Focus of a Fish

Lately we’ve been hearing that we have lost the ability to focus—that we have the attention spans of fish, only worse. Goldfish average 9 seconds before they lose concentration. We average 8 seconds before we lose ours.

The phone beckons after all, although there really is a lot variation on that statistic that we check our phones 2000/Day. Some studies found that it was more like 80, 96, 160 times a day.

Doesn’t matter. You know about you and your phone. And look what else, from internet expert Trevor Wheelwright:

• 74% of Americans feel uneasy leaving their phone at home.
• 71% of Americans say they check their phones within the first 10 minutes of waking up.
• 53% say that they have never gone longer than 24 hours without their cell phone.
• 47% consider themselves “addicted” to their phones
• 35% use or look at their phone while driving.
• 70% of Americans check their phones within five minutes of receiving a notification.
• 64% use their phone on the toilet.
• 61% have texted someone in the same room as them before.
• 48% of people say they feel a sense of panic or anxiety when their cell phone battery goes below 20%.
• 45% say that their phone is their most valuable possession.
• 43% use or look at their phone while on a date.

That 45% saying the phone is their most valuable possession really caught my attention. At first it seemed ridiculous, but then, as far as material possessions go…well, what does matter more?

And, just because people didn’t “consider” themselves “addicted” to their phones, doesn’t mean they are not. Johann Hari, in his new book Stolen Focus, calls it an “attention crisis,” lamenting:

We want to have a life where we can think deeply. We want to have a life where we can read books. We want to have a life where our children can hold conversations.

And yet, with the intense pressures and threats we are all experiencing, it should not surprise us that our minds are in vigilance mode. Our brains are wired to help us when the going gets rough by prioritizing scanning for danger out there over, let’s say, reading words on a page.

So, what can we do to take charge of the roving mind—so we can focus when we need to—to get things done, and done well, in half the time?

Focus Fitness

For one thing, we can meditate. Just about anyone can. And, at the very least, meditation takes us away from the phone for a period of time. Unless you meditate with the phone on or near your lap, which I have done. Defeats the purpose, so let’s not do that.

There are pros and cons to meditation and you can read about them here. Still, meditation can help us focus: whether it’s sitting meditation, walking meditation, for only a few minutes, or more if you like. A little goes a long way. And, just as with physical exercise, the best type of meditation for you is the one you will actually do.

Given all the conflict going on in our world, and before that our country, I would also like to mention here the 1983 study that organized a collective meditation to study the effects of meditation on society.

The results of this study showed significant improvements on measures of crime, car accidents, fires, financial markets, national mood in Israel; and decreases in war victims and war intensity in Lebanon.

So, for anyone wanting to do something more about the troubled world in which we live, you can always try this, for the good of all.

And, one more thing for now…

Focus and Release

Fatigue makes it harder to focus. And lack of focus makes us fatigued.

Most people don’t really bring closure to one activity before moving on to another. Instead, too often we are still thinking about what came before whatever we are doing now, and quite possibly what comes next as well.

Because one thing piles onto another all day long, it is like carrying around a heavy sack of rocks all day long on our minds. It’s exhausting.

And just so you know, there really is no such thing as multitasking. The brain just goes back and forth and back and forth… That’s a lot of work, and you wonder why you are tired!

So, to help with both focus and fatigue, there is an exercise on my website in the “Complimentary…” box pulldown, called Focus and Release.

This exercise is designed to train the mind to put one thing down before picking up another. Try this and let us know what you find.

Warmly,

Madelaine

Photo by Pixels Gabriel