Practical steps to overcome digital distraction and increase mindfulness

Understanding your personal attention rhythms, implementing practical tech solutions, and making intentional behavioral changes can help restore your focus and enhance productivity.

Every morning, I wake up to a flood of notifications from various media platforms, Caliber.Az reports citing the foreign media.

While sipping my coffee, I sift through news feeds, only to face an onslaught of information and ads on X (formerly Twitter) as I head to work. The constant barrage leaves me overwhelmed and scattered.

Even though I try to limit my screen time with app restrictions, I often ignore them, berating myself for the hours lost to mindless “doomscrolling” in pursuit of fleeting dopamine hits from content I can barely remember. Long-form content, like movies, feels like an overwhelming commitment.

And I know I'm not alone in this struggle.

During my walk or train ride to work, I observe countless people engrossed in their phones, constantly tuned into a digital world that fiercely competes for their attention. The struggle to keep eyes glued to screens has become ubiquitous.

Dr. Gloria Mark, a professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine and author of Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity, highlights a troubling trend: the average focus time on a single screen plummeted from 2.5 minutes in 2004 to just 47 seconds in 2021.

This significant decline in attention span could be problematic. Mark's research, presented at the 2008 SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, revealed a strong correlation between higher stress levels and frequent attention switching.

While a dwindling attention span is not merely a personal failing, experts agree that there are actionable steps one can take to regain control and improve mental focus.

The decline in our attention span can be attributed to the rise of an “attention economy,” where our focus is increasingly commodified and monetized, according to D. Graham Burnett, founder and director of the Institute for Sustained Attention and co-creator of the Strother School of Radical Attention in Brooklyn, New York. Burnett refers to this trend as the "commodification of our attention."

“Our attention is being monetized like never before,” said Burnett, also the Henry Charles Lea Professor of History at Princeton University. “We are in the midst of a gold rush—a massive, technologically driven, and capital-intensive exploitation of our most fundamental attentional capacities.”

Burnett likens this process to "human fracking," arguing that the constant competition for our attention is toxic. This relentless bombardment, he suggests, "destabilizes, pollutes, and contaminates the very structures of our beings and our relationships."

Dr. Gloria Mark echoes these concerns, highlighting how sophisticated algorithms track and analyze our behaviors and interests to curate personalized feeds and ads. “Tech companies and ad marketing firms use this data to create detailed profiles about us and design algorithms specifically to capture our attention,” Mark explained. This practice, known as surveillance capitalism, a term coined by Shoshana Zuboff, involves harvesting personal data to predict and influence our behavior.

Our shrinking attention span can be partly attributed to the pervasive influence of the “attention economy,” where our focus is commodified and monetized. D. Graham Burnett, founder and director of the Institute for Sustained Attention, describes this phenomenon as a "gold rush" for our attention. He argues that this intense competition for our focus is akin to "human fracking," contaminating our mental and relational well-being.

Dr. Gloria Mark highlights how sophisticated algorithms track our online behaviors and curate content to keep us engaged. “If I click on an ad for a pair of boots, then I go to Facebook or The New York Times, and I see the boots following me around,” she said. This surveillance capitalism, as coined by Shoshana Zuboff, involves harvesting data to predict and influence our behavior.

Even our entertainment choices have evolved to reflect this shift. Television shows and films have become shorter, with rapid cuts averaging every four seconds. Mark points out that while this doesn’t directly cause short attention spans, it reinforces them, especially when watching films. Online videos have also embraced jump cuts to maintain attention, which can lead to impatience during normal conversations.

Social media's constraints on content length further exacerbate the issue. The rapid cycling through content creates an expectation for swift shifts, keeping users scrolling and increasing platform revenue. There is little financial incentive for these platforms to change this model.

However, technology is not the sole factor affecting attention span. Johann Hari, author of “Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention — and How To Think Deeply Again,” identifies additional factors such as office workflows, air pollution, classroom structures, and diet. “The key solution is to protect ourselves within our environment and to collectively change the environment,” Hari suggests.

Johann Hari's interviews with Silicon Valley experts revealed a deep sense of guilt among those who contributed to the technological environment driving our current attention crisis. "What struck me most is how sick with guilt they feel about what they’ve done," Hari noted.

To regain control over your focus and manage digital distractions, here are some practical steps suggested by Dr. Gloria Mark:

Pay attention to your automatic behaviors and recognize when you reach for your device. Developing this “meta-awareness” helps you become more conscious of your actions in real time.

Schedule breaks throughout your day to prevent burnout and replenish your mental energy. Activities like meditation, walking, or reading something inspirational can help you reset and reduce mental fatigue. Regular breaks are essential for maintaining focus and avoiding the cycle of distraction.

Engage in the practice of forethought by imagining your future self and your goals. This mental exercise helps you stay on track with your tasks and maintain a sense of purpose.

By implementing these strategies, you can better manage your attention and navigate the digital landscape more effectively.

Dr. Gloria Mark emphasizes understanding your personal rhythm of attention throughout the day. By tracking your “peaks and valleys” of focus, you can schedule tasks more effectively. Keep a diary or study your chronotype to identify when you have the most energy for demanding tasks.

Johann Hari suggests using physical barriers like time-locking containers to restrict phone access during work periods. He also recommends apps that limit social media use to help maintain focus. Gradually increase your phone-free periods to improve productivity and concentration.

While individual behavioral changes are crucial, Hari argues that they are not enough alone. "The problem is bigger than all of us individually," he says. Some companies are developing solutions to mitigate attention drain. At the CHI ’24 conference, Mark saw prototypes designed to reduce smartphone usage through increased friction, highlighting a growing awareness of the need to conserve attention.

Simple changes can also help, such as setting your phone to grayscale to reduce its visual appeal or using app-limiting features to control social media access. Adjusting privacy settings and toggling off personalized ads can also contribute to reducing data tracking and minimizing distractions.

By combining these strategies, you can better manage your attention and enhance your focus, making it easier to navigate today’s digital landscape.