Can’t focus for more than 30 seconds without checking your phone? You’re definitely not alone. Our attention spans are under attack from notifications, emails, social media and approximately 47 other things demanding our attention at any given moment. And there’s a pretty good chance you’ll get distracted while reading this paragraph. Maybe you’ll check Facebook. Maybe an email will pop up. Maybe you’ll suddenly remember that thing you were supposed to do three hours ago. Or perhaps you’ll simply wonder why you walked into the room you’re currently standing in.
The video below explains four simple strategies that can help improve your attention span, manage distractions, and give your brain a fighting chance at actually finishing one thing before jumping to the next.
And apparently, we really do have a distraction problem. A 2016 study found that people were spending an average of just 40 seconds on a single computer application before switching to something else. That was down from an average of 75 seconds in 2011, a pretty dramatic drop in just five years. But that doesn’t necessarily mean our brains are evolving into goldfish.
That doesn’t necessarily mean our brains are evolving into goldfish. We just live in a world where everything is screaming “LOOK AT ME!” Notifications, emails, social media, texts, advertisements, browser tabs, breaking news… even your phone sitting quietly on the table is somehow demanding attention.
The good news is that you can train your brain to deal with all that noise a little better.
The video looks at four strategies:
1. Give your brain something challenging.
Tasks that are appropriately difficult can actually keep your attention better than something that’s mind-numbingly boring. So yes, that complicated puzzle might be better for your brain than staring at the same spreadsheet cell for 10 minutes.
2. Stop multitasking.
Your brain isn’t really doing five things at once. It’s rapidly jumping between them and using up its limited attention in the process. Pick one thing, focus on it, then take a break. And no, checking your phone during the break doesn’t necessarily count as “resting.”
3. Take care of the meat computer.
Stress, lack of sleep and feeling lousy can all make concentrating harder. Exercise, talking to friends, getting enough sleep and even taking a walk outside can help. Apparently, even a 15-minute walk outdoors can give your attention a little boost.
4. Practice mindfulness and remove distractions.
Meditation can help train your attention, but you don’t necessarily need to sit cross-legged on a mountain chanting for six hours. Sometimes the solution is considerably less mystical: close the unnecessary tabs, silence the notifications and put your phone somewhere you can’t constantly see it.
Because here’s the really ridiculous part: one survey estimated that Americans check their phones around 200 times a day.
At that point, the phone isn’t even interrupting your life. It’s basically your supervisor.
The bottom line is that getting distracted is completely normal. Our brains are built to notice anything new, unexpected or emotionally interesting. The trick isn’t becoming a human monk who can meditate peacefully while a fire alarm goes off. It’s giving your brain fewer opportunities to wander off and helping it return to the task at hand.
So if your attention span feels shorter than it used to, don’t panic.
Your brain probably isn’t broken. It just has 47 browser tabs open.