How’s your focus these days? Have you started to do something, got distracted and then forgotten what you were even doing? I have. For the last year or two I have increasingly noticed how much more difficult to do so many things I used to do easily like write a blog post. But it isn’t just with writing. I’ve also noticed how it’s become more challenging to find the time to sit and read a book, focus on certain tasks, or consistently do other things that used to be part of my days. Meanwhile, time seems to be speeding by and I’m feeling busier than ever. Besides being easily distracted, my memory isn’t what it used to be. To explain it all, I assumed it was because I was getting older. Nope. I’ve since learned that this inability to focus and pay attention is a result of bigger forces at work. Of course, as the saying goes, to cure something, we must first know why it’s happening.
About a month ago I listened to a podcast that was so interesting I couldn’t help myself and ordered the book to read. As any of my longtime readers know, I used to do that frequently. Lately? Not so much. The book referenced by the podcast is titled Stolen Focus—Why You Can’t Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again written by author Johann Hari. On the podcast and in his book, he very clearly shares why I haven’t been reading as much, as well as a dozen other ideas about why we are all finding it more and more difficult to slow down, focus, and pay attention. He believes that those abilities are being subtly stolen from us and most of us aren’t even aware of it. I think many of us would agree.
But how? In 2020 Hari participated in a US Government Survey that asked people why they thought their attention was getting worse. The survey gave participants ten options to choose from and pick all that applied. Forty-eight percent said stress was the problem. The number two reason also at 48% were changes in life-circumstance like getting older, divorced or having a baby. The third, at 43% was difficult or disturbed sleep. Use of cell phones came in fourth at 37%. While Hari doesn’t disagree with any of these (except that it is caused by aging) he does offer deeper and more interconnected reasoning for our inability to focus than such data suggests.
Hari believes there is a combination of up to 12 different forces that intertwine and are working to gradually disrupt our focus. From my perspective those can be boiled down to five main reasons my attention span seems so much less. Reassuringly Hari does not believe that it is because we have too little self-control and will-power to force ourselves to work on our memory or pay better attention to items at hand. While he will agree that there are things we can do personally do to make it better or worse for ourselves. But he is also clear that the problem is similar to individually trying to solve an air pollution problem by wearing a gas mask. Even if we alone can breathe perfectly, air pollution is still there and getting worse all the time. In order words, we are living in a world where our “culture” is contributing daily to our inability to focus. So even if we solve it by having super self-control—it is and will continue to happen.
So, what do we do? First, we must recognize the influences that are causing the problem. From what I’ve learned from Hari, my top five are:
#1 The speed, switching and filtering of our world.
If you’re like me, you recognize how fast days are flying by. Hari says this is happening throughout our world. Hari explains that according to just one of the many researchers he interviewed for his book, we are all experiencing an “accelerating trend.” One way this happens is to flood the “system” with more information. Then the more you flood, the less time anyone can spend absorbing. It’s like drinking from a firehose. Hari says, this makes us feel good because we know so much about so many things (or we think we do!) but we really only know a little bit about a lot of things. Unfortunately, what is happening is that we are sacrificing any real depth in all sorts of dimensions. Depth takes time and reflection. Wisdom requires it.
On top of witnessing vast amounts of information quickly we are also becoming addicted to multitasking and switching. Even if we think we’re good at it we are sacrificing quality over quantity and are merely juggling our thoughts. We lose creativity, depth, and even intelligence when we allow ourselves to multitask. Is it any wonder we are finding it more difficult to remember things and focus?
#2 The rise of physical and mental exhaustion.
I used to admire people who said they could get by on four hours of sleep a night. I also used to admire those who could crank out blog posts or work 12–14-hour days like machines. Now I know how damaging some of that behavior probably is. Hari says, “Today 40% of Americans are chronically sleep-deprived, getting less than the necessary minimum of seven hours a night…Only 15% of us wake up from our sleep feeing refreshed.” And perhaps more alarming, “Of the past century, the average child has lost 85 minutes of sleep every night.” According to experts Hari quotes, this “sleep deprivation” creates drowsiness and diminished thinking, creativity, and focus in adults. In children it leads to hyperactivity. Overall, as Hari says, “One of the first things to go is the ability to focus.”
Hari also believes that we are exhausted by our productivity and definition of success. Instead of getting good sleep, slowing down, taking time to play and letting our minds wander we (adults and children) are cramming as much into every day as we possibly can. Hari is convinced that this epidemic is now extended to how children are currently being raised. Not only do they not have any time to just play and be kids, but their schedules are also as packed with activities as their parents. Hari cites research that shows homework hours have skyrocketed. That constant overscheduling and parental fears about their safety are almost forcing them to turn to online activities for escape. I think we can all imagine where that will lead in the future.
