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Easily distracted? Though many jobs require high concentration, psychologists are finding out that even when people try to focus on a task, they tend to lose concentration... within 40 minutes and sometimes as little as 10.
"You can drive yourself crazy trying to multitask and answer every e-mail message instantly," says Winifred Gallagher, author of Rapt, a guide to living a focused life.
Ever go to a coffee shop or a restaurant where there's a TV and find your eyes quickly diverting to something that catches your attention on the screen to take your focus away from your conversation with a work colleague? I've noticed that if I have TweetDeck on one computer monitor and my work on the other, my focus on work is soon disintegrated. Why is that?
When something bright or novel flashes, it tends to automatically win the competition for the brain's attention. Dr. Robert Desimone, M.I.T. neuroscientist, calls that "biased competition." He found that neurons in the prefrontal cortex, the brain's planning center, start oscillating in unison and send signals directing the visual cortex to heed something else. So if you're reading a book and a television commercial diverts you, you may not have enough resources left to focus on the words.
Why it's hard to multitask
Doing too much makes you slower and dumber
90% of American adults are multitasking. However, they may not be more productive since six out of ten agree they're "busier," but often feel like they get less done.
Multitasking is notoriously inefficient though at certain optimal times it can be efficient.
What helps increase focus then? Gallagher advocates
Meditation exercises
Concentrate on most important task of day during first 90 minutes at work
Use ear plugs to shut out distracting noises
I'd add three:
Play baroque music softly as you write or work
Turn off cell phone, TV and electronic gadgets
Use new and creative approaches for routine tasks
I want to spend every day very mindfully to accomplish work and find pleasure in it, too. Winifred Gallagher discovered she had cancer so she viewed time with new perspective.
How do you overcome distractions to accomplish your daily work?
Cartoon source: Ming.tv
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