How do I describe a person who is consistently attentive?

Question

I was trying to compare two coworkers work habits.

1. One is a sprinter, he works hard for months at a time but eventually gets bored with projects that go longer than a few months.
2. The other is a marathoner, he works hard on projects day-in and day-out even if they go on for a year or two.

I thought of a bunch of words that describe focus, but they describe short-term focus. Words like:

• Attentive
• Attention-span
• Concentrate
• Focused

But if I say the sprinter "has a limited attention span", most people would think he gets distracted by Facebook or the TV. What words or phrases would help me compare these two work ethics?

Answer 1

Marathoner and sprinter seem like the most likely terms to me, especially if you are contrasting the two styles. Many other words describing people have connotations beyond just how long they prefer their projects to last on average.

You could focus on the qualities of the projects they like to work on. One likes short-term projects, and changing situations. Adaptable, flexible, able to roll with the punches, change tolerant come to mind here as positive qualities the sprinter might possess.

The marathoner likes long-term projects, which means larger, more complex projects. Focused, sees the big picture, strategic planner come to mind here as positive qualities the marathoner might possess.

Answer 2

A consistently attentive person is skilled in focusing their attention on a particular question, so they inspect, monitor, supervise, manage and take care of things with persistence.

Meditation helps me pay more attention. I am not a better meditator just because I am practicing, but I have noticed a change in my level of attention: it has improved.

So the one who is constantly attentive is a patient observer and a wise participant, more settled, more continuous. And the shorter one is hotter, jumpier, more restless, dynamic, less stable.

(P.S. At the same, I can think of projects: mid-term and long-term. Also like clinical research phases - 0, 1, 2, 3, 4.. each is larger and longer. We could also go for artificial words like near-wishing and far-wishing, like near-sighted and far-sighted to describe eye conditions. Level of worry towards unknown, or neuroticism can help separate these people, but again it is more about projects, not people here.)ims to

Answer 3

I would say the former is earnest and the latter diligent.