#3 The rise of technology and how it tracks and manipulates us.
Most of us can easily guess that technology has changed the way we think, remember and focus these days. However, what we might not realize is how there are forces at work that are being created each and every day to track and make us addicted to nearly all data that is used by technology. And even if you don’t go on social media, Google, use a phone, or have an “Alexa” in your home, it is nearly impossible in 2024 to not be connected to the “cloud” one way or another. Watch television—yep! Drive a car with electronics—yep! Buy groceries (anywhere?)—yep! The list goes on an on. We are being tracked constantly and our preferences recorded and then sold to companies that want us to use or buy their products. All they must do is design an app or game or something “free” along with a few cute likes and rewards, and we just keep returning over and over. Pavlov’s dog anyone?
Accepting that this is happening and that it is perfectly legal for them to do this is necessary. And while they don’t necessarily have evil intentions, they do want to sway you to their product or activity (or way of thinking), and they will continue to gather any and all information they can to keep doing it. And even if they aren’t a direct supplier, they will sell information about you to people who are. Harvard professor Shoshana Zuboff calls it, “surveillance capitalism.”
The point is technology today is nearly impossible to avoid. But being aware of how it works is crucial. Companies are working VERY hard to get us to stay connected as long as possible on any and all of their devices, websites and apps. Like to play games on Facebook? Yes, they know that. Like to watch videos on YouTube or TikTok? Or how about searching for products to buy? Oh yeah, that too. They know everything you like and everything you avoid and are using it to create profiles of you and share it with anyone who will pay the price. Obviously, technology is not going to go away. But at the very least, but it is very important to see how it uses us and how we plan to use it in the future.
#4 How pollution and our diets contribute to our lack of attention.
I think most of us know how our overall health is affected by pollution and our diets. What we may not know is how it also diminishes our ability to pay attention and focus. Hari says, “…if you disrupt your body—by depriving it of the nutrients it needs, or by pumping it full of pollutants—your ability to pay attention will also be disrupted.” This is especially bad for children. He cites a study where by eliminating the preservatives and dyes from the diets of children, 70% of them had an average improvement of 50%! More shared studies explain that the chemicals being used in products like pesticides, plasticizers, flam-retardants and cosmetics all contribute to diminished memory and mental development. I hope it goes without saying that air pollution is bad on many levels.
#5 The collapse of sustained reading.
I already confessed how my reading shrank in the last couple of years. According to Hari, “some 57% of Americans do not read a single book in a typical year.” However, current research shows that the average American spends up to 6.5 to 8.5 hours online. Yikes! I don’t think I’m that bad but who knows? Not only is that time mostly lost on information I’ll never remember anyway, but it is eating away at my memory and ability to focus slowly but surely. Many of us are addicted to frivolous entertainment anywhere we can find it.
Instead, Hari is convinced that the benefits to reading books is enormous. And he does not believe that reading online is the same. We read differently online, and he says, “people understand and remember less what they absorb on screens. One of his experts calls it “screen inferiority.” Instead, reading a book slows us down and allows us to deeply consider what it shares and provides us with “cognitive patience” and the stamina to deal with challenging text.
So those are the big reasons I believe my memory and ability to focus are being eroded. The good news is that just knowing them helps me make better decisions about what I do on a day-to-day basis. So yes, we can take steps to change things but we can’t do all of them alone. As I said before, Hari is convinced that unless we collectively put restrictions in place that put an end to some of these more nefarious forces, they will only grow and get worse in the future. He claims that if we think it is bad now, it will get much worse in the future.
Besides our memory and focus, he also points out how it is changing our ability to think. Our country and the world are faced with enormous challenges right now but if we are constantly distracted by our phones, computers or our televisions, we will be drawn to things that either scare us to pieces or amuse us and take away the discomfort. For example, I know this blog post is longer than usual and bloggers are all told to keep them short and sweet. But this topic is very important in my opinion and worthy of a few extra words. In the days ahead I plan to make a few SMART changes to my days. Not only do I plan to spend more time reading and less time online, I am also going to research how to connect with others that want to work together to grow focus and attention for myself and others.
For more information: Stolenfocusbook.com
Hi Kathy,
Great post! It sure explains a lot. I used to be an avid reader as well and, now, can’t seem to have the attention to get through a book (unless I’m on a plane). I watched a good “documentary” on Facebook a while back explaining about how they target and show you exactly what you want to see and how they steer you. It’s a little frightening our habits and lifestyles are being tracked by everyone and everything, it seems. And, yes, it’s only going to get worse I think.
