Attention, please!

We live in an era of distraction. Every day, we are bombarded by e-mails, WhatsApp messages, live chats, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, the internet, and many other “distractions” that steal our attention from anything we’re doing. Two major problems arise with that. The first is that we become addicted to distractions. We can’t hold our attention for too long to any single task; as a result, we lose our ability to focus, to concentrate. We feel good when we get a new incoming message, and anxious when we don’t spot any. We can’t control the impulse to stop what we’re doing to check a new message, regardless of how important our task is. I’ve seen people checking their phones while in a meeting with their boss, at a dinner with their partner, or while playing with their kids; I even heard of a groom that checked his phone at the altar while waiting for his bride. We often tell our kids to stop using their digital devices, but the reality is that we can’t do it ourselves!?

One of the consequences of moving from one task to another is that it introduces a new target for attention. Studies have shown that when we move to a new task, there is always a residue of attention left from the previous task. Research indicates that the most productive workers seldom switch focus during the day, while the least productive workers switch focus several times per day. In the context of an organization, the common habit of working in a semi-distracted mode can be devastating. Think of two classic examples: the first is on virtual conference calls, when we pull people from different locations to conduct a meeting over the phone. Typically, half of the attendees (or more) can’t resist the temptation of looking at their incoming messages (or just doing something else) while attending the meeting. As a result, a large amount of attention is dispersed during these meetings, producing significantly lower results than if all attendees had been fully engaged. Multiply it by all meetings conducted in this format, and the impact on the organization can be huge. The second example is during workshops, when we send people from various locations to a single place to work together on a relevant topic for several consecutive days. The first thing people do when the workshop starts is to take the laptops or phones from their bags, open them up, and start looking at their messages – and this behavior is repeated every day during the entire workshop. While the goal of the workshop was to bring the best people from various locations and take the most of their brains during a concentrated time, people chose to stay semi-distracted during the entire workshop, looking at messages that could probably wait a few hours or days to be responded to. As a result, a significant amount of time and money is invested, and the outcome is suboptimal.??

The second problem is that we can only use a limited portion of our brainpower while distracted. We can perform tasks of limited complexity, things that we know how to perform almost automatically, within our comfort zone (e.g., answering daily e-mails, attending routine meetings, conducting repetitive tasks, etc.). We can even do multiple of these tasks simultaneously (we call it multitasking), but these are all tasks that can be done with limited cognitive capacity. For example, we can do simple math calculations while checking our incoming messages, but we can’t conduct a complex school exam while constantly being interrupted. Why? Because a complex exam requires a lot of our cognitive capabilities. It requires focus and concentration to take the most of our brainpower, and we can’t do that while being distracted. Note that the “comfort zone” varies by individual; for example, the comfort zone of a senior vice president can handle more complex tasks than the comfort zone of a junior analyst. However, in both cases, the lack of attention limits their ability to utilize their full potential. A school in Europe reported that their students were having difficulties reading a classic book that had been used for several years. The students complained that the book was too difficult to read – and too lengthy. Why? Because the new generation may be losing their ability to concentrate.

Research conducted on top performers demonstrates that we can’t learn something complex or produce outstanding results without pushing beyond our comfort zone. And to do that, we need dedicated time to focus. However, in an era of distraction, people prefer to stay semi-distracted within their comfort zone, limiting their ability to learn complex matters or to do great things. Studies indicated that the constant lack of focus might actually “shrink the brain”, decreasing the ability to think and reason clearly. To make it worse, organizations often reward the habit of staying semi-distracted. People that answer e-mails faster are often better perceived than those that take longer (even if the e-mail doesn’t require an immediate response). Similarly, people involved in multiple initiatives often have an apparent advantage over those who spend time researching, limiting the organization’s ability to generate breakthrough ideas or innovate. In a nutshell, we can’t achieve significant improvements in performance or knowledge, or generate outstanding contributions, without a great deal of focus and attention.?

