Understanding Why You Lose Focus

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi wrote that “few things are sadder than encountering a person who knows exactly what he should do, yet cannot muster enough energy to do it.” Why don’t we do what we know needs to get done? Why is it so hard to concentrate and finish what we start? In our digital age, is there any hope of “mustering enough energy” to stay focused on what really matters so we can live the lives we want? In this part one of a two-part series, we will examine why we get distracted.

I can’t focus. Why?

Csikszentmihalyi argues that intense focus is possible only when a person has clear goals and the capacity to complete the tasks necessary to achieve them. Focus not only requires the ability to do the tasks at hand, but also the ability to deal with distractions that may take you off track. The trouble is, even though you may have the capacity to complete a task, you may not be able to avoid distraction and focus.

While endless smart phone checking is a symptom of the problem, it is not the root cause of why you find it hard to focus. You ultimately can’t blame your phone for that promotion you didn’t get or the fact you stayed in bed scrolling Instagram instead of going to the gym. To learn how to focus, you must adopt new skills as well as understand the most common causes of distraction. There are several reasons why it’s hard to focus:

You’re Stuck in an Unhealthy Rut

In a University College London study, participants were asked to sit at a computer and direct a cloud of dots. They were instructed to move a lever to the right if a dot cloud was moving right and to the left if a dot cloud was moving left. Participants did this with accuracy. That is, until researchers added a weight to one side of the lever making it harder to move one way. The result? Participants began moving the lever in the wrong, yet easier, direction.

As the task became more difficult, participants subconsciously changed how they played the game. This study supports research from evolutionary biologists who argue humans have evolved to avoid energy consuming tasks by taking the path of least resistance.

Doing what we know we should do is often hard. If we fall into a routine of avoiding discomfort by taking too many breaks, we learn it’s easier to break our focus than do what we know we should. As the dot study shows, we quickly learn how to avoid discomfort by changing the game.

Henry Ford said, “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason so few engage in it.” If checking email for a quick minute takes the pressure off having to think through a big assignment at work, you’ll keep clicking away if you don’t have the tools to realize and deal with the difficulty. If you don’t change your ways, you’ll soon carve a mental rut that teaches your brain to automatically escape hard work instead of working through it.

You Don’t Know How to Focus on Things You Dislike

If you like doing something, you are more likely to do it. If you enjoy shopping for instance, you’ll seek out opportunities for “retail therapy.” However, if you find shopping to be a burden, you will avoid it unless absolutely necessary.

Unfortunately, many things you need to do in life aren’t particularly enjoyable. Few people enjoy doing their taxes, but they need to get it done nonetheless. When you don’t enjoy a task, you’re more likely to seek an escape and lose focus.

How then, do you stay focused doing something you dislike? Ian Bogost, a professor at Georgia Tech and a professional video game designer, argues that we have the power to reimagine tasks to make them more enjoyable. In his book, Play Anything, Bogost challenges readers to tackle everyday tasks with the same discipline and focus used to play a game.

Bogost states that we should focus more intensely on the task at hand rather than concentrating on the end result or reward. Bogost highlights this theory using his attempt to make lawn mowing more enjoyable. To learn to enjoy the job of cutting his grass, Bogost focused more intensely on it. He learned everything he could about the practice and challenge himself to find the variability in the activity.

Time Management Essential Reads

4 Ways to Shield Yourself From the Effects of Time Poverty

Do You Feel Like You Never Have Enough Time?

For instance, he sought to find the optimal path for cutting the grass or beating his previous time. By reimagining a task, you can make anything more enjoyable and intrinsically rewarding.

You’re Telling Yourself You “Don’t Have Time”

In a Monthly Labor Review study, participants who reported working between 65-74 hours a week overestimated their workweek by approximately 20 hours.

Too often, people confuse being productive with being busy. However, there is evidence to suggest that “being too busy” to work on your goals indicates a lack of focus, not a lack of time.

Every day, we choose how to spend our time. Wake up early, or hit the snooze? Take that part-time course or leave it for next month? Put clothes away now, or let them pile up? If everyone has the same 24-hours in their day, why are some people able to accomplish so much more?

Research shows that the secret to time-management might not such a secret after all. Laura Vanderkam, time management and productivity author, has found that the most productive people are not time management wizards, rather, they are highly skilled at setting priorities. Highly productive people have a limited, focused list of what they want to accomplish and allocate time accordingly. She argues that the “I don’t have time excuse” is a passive way of admitting something “is not one of my priorities.”

In a 2018 study on the top productivity technique, researchers found that the number one secret to time management was deciding what you want to do and when you want to do it. This method of time management is frequently referred to as “timeboxing.” By designated parts of your day for certain tasks, you become more likely to use your time the way you intended.

You replace time that you’re likely to get distracted by with meaningful activities that propel you towards your goals. Effective timeboxing starts with allocating time on your schedule for what matters most.

In the next article, we’ll dive into how to get and stay focused.