Technology can be very helpful. However, it can make life difficult as well, I think, with too many choices. It’s making it harder to focus. I agree with knowledge and knowing what’s happening, we can endeavor to get back to focussing on one thing at a time. Mutitasking isn’t all it’s cracked up to be LOL!
Thanks, Kathy.
Another reader who thought it was just me! Even with tech free weekends at the cabin, no social media, and lots of time to read and sleep and exercise, I STILL find my focus declining. And yes, I did think it was age related. So this was very informative and helpful. And quite sobering about children! And… oh gee, what was I saying??? Ha, got to keep some sense of humor about it. Fretting won’t help and will just further hinder efforts to be more mindful and focused.
Hi Galen! Yes, humor is definitely important. :–) And for the most part I do not envy the parents nor the children of today for the choices and decisions that are coming their way. Of course that doesn’t mean we can’t try and support actions and collective programs to help curb the influence, but there is no doubt that the world as we know it will soon be a thing of the past. And who knows how it will evolve? I think just doing my best to model what I can in a positive way and to support others (like you!) who do so much to increase awareness, is some small part of how I can help. The good news is that I can already tell by being more mindful about it all, I am able to find “space” in my days that wasn’t there before. Not only does that feel good emotionally, but I am positive that it will work on my focus and attention as well. Thanks for you thoughts and lets both plan to keep our sense of humor through it all! ~Kathy
A very timely and informative post, Kathy. A topic we all seem to relate to.
The issue with online things being distractive is that they are often addictive as well. I spend way too much time online and it makes my days busier than ever. Using the internet and computer for paid work is one thing, but all the social media and blogging take so much time; time that keeps me from reading, writing, relaxing, or slowing down.
Then there is the communication via emails and messages, researching places to camp, visit, and shop and learning Spanish. Offline tasks are also plentiful, like diary writing and photo browsing and archiving. One is never done with screen time, really. Some of it is fun, some feels like an obligation, and some is just addictive…
We all know we need to switch priorities, but taking action in doing so remains difficult.
Hi Liesbet! Yes certainly addiction is part of the problem and technology LOVES IT when we are addicted because we just keep using it in spite of ourselves. It is a big problem for those (like you) who use it for your livelihood because you need it for so many things. But there is that fine line between productivity and distraction (at least for me.). And the author really thinks it is a bigger issue than not having the willpower to just control it. Sort of like how it was with cigarette smoking. Sure, some of us could quit without help. But as long as the industry was free to advertise and put their product out for everyone everywhere (kids included) the government stepped in and started limiting their actions because they realized how bad it was on so many levels. Or what about Mothers Against Drunk Driving? Until women united over the issue drinking and driving it was much more rampant than it is now. The author wants us all to get together and come up with limitations on the constant focus of commercialism in social media and nearly all the apps. Will it happen? Not as long as we all accept and crave the entertainment. Make sense? ~Kathy
Yes, that does make sense. It’s like with everything in this world that we want to see changed, including environmental issues – we have to come together and fight for a common goal. When I see how Tik Tok is damaging teenagers, I find it’s about time that the parents to get together to ban that social media form.
Very thoughtful feedback from your readers. I can smell a book coming from you.
In 2024 my focus is the year of living frugally. And 4 months in I am please to see a healthy bank balance. So focus can have a lot of payoffs. Until I blow it on travel!
Hey Ann! Hahaha! Yes, it might be time for me to focus long enough to put out another book. I have been thinking about it for about four years or so but distractions do make it much more difficult. Of course, as you mention with travel, that is the ultimate distraction for me and I have a bunch of it coming up this summer! Who knows?
And yes to the distractions when you work in an office space. The author cites several studies where being distracted is a huge problem. I think he says that the average office person only puts in about three hours out of an eight hour day because of frequently they are distracted. Maybe working at home helps but??? ~Kathy
Kathy, focus should improve with age, in my opinion. As a Manager of engineers and IT professionals, I was deluged with information and change. I looked at multitasking, as it was a “buzzword”, or cliche of those times. Some staff were proud of their ability to do even up to five things at once. I noticed that the quality of that work suffered for those so-called multiple-task workers.
For me, people were surprised to find that when the phone rang, I did not stop our conversation, meeting, or even hallway discussion. “One thing at a time” was my personal practice. I found if I identified a subject, a task, or even a project, I’d stay on that like a “dog on a bone”. If someone wanted to walk up to me to interrupt I’d politely wave them off, like “I’ll get you later”. I felt that if I engaged someone to do business, we should be respectful to finish that business before moving on to the next thing. I became well known for “making the rounds” to visit with staff and contemporaries, like a doctor with a patient. I’d give each visit my undivided attention.
