Empty or 'negative space' in a photograph brings the subject into focus
If this article holds your attention for 47 seconds before you check emails or social media, it’s a success. Twenty years ago, the average person focused on one screen for 2.5 minutes before switching attention.
We're constantly shifting attention all day long—and it comes with a price. Fortunately, there are specific steps we can take to fight distractions, regain our focus, and unleash our creativity.
Jumping from screen to screen or app to app has a ‘switch-cost,’ according to psychologist Dr. Gloria Mark, author of the new book, Attention Span. First, her research shows that it takes about 25 minutes to regain focus after an interruption. Second, switch costs trigger negative emotions such as anxiety, stress, fatigue, burnout, and a decline in creativity.
When I spoke to Mark last week on video from the University of California Irvine, where she studies human-computer interaction, she offered room for hope. According to Mark, we can learn specific habits to regain focus and perform our best despite the tempting distractions at our fingertips.
1.Rethink your relationship with screens.
According to Mark, our individual attention spans on personal technologies are getting significantly shorter over time. And this trend holds true across job categories: managers, administrators, financial analysts, technologists, software developers, and others.
One myth that’s evolved over the years is that we’re more productive if we’re on computers and devices all day. Just the opposite is true—and Marks and her colleagues have done the studies to prove it. Adding yet another Zoom meeting in the only 20-minute space you have left in you day doesn’t make you more productive.
“As it turns out, focusing for lengthy periods of time, especially without breaks, is not natural for most people,” says Mark. Constant attention switching consumes our very limited cognitive capacities, cognitive energy that we should store for our most important projects.
2. Protect your attention during peak focus times.
Once you accept that more computer time isn’t necessarily more productive, you can change some habits. The most important is to protect your attention during those times of day when your focus is at its peak.
Attention Span by Dr. Gloria Mark
“For most people, peak focus occurs in the mid-morning and mid-to-late afternoon,” Mark told me. “It corresponds with the ebb and flow of your mental resources. Now some people will find their peak focus to be earlier, and some later. But if you’re aware of your peak focus times, you can schedule tasks that require the most thinking, hardest effort, and creative thought.”
Above all, says Mark, don’t waste peak focus time doing emails that can wait or mindlessly scrolling social media feeds. Instead, utilize the time when your cognitive tank is full.
3. Take Meaningful Breaks.
People report feeling exhausted when they ‘focus’ on their computers or devices for hours without breaks. The secret to refueling and regaining cognitive energy is taking more breaks—not just any, but meaningful breaks.
Simply put, your brain needs to re-fuel its cognitive tank before it hits empty. But it requires the right kind of fuel, one that keeps the brain engaged while not overloading it.
There are two proven types of meaningful breaks that provide positive fuel: nature walks and rote activity.
Nature breaks. “The best break of all is to walk outside in nature for twenty minutes,” says Mark. While the nature walk isn’t possible for everyone at all times, of course, some movement is proven to dramatically reduce stress and improve “divergent thinking,” required for brainstorming and idea creation.
Rote activities. Many of the world’s most creative people take on simple, even mindless, tasks as short breaks between their most creative endeavors. For example, Maya Angelou did simple crossword puzzles as a break from writing while the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein peeled potatoes on his breaks. Whether it’s gardening or games, so-called ‘rote’ activity allows your mind to stay alert while great ideas incubate in the background.
Mark and I agree that while these strategies work on an individual level, managers and leaders of teams must understand them, too. Leaders should be intentional about designing “negative space” in the day.
In art, negative space is the empty space around objects in paintings or garden design. It makes the object of focus more beautiful and dynamic. The same holds true for a team's day-to-day activities. Cramming everything back to back with no meaningful breaks or empty space doesn’t do anyone any good. It doesn’t make a team more productive and can seriously hold back their creativity.
Designing a life that matters begins with how you plan your day. Start paying attention to what competes for your attention, and you’re likely to be happier, more energetic, and more creative.
