How To Improve Your Attention Span With Distraction Hacks
Has the internet destroyed your attention span? You aren’t the only one. Learn how to manage your focus with a few helpful tips.
The internet has changed many things about modern life, but perhaps the most lasting psychological effect is what it has done to our attention spans. Deep focus and doing one thing at a time is a thing of the past; now we have distractions from our distractions. Several browser windows open with ten tabs active on each, each representing a simultaneous task that our brain is trying to process and complete.
The Effects of Multitasking
But is all this multitasking good for us? And is it actually effective at helping us get our tasks completed? In many ways, the division of our attention can be very dangerous when it comes to attentive tasks like driving. The American Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that “traffic deaths are up an estimated 8% between 2015 and 2014, which is the largest increase in 50 years,” and a large reason for the uptick is so-called “distracted deaths”. It’s clear that there needs to be far more public awareness around the areas of our lives where technology needs to take a back seat to the task at hand.
But when it comes to our work lives—which, for many people, is increasingly centered around devices—how can we sharpen our focus so that we’re not constantly hamstrung by trying to check social media, keep an eye on the news, track the latest trending hashtag, and check our banking balance all at the same time? With so much at our fingertips, how can we discipline ourselves to focus on just one thing?
Adjusting Your Focus Lens
As TechCrunch recently wrote, the way that products are being designed is increasingly influenced by the expectation that users will be doing more than one thing at a time. “We’re better off accepting that, regardless of its merits in terms of actual productivity and even brain health, responsible product design should accept it as a new reality for the average user.” This knowledge can lead to adaptations in design, for example: “If a task requires significant user attention, make it challenging – this might mean actually downplaying so-called “smart” features.”
A Tech Cure For A Tech Problem
But beyond what the designers of the apps, software, and devices we use decide for us, there are other ways that we can mitigate all this distraction on an individual level. Here is a list of the best plugins and apps you might consider installing if you want to discipline your own tendency to get distracted:
Freedom
Freedom is a plugin that allows you disable your internet for a self-determined interval of time, preventing you from visiting distracting sites. If you are writing something and really need to get it done, give yourself 20 minute intervals of WiFi-free working, and then five minutes of connectivity time to open any tabs you need to continue working or to give yourself a brief “brain break”.
Self Control
If you find you need connectivity but wish you could prevent yourself from visiting distracting websites, Self Control is for you. Simply disable yourself from visiting sites you find immensely distracting, like social media or news sites.
Headspace
One of the reasons we have trouble focusing on one thing is because our brains are so hyperactive most of the time. Using a meditation app like Headspace for a few minutes each day can help you train your brain to calm down and not fire on so many cylinders at once. You’ll see the effects both in your personal and work life.
TabZolo
If tabs are what distract you when working online, try to organize them so they’re not so distracting. TabZolo is designed so you “commit to finishing what you start online before starting other things.” It does this by putting a lockdown on Google Chrome which forces you to have a single tab open at a time.