How do you measure and improve your attention span and working memory?

One thing I've found helpful in eliminating the distractions is finding a dedicated and secluded workspace which promotes focus on the tasks at hand.

To improve your attention span and working memory, practice mindfulness meditation by focusing on your breath. Regular practice can help you resist distractions and improve your working memory. Additionally, taking breaks and being physically active can improve concentration by increasing blood flow and oxygen to the brain. Developing these skills is crucial for success in education, work, and personal relationships. Improving your attention span can lead to greater efficiency, better decision-making, and reduced impact of distractions. Investing in developing these cognitive skills can lead to greater productivity, creativity, and well-being.

I agree that knowing where you stand can contribute to and motivate actions for improvement. Testing and statistics may be really helpful in this area.

For someone like me with AuDHD, poor working memory is innate. I have adopted the habit of carrying a pocket size notebook with me where I can quickly jot down tasks or deadlines that I need to keep track of. I know I will never be able to recall important details without being able to reference notes so using this system helps keep me on task and on track as a leader.

I think improving your attention span is more about preventing distraction than it is expanding your own capacity. We live in a world where pings, dings, and rings are constantly hijacking our attention. When we address these notifications it pulls us out of a task and redirects our focus. Once that text, email, or phone call is addressed, we return to the original task but we need to refamiliarize ourselves to return to producing quality work. There’s something called “attention residue” which causes our brain to remain occupied by what we were just focused on even when we’re no longer paying attention to it. It causes us to have a fraction of our normal cognitive function and perform at a fraction of our fullest capacity.

I agree that it is more about cutting as many distractions as possible where we can to provide a better working environment and therefore increase our ability to concentrate on certain tasks. Recent studies show that we can only truly give true focus for 90 minutes at a time before needing a 15-30 minute break to recharge our brains. I’ll be honest, I think it’s more 60 minutes of truly focused “head down” work I can really do before my attention lingers. I tend to break down bigger tasks into three stepping stones to make it easier for me to focus on each part of the task in hand- makes it far less stressful too which again helps to enhance my attention span.

Another thing that influences better attention span and work memory is your diet. There are foods that are specifically formulated to help with memory and attention span.

Using a pen and paper to write things and staying away from the smartphone/iPad while working or focusing has been useful for me.

I am a massive fan when it comes to productivity tracking methods. Spreadsheets, journaling and weekly check ins/ adaptions are the things that I find most helpful. I think it is super important to make sure that you record how you are feeling during the tracking process too to make sure that you are monitoring your emotional health too as this can have an extraordinary impact on your overall productivity.

A very important thing is always keeping the current time, today's day, date, and the next three goals at the top of mind. Daily journaling to record experiences is also useful. I found timesheet.io very useful in this regard.