4 Ways To Fix Your Focus

If your attention span could be better, here’s how to fix it:

Stay with us here…

A 2016 study tracked how long people stayed focused on a single computer application before switching to another. Participants averaged 40 seconds on one task, compared with 75 seconds five years earlier.

This doesn’t necessarily mean attention spans are fundamentally shrinking, but rather that attention is being pulled in more directions than ever, making it harder to focus on work, school, and enjoyable activities.

There are ways to improve it though, such as:

• Take intentional breaks: doing this even briefly, to get a snack or (again, intentionally) zone out, may reset attentional resources. Breaks can be particularly helpful when studying or learning a new skill because the brain replays neural activity patterns associated with recently learned information, helping consolidate memories for the long term.
• Make sure that you’re well-rested in the big picture, too: stress, sleepiness, and poor mood can weaken the ability to block distractions. In contrast, exercise, socializing with friends, and getting good sleep can reduce stress and make it easier to maintain focus. It’s also best to get outside if you can, too; a study (cited in the video) found that a 15-minute walk outdoors produced greater improvements in attention tasks than the same walk indoors.
• Be more mindful: which may sound like “focus more by being more focused”, but this is more about how practising mindfulness, such as spending 12 minutes focusing on the sensations of breathing, can train attention by encouraging you to remain in the present moment.
• Reduce distractions: Americans reportedly check their phones around 200 times a day, and screen-based distractions are designed to capture and retain attention. Finding a quiet environment, closing unnecessary browser tabs, and blocking distracting apps can give your brain a better opportunity to focus, so that can all help too.

For more on all of this, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

For a much more in-depth examination of the topic, you might this book that we reviewed:

Stolen Focus – by Johann Hari

Take care!