The short term is the enemy of the long term.

“The short term is the enemy of the long term”

This is one of my favourite expressions. I only found three references on Google, and one (the oldest) is mine.

Obviously what is short and what is long is relative to the example at hand. But in general, think about the Eisenhower Matrix (Important vs. Non-Important, Urgent vs. Non-Urgent). Urgent and Important always takes priority (Do). Eisenhower would Delegate Urgent but Non-Important, Schedule Non-Urgent but Important, and Eliminate Non-Urgent and Non-Important (and so much is). But if you are not careful, Do always dominates Schedule if you have too many things or lost control somewhere, so the long-term scheduled activity doesn’t get done until it too becomes Urgent.

This might result in insufficient attention and thought to the longer-term project, because it isn’t urgent until it’s deadline approaches (or in the case of some things, there is no specific urgency aside from artificially imposed deadlines, but everyone would be better off if it were done).

Example 1: Students: Short-Term Deadlines vs. Long-Term Deadlines

Students often face short-term deadlines in their classes, such as weekly assignments, quizzes, and mid-term exams. These deadlines require immediate attention and can create a sense of urgency that prioritizes short-term tasks over long-term projects.

A student working on an Honours Thesis may have a long-term deadline to complete their research and write their thesis. However, the constant pressure of short-term deadlines for other classes results in the typical student allocating insufficient time and focus to the thesis. As a result, the quality of the thesis suffers, or the student may experience increased stress as the long-term deadline approaches and they have not made adequate progress.¹

Example 2: Academics: Short-Term Administration vs. Long-Term Research

Academics often have to balance their time between research and administrative responsibilities. Short-term administrative requirements, such as attending meetings, filling out paperwork, and managing teaching duties, can consume a significant amount of time that could otherwise be spent on research.

This tension between administration and research can hinder an academic's ability to engage in deep thinking and sustained focus on their research projects. The constant interruption of administrative tasks can disrupt the flow of research work, making it difficult to achieve significant breakthroughs or maintain a consistent research output. Each additional adminstrative burden is a minor thing, aimed to improve some aspect of the system but it accumulates to the point where too much time is spent understand university policies and no time is left to make progress. Over time, this can impact both the academic's career progression and the overall advance of knowledge in their field.

Generally

The general issue is we need to be given the time and mental space to do long-term things without the constant interruptions and demands on our attention. Some people will naturally fritter that away, but others will be able to produce greatness. The latter group needs to be protected.

Over the past few decades, we have an increasing case of what I will refer to as Societal ADHD. Since the always-on mobile internet and micro-blogging, we have reduced recreational reading (book sales in dollars fell steadily from 2006, (Twitter was launched in 2006, coincidence?) (excluding the COVID lockdown years), and of course book prices have risen and the population continues to increase, so the problem is starker than indicated. I don’t think book piracy can explain much of this. Time spent reading is similar.

Now, I am not going to say reading is inherently superior to other modes of communication or entertainment (video, gaming, etc.), but it does require a certain kind of attention that has been lost.

We need to make a special effort to get that back, both individually, but also culturally and societally, instituting mechanisms and norms to strengthen attention and focus and especially Flow, in the psychological sense, and dampen down distraction.

Dall-E, but you could have guess that. This one is sort of interesting though.