I read about, and did some tiny research, into the idea that the efficiency of “multitasking” was a fallacy. Where this technique of mine failed, was when a boss wanted my time and attention “now”. They did not necessarily subscribe to my “single-tasking” approach, especially when they wanted something. But, I have to say, most people catch on, and at least try to be judicious with interruptions when dealing with a single-tasker such as myself.
Focus — finish that book you started. Complete that song, or story, or task. The famous John Lennon told the also famous George Harrison to finish the song when you start it. Paul McCartney gave the suggestion to just insert “placeholder” words so that the thought could be completed. Then returning later, perfect the final version with the best words. The famous Paul song “Yesterday” started out as “Scrambled Eggs” so to get the thing constructed — later, the better words made it one of the most famous and appreciated of his extensive library of thousands of completed songs.
I know this is something that we all know deep down, inherently. The digital media is off in my world, unless I’m doing something specific with it. I have not had a TV in my bedroom for ages — the bedroom is for sleeping. When working in my office its like an old-fashioned library — “shhhh, don’t disturb the patrons with noise”. This ability to have focused time to complete tasks is a gift I give to myself.
Great topic Kathy — leave it to you to draw out such sublime observations. Thank you.
Hey Chuck! It sounds like you have us all beat as far as being able to focus and pay attention. But this author is convinced that the vast majority of us are being trained away from it by all sorts of cultural business interests. And if my own life is any example I tend to agree with him on this and many of his observations. From what I can tell many people don’t even seem to be aware of how algorithms are gathering info on us constantly from hundreds of sources and all of that is being used to manipulate us into buying or doing things that we often are not consciously aware of. I think the more we can work together and increase awareness about this–the better.
Keep up the good work and thanks for all your thoughts on this! ~Kathy
I think my job as “engineer” made me appreciate technology as “tools”, and I invented some of my own “tools”. Some have said that engineers are the laziest people, as they work to build things that do repetitive tasks for themselves and others, that they don’t want to do.
The idea of technology as a “tool” means to me “the right tool for the job”. I’m senior enough to not have had a desktop computer at first — but I ended up with a smart calculator, used “dumb systems” connected to mainframe-computers, and eventually designed my own form of desktop computer complete with a basic operating system, document maker (ie. word processor), and spreadsheet system.
I use the new tech in a focused manner — I program my email-inbox, for instance, to presort EVERYTHING I can, so as to spend as little time as possible searching for the “good stuff”. I certainly program my phone to block unsolicited sales calls (what a time and attention hog THAT can be).
As I age, my tools and the use of them get perfected and improve my focus accordingly. I have friends, you know fellow nerd-like engineers, who are similar. I know not everyone has programming tools or tool-making skills and I greatly appreciate mine. But I am loath to give up my extreme-focus methods, to this sea of “junk activity” generated by communication, tracking, and entertainment tech.
Just my $.02 … I appreciate you!
When I was working I was often sharing office space. What a distraction. They other workers were often on the phone, in loud voices and in foreign languages. And I was trying to do data analysis requiring intense conversation. We were not allowed to us the internet for anything until more recent years. Open office space has contributed to my distractions.
You nailed it for most of us, Kathy. Thanks for raising our awareness.
Hi Charles. I’m guessing a lot of us know something about this issues and I’m REALLY grateful for those of you who took the time to read this long post! When I first started blogging years ago I was told that a blogger HAD to keep posts short and that anything longer than 800 words wouldn’t get read. I’m sure that is much, much shorter now and I am gratefulfor those who have continued reading my blog since I CLEARLY don’t make them short! Thank you for checking in! ~Kathy
Oh Kathy – I thought it was just me! Your blog, plus the preceding reader comments confirm that I’m not alone in this. Since retiring from ministry 1-1/2 years ago – I’ve attempted to get back to reading for enjoyment, something I was sure I’d jump into when retired. Oh my! My attention span is abysmally short and restless.
Yes – I feel that a significant factor is current technology and all the information overload rushing at me on my various devices via the internet.
Also a big factor is that during my 35 years in ministry, I did read many books – all related to preparation for classes or Sunday messages. Well actually I SKIMMED tons of books – to find the info, or quotes that supported my project du jour. I rarely had the time to read a book from cover-to-cover, though there were so many that called to me.
I wistfully yearned for the time to enjoy recreational reading, such a juicy novel. Now that I have the time, I’m finding as you wrote, difficulty with focus and attention span. Hmmmm – something to consider changing. Thank you!!
