3 Steps To Maximizing Our Own Attention

As our about page suggests, we here at Attention Land hope to provide content that captures your attention. Whether it be videos, or podcasts, or lists, there are many different ways for us to hold your attention.

But today I would like to talk about how each of us can hold our own attention.

It can be easy for websites or movies to keep our attention for minutes or hours at a time. But what about when we have to keep our own attention? What about when it is just you in front of a computer or notebook, trying to focus. Too often our attention drifts away to something other than the task at hand. How can we prevent that? Here are a few tips that might help.

3 Steps To Maximizing Our Own Attention:

Step 1: Limit Distractions

A couple of months ago I spoke to a business entrepreneur class at a community college. One of the students told me that he likes to write screenplays but he has a hard time finishing them. He mentioned that he always writes in his bedroom and gets distracted by TV and video games.

This is something most of us can relate to. I know I can. When I was writing my book I found that I was not productive at my house. I had to go to the library to write because it helped me step away from the distractions of the internet and my phone and everything else in my house.

I recommended that this student try a similar approach. He doesn’t necessarily have to go to the library, but he needs to find a place where TV or video games aren’t vying for his attention. He needs to go somewhere with less distractions so he can focus all his attention on his screenplays.

Step 2:  Work In Spurts

When people train to run a marathon they don’t run 26 miles on day one. They start small and gradually work up to long distances. And even when they are able to run 15 to 20 miles at a time, they don’t do it every day. They choose one or two days a week for their long runs and perform shorter runs on the other days.

A similar approach can be used to focusing our attention on our own work. Even after we have limited distractions, we can’t expect to sit down in an empty room and work for 20 hours at a time.

We are better off working in spurts. Pick a time limit. Work for 30 minutes at a time or an hour at a time, whatever time limit you choose, stick to that time limit and stop when the time is up.

The more we just work and work, without giving our brain a break, the less creative we get. Working non-stop will cause our minds will start to wander and the less we will be able to hold our attention. Working in spurts and then stepping away allows us to clear our minds and refocus once it is time to get back to work.

Step 3: Hustle Confusion

The popular workout, P90X says that a great way to develop strength is to use “muscle confusion.” Your body gets used to doing the same exercises which cause your workout to become less effective the more you get used to it. They recommend mixing up your workouts frequently to prevent your body from becoming to familiar with an exercise.

The same goes for our minds as well.

Even after limiting distractions and working in spurts, our minds are still likely to wander if they becomes too used to their environment. If you always write sitting in a specific chair in a certain room, after a while you may get too comfortable in that setting.

Switch it up. Maybe move to another room or try typing with a different color font or in a new notebook.

Working to maximize your own attention can take hustle. Mix things up and have hustle confusion work in your favor.

Photo credit: Wikipedia