4 Simple Habits to Boost Focus & Stop Getting Distracted
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We feel so productive when we're doing lots of things. We feel good when we feel busy. We feel valuable when we feel busy. So much of the reason why we enjoy being distracted is because we think we're doing more when we're actually doing less. What's required is a change and shift in our mindset and recognizing

that sometimes when you're doing things slower, you actually might be doing them better. Hey everyone, welcome back to On Purpose. I'm your host Jay Shetty and I'm so grateful that you've decided to tune in. I have been thinking about this a lot lately.

And it's because I find that our attention diminishes so gradually and so subtly that it can often take months or years to realize that there's been an incredible decline.

Now, I want to ask you an honest and vulnerable question. How many of you are feeling distracted? How many of you look at your phone for no reason whatsoever? Studies show we grab our phone out of our pocket around 200 times per day.

And the truth is a lot of us won't have seen the time, won't have checked anything specific, won't have done that intentionally. It will have been a completely unconscious, unintentional

potentially unnecessary action. So let me ask you again, are you feeling more distracted? Are you feeling like you're struggling to pay attention? Are you feeling challenged being present? Maybe you struggle in a meeting to really be there with everyone else that you're around. Maybe when someone's giving a presentation on a Zoom call, you see yourself just drifting in and out.

Or maybe sometimes the meeting ends and then you finally realize that you weren't present at all. Maybe it's your partner who's pointed it out a few times telling you, hey, are you really listening to me?

Hey, I don't think you're always present with me. Hey, did you know what happened with the kids today? If you've experienced any of this, I want you to know you're not alone. It's not a weakness. It's somewhat not your fault. And it's actually something that we're all struggling with. Listen to this episode to get less distracted. Listen to this episode to increase your focus. And listen to this episode so that you can be more present in your life. Now,

Now, tell me if this ever happened to you or tell me if it often happens to you. You're paying attention to something or someone. Maybe it's a speech, an activity, and you get the urge to look at your phone. You better believe I've been there regularly. In fact, I think it's fair to say we all do this.

As technology has advanced, as distractions have multiplied, our ability to focus has been shrinking. But I promise you, with some conscious effort, you can build it back. This episode is dedicated to help you do just that. Now listen to this research. Back in 2004, researchers at UC Irvine set out to understand how information workers divided their focus.

They looked at analysts, software engineers, and managers, examining how quickly people pivoted between email, desk work, and their phones. And the results were kind of mind-boggling.

The researchers found that on average, people spend about two and a half minutes concentrating on a task before turning their attention elsewhere. That's not long at all, right? Because that original study came before smartphones, before social media, before 24-7 notifications and always access scrolling. So in 2012, some of the researchers ran another study.

This time they found that the average time spent on a task had dropped to 75 seconds.

And even more recently, one researcher discovered that the average attention span on computers and smartphones was a mere 47 seconds. That's a whole another level of mind-boggling. To make the point really clear, if you look at platforms like TikTok, platforms like Meta, platforms like Instagram, a lot of them count an eight-second view as a view.

So when you look at views, it's really someone who's watched it for eight seconds. Eight seconds is considered presence. And I think if you look at yourself scrolling on social media, you'll find yourself spending one to two, maybe three seconds on a video before you scroll past it, which is why eight seconds is seen as such a significant number.

That's what it takes to keep or lose our attention. Eight seconds. All of the social media world knows that if you don't grab someone's attention in eight seconds, you've already lost it. Now, this probably isn't the first you're hearing about this precipitous decline in focus. And at the very least, you definitely feel it.

And even if multitasking may seem efficient, it actually has a negative impact on cognitive performance, on productivity, and mood.

Listen to this. Studies show that only 2% of people can actually multitask. And the funny thing is when 98% of us hear that, we all think we're in that 2%. The truth is the majority of us cannot multitask. Monotasking or solo tasking is the art of focusing on one thing at a time.

The ability to dedicate that moment, your conscious effort and your mind space to that time. One of the things I've been practicing to help me with that is leaving my phone outside of the room.

Sometimes I'd have my phone in my pocket. Sometimes I'd have my phone on my desk. Now, if you have it in your pocket, you have the urge to take it out. If you leave it face up on your desk, you see notifications popping through. If you leave it face down on your desk, you may have the urge to flip it over. Just it being there causes a tension and a distraction between you and the person you're with. Leaving it outside of the room has

has allowed me to create that space to truly monotask or solotask.