The good news is that this can be reversed, if we are willing to regain our ability to concentrate. There are several things we can do; let me focus on three relevant things:

1) ?Control your addiction to interruptions

You must resist the impulse to check your incoming messages while doing something important. For example, if you are in a meeting, in a workshop, doing an important task, or at dinner with your partner, look away from your phone (even when your partner goes to the toilet!). Schedule enough time to focus entirely on a given task, and another time to check your incoming messages or multitask. When you’re focusing on a task, stay with it. How you will block some of your regular time for focused tasks may vary by individual. The important thing is that it needs to be at least a few hours of intense focus with no interruptions, enough to activate the circuits in your brain that are only activated when you are in deep concentration. One final thought: don’t pick up your phone or browse the internet if you get bored. Stay with your thoughts (just you and them). Get used to spending some time with your thoughts only, without the need to find something else to distract you. Like during meditation, those moments where you are alone with your thoughts may well turn into moments of great inspiration and insights.?????????

2) ?Do something big

Let’s be honest – we can’t spend our lives doing trivial things within our comfort zone (e.g., resolving day-to-day problems, answering e-mails, attending routine meetings, or doing the same activities over and over). That’s not rewarding enough. Whether it is acquiring a new complex skill, developing a winning strategy, a game-changer idea, or a breakthrough initiative, whatever it may be, you always need to be doing something big. Something that will push your cognitive capabilities to their limits, motivate you to go the extra mile, so that you can look back and be proud of what you accomplished. A big thing will force you to find time to go deep, to prioritize profound moments of concentration over distraction. Note that you can’t work on more than one or two big things simultaneously. If you are doing this, either they are not big enough, or you will not accomplish any of them properly. Selecting the big things that you will be working on requires carefully defining your top priorities, those that can produce the most significant results, that will make a difference. Some of these big things may take some time to finish – which is OK, as long as you’re always working on something big.

3) ?Appreciate the difficulty

Whether it is about reading a difficult book, running a marathon, or mastering a skill, there is no easy route to success. The problem is that in the era of distraction, people often choose the easy way (i.e., staying within their comfort zone). They don’t have patience, since they lost their ability to concentrate. Do you know what happened to the school in Europe I mentioned earlier? They replaced the classic lengthy book with something simpler. That’s precisely what you should avoid. The only route to growth and development is through difficulty; there is no easy way. In fact, the best moments of our lives usually happen when we stretch our hearts and minds to their limits and overcome a tough challenge. Hence, when you see something difficult in front of you, enjoy it like the best gift you’ve ever had – a gift that will make you grow and develop, and take you to the next level.?

While companies strive to become more productive and innovative, working harder under the current practices won’t likely generate improved results. People are too busy cleaning up their inboxes and jumping from one meeting to another. There is no time to pause and reflect, to recharge the batteries. They can’t eat breakfast without looking at their phones or sleep without checking the last e-mails. Those habits may only stress people, eventually reducing their productivity and capacity to innovate. To thrive in our highly competitive world, companies must maximize their people capabilities, which can’t be triggered under the current distracting environment. Focus and attention will become critical assets to individuals and organizations. Those that master these abilities will be better prepared to learn new complex skills and produce at an elite level of quality and performance, while those that stay distracted will struggle. Success will be measured by the greatness of people’s accomplishments, and not by how busy they are. Individuals will be less stressed with routine matters, and motivated to do great things.???????

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Literature sources

Ericsson, K. A. (Ed.). (2009).?Development of professional expertise: Toward measurement of expert performance and design of optimal learning environments. Cambridge University Press.

Goleman, D. (2013).?Focus: The hidden driver of excellence.?HarperCollins Publishers.

McChesney, C., Covey, S., & Huling, J. (2012).?The 4 disciplines of execution: Achieving your wildly important goals?(Vol. 34, No. 10). Simon and Schuster.

Newport, C. (2016).?Deep work: Rules for focused success in a distracted world. Hachette UK.

Zack, D. (2015).?Singletasking: Get More Done—One Thing at a Time. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.