Is it Possible to Control One’s State of Attentiveness?
My mind is constantly racing against time. It’s as if I want to accomplish the most I can and there is no tomorrow. One thing I have believed over the years is that, if we want more from life, be it money, career growth, or even happiness, we need to do more. And as I am naturally curious and have a huge hunger for learning, I take things up and challenge myself to step out of my comfort zone. It feels great but it’s also really tough to focus and get things done.
As part of our ALJ book club, I read the book ‘Hyperfocus’ by Chris Bailey and in doing so, I found interesting connections with Dr. David Rock’s ‘Your Brain at Work’. Rock talks about our brain and its limited capacity to retain, organize, prioritize, and process our daily lives. And in ‘Hyperfocus’, Bailey talks about finding ways to be more productive in this world of distraction. It was all so fascinating that I thought it valuable to share in this blog post.
What Does the Research Show?
According to wikipedia, hyperfocus is an intense form of mental concentration or visualization that focuses consciousness on a subject, topic, or task. In lay terms, hyperfocus is highly focused attention that lasts a long time. You concentrate on something so much that you lose track of everything else going on around you.
Chris Bailey explores how to leverage our brain’s two most productive modes: the focused mode - hyperfocus and the creative mode - “scatterfocus”. While hyperfocus is needed to be highly productive; scatterfocus helps us make visible our buried away thoughts, connect ideas and solve problems. And both of these are needed to be effective.
Dr. David Rock addresses how our brain’s ability to perform is limited and the ongoing problem is attentiveness. Chris Bailey calls it the “Attentional Space” - the amount of mental capacity we have available to focus on and process things in the moment. So, whether it is our brain’s ability or mental capacity, we know that it is LIMITED. And what adds to the problem is that most of our actions are on an autopilot mode without conscious deliberation and we are constantly craving for distraction as our mind rewards us for doing just that.
Studies have shown that constant distractions such as emails, phone calls, and social media alerts, reduce the performance of individuals in IQ tests and their effectiveness in completing tasks in a timely manner. When we divert our attention, refocusing takes considerable time and effort. Reading Bailey’s book really highlighted for me just how significant that loss of time can be.
Fun Brain
Facts
- Did you know your mind needs eight days to calm down from a crazy schedule? That’s why a vacation needs to be at least eight days long.
- Did you know it's a myth that we use only 10% of the brain's capacity? We in fact use all of it when we are in a hyperfocus mode and that's why we feel tired after a brainstorming session or a long training or when trying to solve a problem.
- Did you know your brain feeds on glucose and oxygen? When you get into a threat mode your breathing pattern changes and your brain takes in less oxygen and eats up all the glucose in the body. You can't think anymore. And that's why when stressed, taking deep breaths and taking in more oxygen helps calm us down.
Distractions are internal, too
If you thought that it is just external distractions that are harmful to mental performance, think again! Endless streams of unwanted thoughts can mar our focus, too. Don’t we constantly worry? Leaders are constantly balancing more than one thing at a time from diverse aspects of work and home life. The more we resist distraction, however, the more we decrease our ability to do so because resistance itself requires willpower, which is, again, a limited resource.
As humans, the one way we know how to manage limited resources is by prioritizing. We prioritize tasks and spend our brain’s capacity on the most important task first. But prioritizing in itself drains our mental energy.
Some of you may argue, ‘But, I can multitask…’ True, you can! But multitasking reduces your efficiency and performance. Some of us can drive and speak on the phone at the same time. That's possible because you are probably driving the same usual route and your brain is hardwired to that route. Bailey suggests that if you try to get to an unknown destination while multitasking you will not fare as well. When you try to do two things at once, being successful at both tasks is rare.
So, how do we leverage what we know to manage our attentiveness and to be more effective?
Practice Experimenting with your Focus
- A good way to conserve mental energy is by creating habits. Habits are routines for the brain, once they are formed the brain can execute those patterns without giving full attention to them. Like in the example above of driving a car on a familiar route.
- Take time to do nothing! Insights are often found through unconscious thinking. Often the solution just suddenly pops into our mind, without a conscious logical reasoning process. While taking a shower or on a random walk, somehow clarity comes through.
- Recognize the limited amount of time you are truly able to focus and make the most of that “hyperfocused” time. Create a schedule for yourself that blocks out distractions while you work. Turn off your alerts and ignore your inbox when you’re in that zone.
- Mindfulness can change the structure of your brain. Practicing mindfulness is quite simple and can be performed during any activity. While enjoying a meal, try focusing on your sensory experiences and gently come back to the present whenever your mind wanders off. Mindfulness practice will strengthen areas of your brain which are responsible for mental control and attention switching.
- Feeling relatedness to other people is rewarding for the brain. Social connections reduce stress and the absence of stress frees up mental resources. Be present when you interact with coworkers, friends and family - it’s good for your relationships and your brain.
As Chris Bailey says it, the “state of our attention is the state of our lives”. In that case, do we really need to do more if we want more money, career growth, happiness or even peace of mind? Or, do we need to leverage our hyperfocus and scatterfocus states of mind to be more effective in the things that we do? I’ve come to conclude the latter. Building awareness of how our brain works and understanding the different types of focus to employ at the right time and for the right purpose has increased my effectiveness at work, in my continuous efforts to expand my learning and at home.
