Do you get distracted every time you try to complete even the simplest of tasks? Here’s how to reclaim your focus
If you have a problem focusing on a task, are constantly distracted or unable to give something your undivided attention, you are far from alone.
According to Johann Hari, the best-selling author of Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention, we are in an attention crisis.
Johann explains: ‘The average office worker now focuses on any one task for only three minutes, and for every child who was identified with serious attention problems when I was seven years old, there’s now 100 children.
‘If you are struggling to focus and pay attention, it’s not your fault, if your kids are struggling to focus and pay attention, it’s not their fault. This is happening to almost all of us. It’s happening for quite big reasons, and once we understand these reasons, we can begin to deal with them at an individual level and at a collective level.’
Concentration saboteurs
According to Johann, information overload — via social media, news and entertainment — could be hampering our ability to pay attention. This influx of information can overwhelm our cognitive resources and make it hard to focus. Our constant consumption also feeds our overwhelm, it wires us and sets us on edge as we don’t know whether we’ll be faced with a difficult work situation, or a traumatic image every time we grab our phone. We often scroll to relax, without realising that our brains have to process everything we see.
Multi-tasking, far from making us more efficient, could actually make us less so. When we multitask, we’re not simultaneously performing several tasks at once. We’re switching between them at hyper speed. And every switch incurs what’s called a ‘switch-cost’ effect. When you switch between tasks — or when you’re interrupted mid-task — your brain needs to recalibrate, which decreases your mental performance. Therefore, you do everything less competently, you make more mistakes, you remember less of what you do and you’re much less creative.
High levels of stress and anxiety can also make it difficult to concentrate. These emotions can lead to a racing mind, making it hard to focus on the task at hand.
Finding your focus
Johann says making tweaks and small changes can help us reclaim our focus. Here’s how…
Start monotasking — Make a conscious decision to stop switching tasks — turn off notifications and leave your phone in a different room while you work.
Find your flow — Think of a time when you’ve concentrated so hard on something that you lose track of time — whether it’s drawing, writing or a puzzle, then you’ve been in a flow state. In flow, your focus becomes deeper and you’re less susceptible to distractions.
Let your mind wander — Make a point of going for a walk without your phone. Johann says: ‘When I give my attention space to roam, my thinking is sharper, and I have better ideas.’
Realise the importance of your diet — Johann says: ‘If you have sugary cereal, or buttered white toast for breakfast it releases a huge amount of glucose into your brain fast, which feels great. But it releases so much, so fast, that an hour or two later you’ll have a huge energy slump, and feel foggy and inattentive until you have a sugary, carbohydrate snack. The way we eat puts us on a rollercoaster of energy spikes and crashes throughout the day. Instead, start the day with porridge and blueberries, which release energy steadily.
Sleep for eight hours a night — Johann says: ‘I used to see sleep as a luxury. Now, I’m strict with myself about getting eight hours. I have a ritual to unwind: I don’t look at screens for two hours before bed, I light a scented candle and try to set aside the stresses of the day.’
Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention by Johann Hari is out now. You can find him on Instagram @johann.hari