Have you ever had trouble concentrating, or wondered if your ability to stay focused was declining?

Today’s modern world is full of interruptions, so it’s no surprise that paying attention seems harder than ever.

According to Johann Hari, who admits that ‘dark forces have stolen our attention,’ we can’t rely on willpower alone to focus.

However, we can build up habits to help us handle all the interruptions that surround us, from getting more sleep (on average we sleep 20% less than a century ago) to developing a flow practice (whereby you set aside time, make it meaningful, and push yourself to the edge of your limit, but not so far that it’s unachievable).

Interruptions are the enemy of focus.

Professor Michael Posner discovered that even when you’re interrupted by something as simple as a text message, it takes you around 23 minutes to get back to the same level of focus. And many of us never get 23 uninterrupted minutes, so we’re constantly operating at this lower level of capacity.

So to retain concentration, avoiding interruptions is essential. However, this will require a level of planning.

Some ideas for avoiding interruptions include:

• Changing notification settings on our phones to make sure app notifications and non-vital messages won’t interrupt us. Or, if you can’t resist the automatic scroll, try locking away your phone in a safe. You can also set time limits on certain apps (for example, 10 minutes per day on Instagram) that will remind you when you’ve met your limit.

• Don’t willingly interrupt yourself by switching between multiple tasks. The human brain can only consciously do one thing at a time, whereas switching between tasks makes mistakes more likely. Instead, try using ‘time boxes’ or calendar blocking to plan out your days, and commit to doing specific tasks within these windows.

• In the workplace, be aware of how interruptions may affect yourself and your colleagues. In some jobs, for example, it may be possible to set aside specific hours for responding to emails and arranging meetings, so they don’t distract us from longer tasks that require more focus.?

• Schedule uninterrupted time for yourself and your loved ones, too. In our busy worlds, we also need to create space for our minds to wander, whether that’s a no-tech family meal or a hike out in the woods.

Anything you’ve ever accomplished in your life, from business goals and being a good parent to learning a musical instrument or anything you’re proud of, required a high amount of sustained focus and attention. We’re capable of great achievements when we find ways to pay attention.

That said, we can’t rely on individual changes alone to help steal back our attention; too many aspects of our world have been designed to interrupt us.

Silicon Valley makes products to be maximally addictive; the longer you scroll, the more money they make. Meanwhile, enraging or polarising viewpoints are given a megaphone, while most good, kind people are pushed to the back.

With all these factors in our environment designed to limit our attention, individual willpower may not be enough to regulate those forces.

Instead, we need to band together to shape the kind of future we want. Being mindful of what tech we use, and how to us it proactively is an important first step in shaping our lives going forward.