How Can You Regain Your Attention in a World Full of Distractions?

11 نوفمبر 2024

People send and receive dozens of text messages daily, not counting Facebook messages and email. Some distractions are designed to be addictive; not only are ads no longer competing for our attention, but every website and every app on the phone wants us to regularly return to it to become a habit that we automatically do.

That is not a conspiracy theory. Look at marketer Nir Eyal's popular book, "Hooked: How to Build Habit Forming Products;" fortunately, it was followed by a second part, "Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life?" Explaining how we can protect ourselves from products that shape our habits.

The book retells the story of an assistant professor of marketing at Yale School of Management who was so addicted to the pedometer app that she once spent two hours going up and down the stairs in the middle of the night to get more “points” on the app, and could not force herself to stop.

What can the rest of us do if a knowledgeable person teaching MBA students at a prestigious university cannot eliminate distractions?

While we may not provide a precise response, numerous strategies have been developed to lengthen our attention span. Among them are "David Allen's Getting Things Done®," brain-training games and exercises, supplements, high-value foods, and the Pomodoro technique.

What's the latest trend you've tried to improve your attention? Have you tried snake oil before now? And does your attention span get shorter over time? Let's find out in this article.

What does science say about low attention span?

A 2015 study found that human attention span has decreased from 12 to 8 seconds in less than two decades due to the digital lifestyle; we are now less attentive than the goldfish, with this astonishing discovery published in Time magazine, the Telegraph, and the New York Times.

If it sounds a bit silly, it really is. The BBC and the Wall Street Journal later debunked the “goldfish myth” by saying, “The metrics that scientists follow have not changed over generations.” Edward Vogel, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Chicago, said, “I have been measuring the attention of college students for the past 20 years, and it has been remarkably stable over decades; we are as attentive or inattentive as humans have always been.”

But brain training games based on modern neuroscience should definitely give us some edge over our ancestors, and brain-strengthening supplements should make our thinking clearer, faster, and resistant to distractions, right?

Can you improve your attention?

In October 2014, 70 scientists published an open document claiming that all brain training games lacked a scientific basis. Another group of scientists quickly refuted this document, whereas this second group agreed that "claims that promote brain games are often exaggerated and deceptive."

“Lumosity exploited consumers' concerns about age-related cognitive decline by suggesting that their games might avoid people with memory loss, dementia, and even Alzheimer's disease,” said Jessica Rich, director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection, “Simply Lumosity didn't have the scientific evidence to support these ads.”

A similar story exists with brain-strengthening supplements. Dr Gad Marshall, a dementia specialist at Harvard Medical School, says: “Do more exercise, follow a vegetarian diet, and it may help you maintain long-term memory and brain health more than any other supplement.”

Even when it comes to athletic performance, Dr Dan Bernadot, co-director of the Laboratory for Elite Athlete Performance at Georgia State University, in his book Nutrition for Serious Athletes: “The claims about improved performance attributed to supplements are, in most cases, beyond reality,” he adds that adequate food, fluid intake, and rest will make a significant difference than any supplement, even for most professional athletes; people with keen attention do it the traditional way.

Attention defines our personalities

We are looking for techniques to enhance attention in the wrong way. Let's take the immune system as an example: this vital system works unconsciously, and through it, our bodies fight diseases, whether we feel it or not. Therefore, we can only influence this process indirectly, such as taking vitamins or exercising. However, attention happens consciously. It is the most conscious activity ever; we have more control over our attention than most other body and mind functions.

Everyone knows how to pay more attention, even children, so the way we direct our attention determines who we are:

A person who attentively follows sports or music is a person who is interested in these topics.
A person who works on a task with intense focus and attention is diligent and assertive.
A person who works on a task without paying much attention is lazy and indifferent.

The prevailing trend in popular literature is to use brain research to justify laziness, to the extent that Bryn Geoffrey Fogg, author of Tiny Habits, said that if you try to change your life in various ways and fail, it's not your fault. You may have attempted to make drastic changes too soon, and your strategy could have been better designed.

But most people choose to be diverted themselves- nobody forces them to spend hours on social media, watch TV, or play the lottery.

So, if you were previously hyperactive and want to regain your attention now, you must admit that you have become a little lazy, and it is easy to get distracted for any reason, and then look for ways to overcome this.

Start by committing to an activity

Committing to an activity does not guarantee that you will be able to pay very much attention by just trying harder. A serious attempt is just the beginning, nothing more.

“When I went to the gym,” says Arnold Schwarzenegger, “I got rid of every strange thought in my mind, and I was focusing on the current exercise and the results until I got rid of my daily problems; I knew that if I went there worrying about the bills or the kids and letting myself think about these things while exercising, I would only make slight progress.”

Josh Waitzkin, a professional chess player and world champion of tai chi, recounts many of his mental strategies in The Art of Learning in detail. He says that one day, he discovered that hearing a specific tune might distract him during the competition; instead of accepting this limitation, he decided to overcome it. Whitzkin listened to loud music several times a week during training in complex chess positions, and he changed the music patterns until he learned to focus in this type of situation.

In summary, if an activity is essential to you, you'll find a way to keep your attention while doing it.

Learn how to focus on one challenging activity

Some of us have acquired the skill to maintain a high degree of concentration due to the unique demands of our professions. People who are trained to pay attention professionally in their professions include air traffic controllers, professional athletes, theater performers, elite fighters, and ambulances.

On the other hand, the creative work of writers, architects, lawyers, researchers, and software developers also seems to require some deep focus but not as much urgency as that of previous professions.

