A lot of people find it too difficult to focus on one thing for a longer period of time and their concentration may be interrupted for about a period of six times or even more per hour. It seems like the most challenging thing these days is to capture one’s attention completely.
Distractions come in various shapes and sizes. It’s like a shadow that follows us everywhere we go. It throws us off and robs us of our productivity – it takes our eyes away from the most important tasks that need to be prioritised.
According to scientific research done in 2000, the average adult attention span has shrunk down to 8 seconds! Microsoft has proven this true through a report after a survey was done by thousands of participants to determine brain activity and how the mind was wired to process stimuli. The bad news is that it may continue to decrease by about 88% each year.
Have you noticed this happens to the people you communicate with on a daily basis? There probably would be instances when you’re speaking to someone and the other person would change the topic out of the blue or zone out, thinking about something else other than focusing on the conversation. Mind-wandering can happen and attention can be disrupted at any time especially in children or teenagers or ageing adults. If you can relate to this, there are several ways to rebuild the attention span. Here are some surefire ways on how to make you pay more attention to one thing for a sustained period:
Stop multitasking. Is your attention spread thin across various tasks? If your job is complex and requires more cognitive control, try to select one goal at a time, and maintain focus. This helps minimise errors and eventually leads to greater productivity.
Get away from interference. If distractions surround you, do not feed it any further. Turn your focus away from the non-essentials.
Train your brain to form better habits. Allow yourself to process information on a deeper level. The longer you focus your attention on one thing, the better your memory will become.
Listen to Music. According to Dr. Jim Jackson, an expert in neuropsychological functioning, “music engages the attentional regions of the brain.” Music without lyrics can be a great way to increase concentration and productivity.
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