Stolen Focus by Johann Hari

Why can’t we pay attention…?  Johann poses a fascinating insight into how our modern lives are being hijacked by society and technology and throughout the book, Johann explores the range of things which are getting in our way and concludes that it is both the responsibility of big tech organisations plus ourselves to be much more aware of the bad habits we are falling into.

Reading some fascinating statistics have already enabled me to challenge my phone use – for example, switching off visual and sound notifications, accessing social media at designated times and never in the evening and finally practising improved habits in managing my focus.

This was inspired by the following facts discussed in the book.  Did you know…

• If we are focusing on our work and in a deep state of ‘flow’ and we’re interrupted, did you know it will take us 23 minutes to get back to that flow state?
• The average American worker is interrupted every 3 minutes…
• The average CEO of a Fortune 500 company only gets 28 minutes of uninterrupted time per day…
• In research undertaken in 2017, the average American spent just 17 minutes per day reading…
• Finally, in that same research, the average American spent 5.4 hours on their phones every day…

I found these fascinating and in particular, reflecting on the fact that with research having been done in 2017, these figures may have got worse and not better…

Johann continues to explore some of the underlying causes and looks at the human impact of the following:

• Information overload
• Sleep deprivation
• Environmental pollution
• Diet and physical health

It is worth reflecting on the sheer volume of information that bombards us on a daily basis and how we manage this.  The volume can overwhelm our cognitive capacity and makes it hard to process and retain information as there is simply too much of it – therefore, how can we manage it more effectively by looking less at adverts on social media, unsubscribing from email promotions, limiting the time we spend scrolling through unimportant content and being realistic on the expectations for our ‘to do’ list?

How much do we prioritise our rest and relaxation and having time away from a device?  During sleep, our cognitive functions take a break for recovery so how can we expect to be high functioning on little sleep?

How much fresh air are we taking and being away from pollution in big cities?  How good are our diets and levels of physical activity?  All of these contribute to our cognitive effectiveness – concentration, attention span and ability to remember things…

Through Johann’s reference to research, his personal experiences and great story-telling, it has certainly prompted reflection in my life and thankfully he helps us all with some practical tips.  How many of these could you action?

• Take a ‘digital detox’ – actively and consciously reduce your screen time and take regular breaks from devices.
• Practice mindfulness and meditation – regular practice can train the mind to concentrate and stay present in situations.
• Improving our sleep hygiene – prioritising quality sleep, stopping work and screen use at set times.
• Creating ‘focus-friendly’ environments – where we practice focusing on particular tasks, removing distractions completely, setting time frames for dedicated pieces of work and creating working environments to enhance our concentration.

Johann concludes that as well as us practising great habits, he is advocating for regulations which hold tech companies accountable for their role in the ‘attention crisis’ and a desire for them to create environments which are more conducive to deep thinking and sustained attention.  He utilises the phrase ‘surveillance capitalism’ whereby these tech companies use strategies to keep us on web and social media pages, encouraging us to scroll, not leave them and click through to places which steal our focus and draw us into spending non-productive time buying or researching things we didn’t actually need!  This phrase has stuck in my mind and I’m now so much more aware when I find I’m being drawn in!

This book has definitely been a ‘wake-up’ call to me to help me take more proactive steps to regain my focus, to dedicate time to thinking deeply and ultimately lead a more fulfilling life.  If you want that prompt too – take a read!