Hi Karen! It is always nice to know we aren’t alone, huh? And heaven knows you do deserve a break now that you’ve retired. But again, the way that Johann Hari lays it out in his book is how it has been building and building based upon the intentions for those that want to either sell info about us to others, to buy things for them, to sway our thoughts about things or simply keep us entertained so we don’t think to think about certain things in our world.
Sure we can work on our will power but Hari is convinced that it will take collective efforts to change the cultural model that allows the problem to happen in the first place. And not so optimistically, he believes it will just get worse in the years to come if we don’t. He says that for every one of us that has the ability to “really focus” there are hundreds of researchers being paid by companies to figure out ways to distract us so I can only imagine what will be developed in the future. Meanwhile, all we can do is to increase (and maybe share) awareness of this issues and then work on any initiatives that come our way to deal with it. Thanks for you input on this! Good luck! ~Kathy
And I thought it was just me! I am definitely feeling more distracted and less able to stay focused and it drives me nuts. Of course that contributes to the stress, which makes us more distracted, and the cycle continues. I totally agree that the flood of information is like “drinking through a fire hose.” It seems like every conversation I have with someone leads to one of us grabbing our phone to look up something on the topic. I will definitely check out his podcast for my next walk. Or is that just picking up my phone again!?! Sigh.
Hi Marian. Yes I strongly encourage you to listen to some of his podcasts (I do listen to them on my daily walks!) if you don’t have the time to read the book. It is very well researched and he is pretty thorough in the people he’s talked to about the subject. He also covers a lot more info that I could ever make in this article as well as a big focus on what it is doing to kids.
I also think it is tempting to think that it is a depressing subject but Hari is actually fairly optimistic if we recognize the problem and then work together to make changes. On a personal level, it’s really slowed me down from thinking my phone or google hold the answer to everything. :-). And/or that I need to be entertained every minute of every day (besides reading of course!). I truly hope I can sustain that because I REALLY do want to continue to write!!! Thanks for your thoughts on this! ~Kathy
I think the volume of distractions available seems.. distracting. Like kids in a candy shop. TMI is another distraction. I try to pace myself and give myself plenty of me time like during the pandemic when we all had more me time. I am ok with less amount of focus because I know I can still focus on the things that are my priorities. There are things I want to get better at or fix and I let others things go. I am not a multitasker. I enjoy doing one thing at a time. Except for unloading the dishwasher. My reading volume is maybe higher due to books on line from the library and lots of used books sales. I have dropped a lot of meet and greet events with strangers. They do not generate serotonin. Too much effort. I nurture the relationships in my life and that seems to be enough focus for now.
Hi Ann! So true! I agree that those of a certain age have it a bit easier than kids today–and good for you that you are NOT a multi-tasker! As you say it really helps to have a strong intention on the part of each of us to pick and choose the things that are priorities for each of us. But the author–and I do see his point of view on this–our culture and the entire business paradigm are built around selling us stuff and getting us to NOT question what is good for the economy. When we do that we are easily entertained and seduced by what is easiest and available. Unfortunately all that is contributing to not only diminished focus but also the lack of the ability to think slowly and deeply about some of the issues facing our world. The solutions aren’t easy but the author is hopeful it is possible. ~Kathy
I’m especially surprised and dismayed by my own inability to sit and read a book. I was always an avid reader. Now i listen to audio books so I can multi-task. While I”m getting ready in the mornings is the only down time I have, really. If I am no obligated to do something else, I’m painting. I’m grateful to still. have art to give me focused time.
The kids, though…oh my…I don’t know how the world is going to be with these kids in charge. They can’t pay attention for even one full minute. I’ve been blaming the “food” they consume for many years, and do believe that’s a huge part of it that society just isn’t prepared to deal with, and doesn’t really want to look at.
It’s easy to blame it all on technology, but, like the author, I don’t believe it’s technology alone.
Thanks for the insight, Kathy.
Hi Jamie!
I can tell from the paintings you’ve been posting on FB that you do have good focus and attention when it is something you love. The author of the Focus book has a LOT to say about getting into a flow state with things we love as a good way to train our focus and attention. (they are GREAT by the way!)
And as a teacher I’m sure you have first-hand knowledge of the diminishing focus and attention of teenagers. He quotes studies that students today can only focus on an average for 3 minutes but this book was written a couple of years ago so it’s probably worse. He also says most teenagers think that they can multi-task 6 or 7 things (FB, tiktok, texting, tv, etc) at a time. So much for any quality of thinking! Yes the food (not to mention environmental problems) are all a problem but it is all such a fabric of our culture these days that it is a complication issue that requires even more complicated thinking to solve it. The future will be interesting for sure. Thanks for your thoughts on this! ~Kathy