You sit in front of the computer, ready to do the work you promised yourself that you would. But inevitably, your entrance box drips and your phone rings. So when you are about to dive, you take your phone, scan your headlines and rolls social media – your focus fragments with each digital deviation.
External and self -inflicted interruptions are no longer the exception; They became our default mode, says Zelana Montminy, a positive psychologist and author of “Finding Focus: Own Your Attention in An Age of Distraction”.
Many of us believe that we are adept at juggling interruptions, but the research tells a different story, according to Gloria Mark, a computer professor at the University of California Irvine (UC Irvine), and author of “Attention Span: Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity” (“The power of attention: an innovative way to restore restore. balance, happiness and productivity ”in the Portuguese version).
“Think of your mind like a blank picture,” she says. “Each task or topic you focus on is like writing on that whiteboard. When you perform multiple tasks at the same time, you are constantly erasing and rewriting different information. ”
How can you strengthen your focus skills and stay on the right track? Here is what the experts suggest:
Establish the bases
Optimizing your brain for focus begins with the fundamental self -care, according to Montminy. “You need to prioritize fundamental habits such as sleep, hydration and physical activity,” she says.
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Creating consistent environmental tips is also critical. Montminy recommends establishing “focus rituals” or signs that say to your brain which is time to focus – such as a dedicated working space, a specific table configuration, or a consistent routine that prepares it for focused work. Mark suggests practical steps to eliminate distractions: Disable notifications, block the phone when working, and use application blockers to hide digital temptations.
Train your brain attention
With the fundamentals in place, you need to enjoy your natural focus. Our attention is directed to goals, which means that we naturally focus on what is aligned with our goals and priorities, explains Mark. This principle is rooted in the work of William James, widely considered the father of American psychology. “If your goals are very clear, it will keep you focused on.”
To explore this bias and selectively focus on certain stimuli, ignoring others, Mark recommends a concrete approach: “Write down their goals and put them in a place where they are in their visual field,” she says.
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Direct your emotions
Setting goals is not just about tasks: it is also a powerful strategy for regulating and managing emotions. “People who feel more positive can really focus better, do more and be more creative,” says Mark. She recommends visualizing the desired emotional state to guide behavior. So, ask yourself, “At 7 pm, how do I want to feel?”
Setting emotional goals creates a neurobiological script that helps your brain seek balance and reduce stress. “Imagine the end result,” advises Montminy. “Visualize how it is, stay in this feeling and imagine relief.” The goal is to prevent a sense of fulfillment preventively, which can sharpen your focus.
Turn off your autopilot
The attention comes in different ways, says Mark. There is the intentional type, in which we are consciously focused on a specific task, such as writing a complex report; And the automatic type, where actions occur without deliberate thinking – like when you take your phone reflective, opens and travels the Instagram.
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To break these unconscious habits, Mark says you need to cultivate metaconsciousness: Observe your mental processes as they unfold. “It’s like waking up and saying, ‘Pay attention!’” When you feel the urge to check social media, ask yourself: What is boosting this behavior? Am I procrastinating? Am I avoiding challenging work? Asking these questions transforms an unconscious habit into a deliberate choice. “Metaconscience is like a muscle – the more you practice capture and redirect your attention, the stronger it becomes.”
Montminy suggests keeping alternatives to your phone nearby – a magazine or notepad, for example – to satisfy your underlying stress -relieving need.
Your attention at work has a pace, says Mark. Your focus times are affected by your chronotype or your natural circadian rhythm [o chamado relógio biológico]. Mark’s research has found that most people have a peak focus schedules around 11am and in the middle of the afternoon, although it varies depending on whether you are a dawn or nightly.
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To find out your personal pace, keep a diary tracking your energy and concentration levels throughout the day. “Scrolar’s desire or checking your social networks is a sign that your focus is starting to swing, usually at the end of one of your cycles,” says Montminy. Then schedule demanding tasks during your cognitive peak hours and set aside a less complex job, such as email, for when your energy decreases.
Practice active listening
One place where many people lose their focus is during conversations, Montminy notes. This occurs at team meetings at Zoom-do you really think no one realizes when you check your email in another tab? And it can happen even personally when you are talking to a colleague in one minute and the other is mentally somewhere, distracted with your phone. “We got used to not being present with each other,” she says. “Superficial interactions have become the norm.”
To improve his focus and rebuild the connection, Montminy recommends making a deliberate effort to practice active listening. This involves maintaining eye contact, tuning yourself with what the other person is saying and ask weighted questions. In doing so, you not only sharpen your concentration, but also deepen your connections. “Make intentional changes to prioritize your relationships,” she advises.
Replenishes your attention reserves
The negative space, an artistic term that refers to the empty areas around the main subjects of an image, offers a metaphor for an essential focus skill: managing mental energy. Just as artists use negative space to create balance, you can learn to strategically recover their cognitive resources by making intentional breaks, says Mark. “We tend to fill our days with tasks,” she notes. “We do not realize that we have to build in time for when we are not working, which will help us replenish.”
When your reservations are over, give yourself permission to rest and restart. “But redefining doesn’t mean social networks,” says Montminy. “Consuming content is not taking a break.” Instead, she recommends stretching, meditating, reading poetry or taking time to look out the window. “Give your brain time and space to regroup.”
Recognize the value of your attention and make conscious choices on how to allocate it, Mark adds. “You have limited cognitive features. They are very precious. ” The crucial question is, “How do you want to distribute them throughout your day?”
HBR: ©.2025 Harvard Business School Publishing Corp./Distribuído por The New York Times Licensing Group
