The Divided Table

Metaphorical Narrative

You sit down to eat.
In front of you, a table is set with real food: warm, nourishing, simple.
Beside it, another table appears — empty plates, plastic fruit, glimmering but hollow.
One table feeds the task. The other feeds vigilance.
You can’t eat from both.

Core Insight

Divided attention works like two meals offered at once.
The executive system is ready to nourish the task, but the DMN sets up a parallel table of vigilance — rehearsals, image management, imagined observers.
Attention sampled between both leaves you hungry, drained, unfed.

The solution is clarity: only one table sustains you.
When you declare which table you choose, energy flows back into the present.

Saturday Experiment

• At your desk, visualize two tables: task vs. vigilance.
• Whisper: “Only one table feeds me.”
• Redirect attention to the task-table by naming your next action out loud.

Sunday Reflection

Write in third person:

• When did they notice the two tables this week?
• Which meal did they choose?
• What difference did the choice make in energy?