The Distraction Trap
You sit down to do some work, like doing your project. Just as you get into it, a new notification pops up. You look at it. Even though it is nothing important, you check it anyway, then go back to the project.
After a few minutes, you receive some emails and start replying to them. When you are finally done, you try to switch back to the project that you were working on, except you cannot remember where you left off. Instead, you decide to take a quick look at social media before you start again. It is still morning, but you already start to feel tired.
Now, think that this situation happens ten or twenty times a day, and you begin to see the hidden price.
The Cost of Multitasking
Technology was created to help us develop our abilities and enhance our productivity, yet it started to make us feel more distracted and exhausted instead.
With the increased usage of devices, a new behavior form has arisen where we rapidly switch our attention among different tasks or screens. We feel that multitasking is efficient, but research shows the opposite. Our brains are not designed to fully participate in two mentally demanding tasks at the same time.
Every time we switch our attention between tasks, we have to reorient to the new activity, which costs time to reconstruct which is called a switch cost. Let’s say you’re doing your homework and pause to respond to a text. When you return to your homework, you have to mentally reorient to what you were doing, which consumes time and effort.
This whole process requires a part of mental resources. However, we have a limited amount of mental resources for everyday functioning. As you switch more, your brain works harder to recover by using more mental resources, leaving us feeling mentally drained by the afternoon.
Overlooked Breaks
In workplaces or schools, we often underestimate breaks. We push employees, students, or ourselves to keep going, thinking that it will lead us to better results. We believe that we need to stay focused all the time and feel guilty if we cannot meet that.
However, focused attention occurs in rhythms during the day, where it peaks and decreases. Due to this, working nonstop with no breaks doesn’t make us more productive. It generally leaves us with less energy and less productivity. Rests actually enable our mental resources to recover, just when you know how to use them.
Interruptions in the middle of a task cause your brain to consume additional energy, which produces stress in return. The highlighted point here is when to take breaks. Preferably, we have to take breaks at natural breakpoints, for example, after finishing a section of a book. As a result, when you return from your break, your brain doesn’t have to reconstruct.
Are Kids Losing the Ability to Focus?
When we try to stay focused or achieve a goal, such as completing a report, we use a set of mental resources named executive function that help us to manage many cognitive processes such as sustaining focus, working memory, making decisions, managing distractions, and self-control.
Children are more and more exposed to increased screen time when their executive functions are not yet mature. Executive function skills mostly develop in early childhood. The majority of the content consists of fast-paced videos.
Young children are more prone to distractions. It also takes longer for them to refocus on the main task when they are interrupted. The concerning thing is, children are more and more exposed to increased screen time when their brain is not mature yet, which means their ability to control themselves is not well developed. When they are exposed to screens earlier and more frequently, it carries a risk for developing these skills. With this, self-control becomes harder to develop and distractions become normal behavior. These children might grow up struggling to sit still and craving stimulation.
So, Can Focus Be Taught?
Yes, however, it is different for children and adults.
For children, focus is best developed through off-screen activities such as reading, outdoor play, building things. These activities help them to build up skills that are essential for executive function.
On the other hand, for adults, focus depends on how well you manage your internal energy tank, which means quality sleep, managing mental resources, and being more aware of how our attention rhythm changes. Think about your attention as a valuable resource which you have to spend wisely. Avoid overstimulating your brain by switching rapidly between tasks.
We need to become self-aware about our own level of energy and the mental resources that are available. The worst thing we can do is not resting between tasks. Transitions are important. Shifting from one heavy task to another without any transition can lead to brain overload. It’s also essential to know when to take breaks. Taking breaks at natural breakpoints, such as after completing a paragraph, allows the brain to recharge without needing to rebuild what you were doing when you return.
Sleep especially needs to be a priority. When we are already tired, our brain chooses tasks that are low in effort, such as scrolling, snacking, zoning out, over tasks that are meaningful. With the right tools and awareness, focus can be taught and improved.
References
Mark, G. (2023). Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness, and Productivity. Hanover Square Press.