Maximizing Your Focus: 5 Tips for Overcoming Constant Distractions

Various things can distract us, such as notifications from messengers, colleagues dropping by at the wrong time, intrusive thoughts about something interesting, such as upcoming weekends, and much more.

As a result, work drags on and its results suffer. Here are a few ways to reduce the frequency of distractions.

Why we are constantly distracted

Many people attribute their scatterbrainedness to noisy open spaces, frequent messages, and a generally eventful modern life. While these factors certainly do not contribute to concentration, difficulties with focus and attention have been a common complaint for over a century.

In 1925, editor and publisher Hugo Gernsback attempted to combat these distracting factors by inventing a helmet – an isolator that blocked sounds and only allowed him to look straight ahead. However, Gernsback honestly admitted that he still found himself getting distracted half of the time he spent in the helmet. Instead of doing something productive, he would, for example, study the pattern on the wallpaper.

External distractions like noisy colleagues and overflowing messenger apps are not the only factors affecting our ability to concentrate. Our brain’s internal workings also play a role. When there are no external distractions, our consciousness tends to create internal distractions – particularly negative thoughts about ourselves. Even a single unpleasant thought, such as the realization of our own mortality, can disrupt our work process just as easily as a sudden phone call.

Even participants in experiments testing concentration in quiet laboratories performed poorly on tasks. They did not experience much improvement in performance despite serious internal motivation or being promised money.

Scientists theorize that the constant need for distraction that hinders our ability to submit projects on time or complete online courses today, once helped humanity survive. Thousands of years ago, people needed to react quickly and shift their attention from one object to another to avoid becoming prey to predators. Furthermore, boredom, which arises from contemplating something uninteresting, compelled people not to sit still and to go in search of food, for example.

Despite the fact that the desire to be distracted is inherent in all of us through evolution, some people have a better ability to maintain attention than others. This ability depends on various factors – from lifestyle to brain structure. Although there are special attention tests available, if you have difficulty concentrating, you are likely to notice it yourself – forgetting keys in the lock, daydreaming often during work meetings, and struggling to complete tasks. Nevertheless, there are a few simple techniques that can help improve your focus.

TIP #1 – Get enough sleep

Regular sleep deprivation is one of the factors that can harm concentration, which means getting less than the recommended seven hours of sleep for adults.

In an experiment conducted by American scientists, volunteers were limited to no more than six hours of sleep per night for 32 days. This schedule doubled their reaction time to external factors and decreased their attentiveness by a factor of five. Furthermore, only the researchers who conducted the tests and observed the volunteers noticed these attention problems, as the volunteers themselves did not complain.

While one night of sleep deprivation is unlikely to seriously harm your ability to concentrate, research shows that even this can be critical in some cases, such as for a surgeon.

TIP #2 – Monitor your physical condition

In order to allow your brain to fully concentrate on work or study, it is essential to provide your body with comfortable conditions. For instance, hunger can divert a person’s focus to food instead of critical tasks that have deadlines approaching.

Moreover, the temperature of the room where a person works can significantly impact their ability to concentrate. A study conducted by scientists from Cornell University monitored the typing speed and accuracy of insurance company employees for a month. The results showed that when the office temperature increased from 20 to 25 degrees Celsius, the number of typos decreased by 44% and typing speed increased by 150%. However, excessively hot environments do not contribute to prolonged focus. In such conditions, students typically perform poorly on exams.

Scientists from Loughborough University in the UK observed that thirst can also impact concentration. Even with mild dehydration, drivers were found to be more distracted and prone to making mistakes during long and monotonous drives. The drivers began breaking late before obstacles, driving onto the shoulder and outside of their lane, violating traffic rules and instructions given to them before the experiment. Thankfully, the study was conducted in a stationary car and participants saw a computer projection instead of an actual road, so no one was injured.

Thirst has been found to harm attention, as confirmed by several small studies. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology analyzed data from 33 peer-reviewed studies that examined the effect of water deficiency on cognitive abilities. The analysis revealed that attention span was particularly affected during monotonous tests and the ability to solve complex problems. Interestingly, dehydration had almost no impact on reaction time.

You don’t need to force yourself to drink two liters of water a day to maintain focus, as there is no scientific evidence to support this claim. However, it’s crucial to be mindful of your own thirst levels, particularly when you’re ill, in a stuffy room, or need to combine concentration-based tasks with physical activity.

Tip #3 – Give up multitasking

Checking your email, browsing news articles, and dropping a document in the middle of a sentence during a Zoom call may seem like multitasking, but it actually hinders your ability to focus on a single task. Research shows that humans don’t perform multiple tasks simultaneously, but instead switch between them, wasting time each time they need to regain their focus. This switch can take anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute, according to various data.

Instead of multitasking, it’s better to focus on one task at a time and divide it into small breaks. If you feel the urge to check your phone or browse the internet during a call or lecture, try taking notes of what you hear, preferably on paper. This approach will encourage you to think and remember the information, rather than just record it. Additionally, taking notes can reduce the temptation to engage in distracting activities, such as playing games on your phone.

Tip #4 – Take breaks

Just because you can concentrate on a single task for extended periods doesn’t mean that your brain is functioning at maximum capacity the whole time. Prolonged mental strain can lead to fatigue, scattered thinking, and more errors and lower performance. Conversely, taking short breaks can improve focus.

To manage your work and rest time effectively, you can try using the “Pomodoro” technique, which involves dividing your time into periods of focused work and rest.

During your break, it’s beneficial to take a walk in nature or do some aerobic exercise, as both activities can help enhance concentration.

For those with strong willpower, you can use your break time to reflect on past failures. This mental exercise can help increase concentration and diligence when performing similar tasks in the future. Alternatively, you can simply enjoy a cup of tea or coffee, as both beverages have a positive impact on attention.

Tip #5 – Train mindfulness

Mindfulness training is an effective way to improve concentration and develop the ability to ignore distractions. This practice involves focusing on the present moment without analyzing it or reacting emotionally. According to Amishi Jha, an attention researcher from the University of Miami, through “mental fitness,” we can understand what our mind is doing at any given moment, whether it is working in our best interests, and how to reprogram it.

Numerous experiments have shown the benefits of mindfulness for concentration. Participants in these studies have included young athletes, students, military personnel, firefighters, COVID-19 patients, and even ordinary volunteers who went on a four-week meditation retreat in the mountains. In all cases, practicing mindfulness positively affected their attentiveness.

If you dedicate 12 minutes every day to mindfulness training – including meditation, body scanning, and tracking emotions – it can be particularly effective. However, Amishi Jha recommends starting with a simple and short breathing exercise:

• Use your phone to set a timer for three minutes.
• Take a comfortable position while keeping your back straight, shoulders back, and placing your hands on your knees or armrests of the chair. It’s better to close or cover your eyes to avoid visual distractions, but try not to relax too much.
• Start paying attention to your breathing without trying to control it to breathe deeper or at a certain interval.
• Focus on your sensations related to breathing, such as how the air passes through your nostrils, how it fills your lungs, or how your stomach expands and contracts.
• If something else distracts your attention, bring it back to your breathing. Note what exactly distracted you, whether it’s a thought, emotion, or sensation, and return to it after the exercise.
• When the timer sounds, resume your usual activities. Repeat the exercise the next day.

Initially, you may feel like these three minutes are dragging on forever. However, with regular practice, you will soon find the exercise easier, and you can gradually increase its duration by adding a minute.