That is the main difference; people from the second group do not enjoy the same amount of attention, and they may suffer from distraction because their work is not urgent or limited in time and because there are almost no restrictions on how they work.

If your profession or lifestyle does not give you the means for the focus you want, consider starting a new hobby. This hobby should require you to make quick decisions and plan for the future. Ensure you are always aware of your body, mind, and feelings. Participate in such an activity several times a week. You will soon discover how your attention works, and your concentration gradually improves.

You may give this new endeavor your whole attention, treating everything else as unimportant or unreal. That's what kids with talent do. Without even considering the myriad of other advantages, many people engage in hobbies like sports, which help them enhance their attention to some degree. However, they do not pay as much attention to the present task as professionals do.

Most people's obstacle to making further progress is the lack of an activity that is so important to them that it is worth focusing on alone. Since childhood, most of us have been asked to focus on boring, unpleasant, and useless things, such as math, so we may not feel motivated to deal with anything with great attention.

But try to do it anyway. Once you decide to focus on an activity, act as if you have the cravings to do it, and you will find that you have become more attentive and focused over time.

How Can You Regain Your Attention?

The question still stands: what are some good options for picking a hobby to improve attention span?

To answer this question, let's look at two types of systematic practice that can build or rebuild your ability to focus; going back to ancient Chinese philosophy, we'll call these two types “yang” and “yin” to distinguish challenging, active practice from flexible, therapeutic practice.

Yang habit (active)

What type of practice can you participate in that helps you sharpen your attention?

Such a practice should have specific rules and be more like a toy and less like children's toys. For example, hiking will not enhance attention because walking has no rules, as you can walk while distracted.

Best practices for boosting attention are real-time urgency, so either react now or lose. Writing may be somewhat slow, but playing music on the piano may be at the right speed or wrong; therefore, playing the piano requires a deeper focus than writing.

Best practices are physical practices that require your body to move; for example, throwing balls requires a deeper focus than solving puzzles.

Some practices include variation; they are either participatory or competitive. You always do some Pilates on your own, while martial arts exercises include wrestling with the opponent, so wrestling requires a deeper focus than Pilates.

“Real-time” physical practices include:

Team sports.
Weight-bearing exercises.
Car Racing
Ski Racing
Martial arts sport.
Yoga.
Dancing.
Gymnastics.
Throwing balls.
Acrobatics.
Wim Hof method.

These activities force you to pay immediate attention to your body. Running and cycling do not train you to pay attention in the same way; you may be idle on the treadmill, but lifting weights or balancing on one leg will wake you up.

“Real-time” collaborative or competitive activities based on discipline include:

Chess.
Any other type of competition with a time limit.
Comedic improvisation.
Play music with a band.
Practice Martial Arts.
Ballroom dancing.
Joint Acrobatic Gymnastics.

To make real progress, you must rein in your ego. You may be professional and well-paid, but you may be incompetent and inattentive when dealing with any of those previous skills. A semi-unemployed circus magician or an 11-year-old girl trained in gymnastics may outperform you. These people often master advanced mental techniques to focus their attention beyond what is taught in business seminars.

Yin (therapeutic) habit

The "yin habit" or "healing habit" is complementary to the "yang habit"; while attention may surely decrease due to not making enough effort to promote it, a highly stressed person will not be able to concentrate, no matter what level of motivation or commitment they demonstrate. So sometimes, what we really need is not another challenge to our willpower but just some rest.

Restoring your attention may require only taking a day or a week off and getting enough sleep, and the question arises here: Can one rest more efficiently and regain more energy in less time? The answer is "Yes," and you already know some ways to do it.

Everyone already has their “healing habits,” which are the things you do when you want to feel better. These include getting massages, taking a shower while listening to soothing music, doing light exercise, stretching, meditating, walking on the beach, or using natural remedies such as herbs or acupuncture.

However, the secret is not to wait until you feel tired or seriously ill, and to use the techniques you already know regularly. Daily meditation or going to the sauna monthly may achieve miracles.

In fact, an experienced yoga practitioner may find comfort in a 5-minute stretching session, and a veteran meditator may become refreshed after only 30 seconds. However, this kind of ability must be built through repetition; if you want to create a personal routine to enter a specific situation, reduce the time required to implement this routine. You can learn more about this topic from The Art of Learning.

Start by forming a therapeutic habit

As with the “yang” or active habit, you may want to choose and grow a new hobby for your own safety; in this case, it is wise to select an individual activity that can be done without urgency.

Practices that involve physical discipline are still the most effective, as stress and tension accumulate in the body as much as in the mind over time. Light exercise, yoga, meditation or breathing exercises, tai chi, qigong, or any similar practice may help you. Playing a musical instrument, reading an inspiring book, or even cooking or cleaning can be good options if this is what you need to feel refreshed.

Simply lying down and unwinding for a while might be helpful. Alternatively, you could listen to calming music or watch a recorded guided hypnosis session.

Get rid of all the disturbing thoughts; these practices will enable you to achieve happiness, live an inspiring life, and bring joy to the lives of others.

In conclusion

Attention cannot be easily increased by swallowing pills or playing a game that increases attention. Fortunately, you can improve it by changing your lifestyle to include regular opportunities to devote all your attention to a significant task.

Those exposed to this kind of activity are limited to picking one hobby, which could be physical and urgent to complete "in actual time," and to interactions with other people as collaborators or rivals.

You can also benefit from consistent therapeutic practices that require deliberation and experiencing incredible psychological peace. Remember that you have total control over your attention and that exercising this control is your responsibility to yourself because the extent of your attention determines who you are as a person and ultimately determines your quality of life and happiness.