Why You Can't Focus Anymore (And How to Get It Back)

Read the same paragraph three times and still nothing went in? Your attention is not broken. It is being chopped into tiny pieces. In this video we look at Gloria Mark's research on how long we stay on one screen, Sophie Leroy's idea of attention residue, the Harvard study showing our minds wander nearly half the time, and what research on heavy multitaskers found. Then five simple habits to focus again: one task on the table, work in sprints (Pomodoro), a parking lot for your thoughts, checking messages in batches, and an end of day shutdown ritual from Cal Newport's Deep Work. Nina is a hypothetical example. Sources: Gloria Mark (2023). Attention Span. Hanover Square Press; Leroy, S. (2009). Why is it so hard to do my work? Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 109(2). Killingsworth, M. A. & Gilbert, D. T. (2010). A wandering mind is an unhappy mind. Science, 330(6006); Ophir, E., Nass, C. & Wagner, A. D. (2009). Cognitive control in media multitaskers. PNAS. Kushlev, K. & Dunn, E. W. (2015). Checking email less frequently reduces stress. Computers in Human Behavior; Masicampo, E. J. & Baumeister, R. F. (2011). Consider it done! Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Chapters 00:00 Hook 00:46 From Minutes To Seconds 01:51 The Hidden Cost Of Switching 02:39 Your Mind Wanders Half The Time 03:23 The Multitasking Myth 04:24 Habit One One Task On The Table 05:17 Habit Two Work In Sprints 06:17 Habit Three Park Your Thoughts 07:01 Habit Four Batch Your Messages 07:43 Habit Five Close The Day 08:36 Nina Finds Her Focus 09:23 Your First Sprint Slightly Better Daily: simple ideas from psychology and great books to get one percent better every day. #selfimprovement #habits #motivation #slightlybetterdaily