attention From Both Algorithms and Assistants](/articles/attention-protection-in-ai-life).

## Part 1: Seven-day attention log

For one week, log every AI session — even short ones.

| Day | Task/category | Approx. length | Clear ending? (Y/N) | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Mon | | | | |
| Tue | | | | |
| Wed | | | | |
| Thu | | | | |
| Fri | | | | |
| Sat | | | | |
| Sun | | | | |

At the end of the week, circle every row marked "N" — those are the categories most likely to
need a budget entry below.

## Part 2: Attention budget

Fill in one row per recurring category of AI use in your day.

| Category | Opens (trigger) | Job (one sentence) | Ends (timer / deliverable / exchange count) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |

## Part 3: Before/open/close checklist (use every session)

- [ ] **Before opening:** I can state the job in one sentence.
- [ ] **While open:** unrelated questions go into a notes list, not into this session.
- [ ] **On close:** I checked the job against what I got, and closed the tab/window fully.

## Settings pass (do once)

- [ ] Push notifications for AI apps: off
- [ ] AI apps removed from home screen / dock
- [ ] Old open conversation threads closed out
- [ ] Dedicated browser profile/window for AI work, if usage is heavy

## The drafting prompt

```text
Here's how I currently use AI assistants across a typical day:
[describe: what tasks, roughly when, roughly how long each session runs]

Help me turn this into an attention budget: for each category of use,
suggest a specific trigger for when it opens, a one-sentence job
description specific enough to know when it's done, and a concrete
session-end signal (timer, deliverable, or exchange count). Flag any
category where I described no clear ending as the likely source of
drift.
```

## Weekly review

- Which budget entries held for the full week?
- Which ones did you override on day one — and what does that tell you about the trigger or
  job description (too vague, wrong time of day, missing end signal)?
- Did closing a session ever produce real anxiety, or did you reopen it within minutes? If so,
  see [Stop the Chat](/articles/stop-chat-contact-a-person) — that pattern needs a person, not
  a stricter budget.