When was the last time you sat down to read without distraction for an hour? Can you remember reading a news story from beginning to end without the distraction of a pinging mailbox or the urge to check your phone?
A 2019 study in Nature Communications found that our collective attention span shrinks under the weight of information overload, while the desire for "novelty" causes us to collectively switch between topics more quickly.
This comes as no surprise to business coach and Director of Education for Magical Learning Danette Fenton-Menzies, CPA, who says that during the stress of COVID-19, our attention span has likely deteriorated.
"When we're really stressed, the blood from executive function flows to the 'fight or flight' part of the brain," she says.
However, the good news is that we can take steps to improve our focus.
Make sleep a priority
According to Fenton-Menzies, sleep is the foundation of a focused work day.
“If we don’t sleep well, we wake up tired, eat sugary foods, take caffeine and talk on the phone as soon as we get up,” she notes.
The trick is to keep cell phones out of bedrooms, which will not only stop the negative effects of blue light on your sleep, but also prevent you from working in bed.
“I worked with a CEO who would wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and answer emails on the phone,” she says.
Plan your tasks including breaks
How often did you go from one meeting to the next, barely breathing?
Consistent scheduling has a devastating effect on our attention span, almost preventing us from being fully present.
Fenton-Menzies says people need to not only prioritize breaks, but also plan them on their calendars along with appointments.
“When we take a break, our brain connects all the important things we have learned. Otherwise, our brains will be flooded and then clouded,” she says.
It's also important to make the most of the first hour of each day rather than automatically checking email.
"Do the most important thing first when you're most attentive," says Fenton-Menzies.
Keep records
Some of us will be more susceptible to certain distraction tools than others. Fenton-Menzies recommends keeping a diary.
"At the end of each day, ask yourself - out of 10, how focused were you that day," she says.
If the number is less than seven, she recommends writing down the distractions that kept your constant attention. Was it your dream? Meetings in a row?
“Once you understand what is distracting you, you can make changes,” says Fenton-Menzies.
Take control of social media
One of the main culprits of distraction is the huge “time lag” on social media.
Fenton-Menzies suggests taking control of your social media - removing apps from your phone, setting certain usage limits - otherwise social media will control you, not the other way around.
“Getting rid of all these distractions gives us back that mental capacity,” she notes.
"People are starting to tell me, 'Now I'm reading books again,' 'Now I can sit down and read the article in its entirety, instead of flipping through something else that drew me in.'"
Don't try to multitask at the same time
Think you can read emails, complete a project, and scroll through Facebook Marketplace at the same time? "Think again," says business coach Lauren Tuck of Rah Rah Consulting.
“When we try to multi-task, we have to constantly go back to work and find our place again because we have lost the flow,” she says.
This has a noticeable impact on our attention span as we move between different projects without being able to fully focus on one thing.
“People think they can multi-task, but they really can't,” says Tuck.
Learn to say no
Many employees struggle to say no to competing tasks, causing them to lose focus and drag in many different directions.
“When we don’t say no, we are setting ourselves up for… stress,” says Tuck.
She recommends saying “no” regularly to keep you focused and improve your focus.
“Saying no is not only turning down certain job applications, but also saying no to those conversations or that person on Skype who is trying to show us all those funny gifs,” she says.
Breathe
Finally, mindfulness, meditation, yoga—anything that calms and relaxes you—are necessary to increase your attention span.
A study published in the United States in 2018 in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience notes that classes
just 10 minutes a day of meditation "improve the attention of leaders" even in "novice practitioners."
Tak says it doesn't mean you have to meditate for an hour a day. A few minutes can go a long way in helping calm your fight-or-flight response.
“Maybe take three or four big deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth before the meeting,” she says.
“What it means, it grounds us. This allows us to return to where we are now, that is, here, at the moment.”