How To Handle Ever-Diminishing Attention Spans?

In today’s fast-paced digital world, the phenomenon of shrinking attention spans has become increasingly prevalent. This is equally true for both young and adults. With the constant bombardment of information, people are finding it challenging to focus their attention for extended periods. This trend has significant implications on productivity, learning, and overall well-being. However, understanding the causes behind shrinking attention spans and implementing strategies to mitigate them can help us reclaim our ability to concentrate effectively.

Causes

1. Digital Distractions

Having more than one digital devices in this age is no more a luxury. Mobile handset is one of those options which is used more than anything else in this age. People just cannot afford to miss out on any information which they assume to be significant for them. Be it a turbulent political scenario in one part of the world or industry related info. We all love to stay updated just about anything and everything.

2. Death by Information Overload

Research suggests that the surging volume of available information — and its interruption of people’s work — can adversely affect not only personal well-being but also decision making, innovation, and productivity. People took an average of nearly 25 minutes to return to a work task after an e-mail interruption. That’s bad news for both employees and their organisations.

3. Multitasking Culture

Since we all love to be recognised for the volumes of work that we produce at our respective workplaces and in an attempt to achieve that in a limited timeframe, we push ourselves and go an extra mile and get things done quickly. Here, the quality of the work produced in a haste is not accounted for and could be a big question mark. While doing that, we remained successful in producing large volumes of work in the shortest possible time frame.

4. Soul Searching

If you’re going through a period of soul searching, keep going. As Thérèse Cator, embodiment practitioner and founder of Embodied Black Girl tells: “Soul searching often arises from an inquiry, whether it’s a broad question around your overall purpose or something more focused, such as a difficult decision you’re facing.” “I see soul searching as a threshold in our lives,” Cator says. “It’s a crossroad and we’re trying to figure out what the right next path is, what the right next decision is, or who are we in the greater scheme of things.”

5. Lack of Sleep

When we don’t get enough sleep, our Focus and concentration abilities decline. Our reaction time lengthens, we’re inattentive, and we don’t respond as well to environmental signals. That means we can’t take in new information or react to dangerous situations. This is particularly worrisome if we’re behind the wheel of a car.

Remedies

1. Limit Digital Distractions

We have no choice but to set boundaries around digital devices and establish designated time slots during the day for checking emails, attend to missed phone call or short messages, and browse social media (if needed). Let’s use productivity apps or browser extensions to block distracting websites during focused work sessions. Let’s also try out the following:

1. Let’s put cellphone on silent mode or upside down so we don’t have to see the incoming call and message traffic.
2. Log off frequently used social media apps viz.: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn etc. For some people, it’s very tempting to frequently check the updates.
3. Turn off unnecessary websites or apps that aren’t necessary for the task at hand. Move tempting apps to the third or fourth page of your phone screen so that you have time to catch yourself mindlessly opening them.

2. Be Selective on Information Consumption

We have to understand that there is good information and then we have bad information. Information overload can fragment our attention and make it difficult for us to focus on important tasks. Filtering information (suppressing, deleting, and selecting irrelevant information) helps reduce information overload. In addition, work can be delegated, especially for screening or filtering tasks. Also, let’s prioritise information as what to consume and what to avoid in that particular moment.

3. Multi-tasking isn’t Efficient

The real issue is that multitasking, at least for humans, doesn’t really work well. “We know from the psychology literature that multitasking is bad for you,” says Gal Zauberman, a professor of marketing at Yale SOM. Research shows that we can’t really do two things at once. We’re actually switching our attention back and forth between the two tasks — and we perform worse at both. Multitasking is inefficient — but we feel like we’re getting so much done.

To avoid the possible deleterious impact of multitasking:

1. Limit the number of things you juggle at any given time to just two tasks.
2. Use the “20-minute rule”. Instead of constantly switching between tasks, try to fully devote your attention to one task for 20 minutes before switching to the other.

4. Practice Mindfulness / Meditation

Meditation, in form or the other and in all faiths and cultures or traditons exists. Besides, every single sphere of our life does seek help from mindfulness to provide relief from the anxiety and stress of everyday life. This wellness movement has made its way into the corporate organisations across the world. They don’t only encourage employees at their workplaces to find time for silent self-search but also motivate them to go beyond and convince their families and friends to try out the same in their free time.

5. Get Enough Sleep

“More sleep will dramatically improve your performance”, says career and branding expert Wendi Weiner, since you won’t be yawning your way through a blizzard of emails. “Being well rested will definitely help improve your memory and concentration alike, as a rested brain is a stronger brain,” she says. “Remain on a sleep schedule so that you train your body and mind to relax at specific points in the day and night”.

Take Aways

The human brain is always in motion, handling various thoughts, while the duration we can concentrate on one thing before losing focus or requiring a pause is influenced by our attention span. However, life is bustling with numerous components, and it’s entirely typical to occasionally become sidetracked due to its complexity. In reality, research revealed that, on average, 47% of our waking moments are spent thinking about matters unrelated to our current activity. Nevertheless, a limited capacity for sustained attention can have effects on both your personal and work-related spheres.

About the Author

Muhammad Sajwani is a C-Level HR, Transformation Leader, Board Advisor, Business Coach & Organisational Consultant working in the capacity of Managing Director, Evolve HR. He is an author, columnist and a contributor who besides writing for other platforms also regularly writes at BizCatalyst 360. He brings along 30+ years of local & international experience. He is a change catalyst specializing in unleashing the human Dreamgenius through Leadership, Creativity and Change Management. Muhammad has been instrumental in helping organizations come to terms with organizational changes like right-sizing and business process re-engineering. His innovative approach & high personal competence encourages people to not only accept change, but also to excel in it. Muhammad has diverse experience in conducting strategic & management development programs, conferences & events for organizations across sectors.