I also started to realize how much I've been losing the ability to immerse myself. I remember being able to really sit with something. Radhi and I took a trip a couple of weekends ago to Big Sur. Big Sur is around and, you know, I think about like seven or eight hours drive away from LA and it's known to be a really peaceful place, a very spiritual place.

where you can, you know, bathe in the trees, you can go for hikes, you can, you know, be in nature. And so Radhe and I took a break and I noticed how my entire nervous system switched off by being there. And when we were there, it was so natural to just be present with the trees or when we'd go on hikes and we'd see deer to just be present. When we'd be on a walk,

through these winding pathways and bridges to just be present. And if you've ever experienced deep presence,

or deep rest in that way, you start to value it. And I think often what we've done is we feel so productive when we're doing lots of things. We feel good when we feel busy. We feel valuable when we feel busy. So much of the reason why we enjoy being distracted is because we think we're doing more when we're actually doing less. So what's required is a change in our values.

What's required is a change and shift in our mindset and recognizing that sometimes when you're doing things slower, you actually might be doing them better. Think about that for a second. It's a really random thought, right? It's kind of counterintuitive.

There are a lot of things in the world that if you did them slower, you'd be doing them better. I'll give you an example. Ayurveda talks about how when you're eating food, each morsel should be chewed 32 times. Now, I know that may sound ridiculous, but if you try and do it, there's a reason why. When you bite your food,

And the example or the Ayurvedic language around it is you should drink your food, chew your drinks. Now I know that sounds complicated, but let me break it down for you. So you should drink your food. What does that mean? If you've broken your food down,

If you've chewed it enough down to feeling like liquid, it becomes easier on your digestion. If you've been able to chew your drinks, you don't just gulp it down, but you take a moment with it, you actually make it easier to digest.

So when you change the pace of how quickly you eat, how quickly you bite, how intentionally you digest food, it becomes easier for your gut. There are so many things that would be better if we did them slower. So I want to ask you to reflect, what is it that you could do more slowly? What is it that you could do more present that you think would improve it?

Maybe the flusteredness that you feel in a meeting or the stress you feel in a meeting is because you're allowing your mind to jump from place to place. What if it was just in that meeting? What if you just listened to what that person was saying? What if you'd actually achieve more? You'd make better decisions. You'd make better long-term decisions. How many times have you had it where someone said something, you go, yeah, sure, that's fine. And then a month later, you're like, wait a minute, I don't remember even saying that. I had this happen to me recently and it just...

I mean, my team will probably tell you it happens more often than not. And I started to realize how we don't make good decisions. We're just making decisions in the moment, strung between two decisions, right? You're choosing what to order to eat at the same time as making a decision at work.

You're choosing where to go out for dinner tonight while you're deciding what to wear, right? You're choosing, you know, whatever it is, right? There's just so many things like that. So let's talk about what else we can do to combat this wavering attention.

Sometimes life can seem challenging and overcoming problems can seem impossible. But when you focus on your problems, it can keep you from seeing the good in your life. One thing that helps me when I need a change in perspective is acknowledging the small wins in life.

I encourage my team to pay attention to small wins because it helps them see positive outcomes and the steps that they're achieving on the road to a bigger goal. Use the power of small wins to shift your outlook and you will start to see positive changes. State Farm is also there to help you find personal wins and celebrate the small things in life.

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This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. Take a moment to reflect on someone you're grateful for, maybe a friend, a mentor, or even your therapist. There are people who show up for us in big and small ways, and it's important to acknowledge that. But let's not forget to thank ourselves too. Life can be chaotic, and some days just getting through is a win. So be kind to yourself. You've overcome so much already.

And remember, gratitude can also empower you to grow. Therapy, for example, isn't just for those who have faced major trauma. It helps us build coping skills, set boundaries and become our best selves. It's about understanding our emotions and learning to show up fully for ourselves.

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Now, one of my favorite techniques is called the Pomodoro Technique.

The way this works is you focus on a single task, usually for 25 minutes, then you take a short break, around 5 to 10 minutes, and then repeat that cycle. After four cycles, you've earned yourself a longer break to reset.

During each period of focus, you silence your phone, turn off notifications, and clear your workspace of distractions. The idea is that if you know a break is coming,

and you only have to put your head down for a manageable interval, then you can truly commit to the task at hand. And I mean that. That social media notification can wait for 25 minutes, right? And by the way, when your mind knows that it's only 25 minutes away, you can actually resist the urge for checking it. This is often the techniques that apply to children. When children know that

that there's a reward at the end of a challenge, they're more likely to sit through it. Now, that said, if initially this makes you feel uneasy to disconnect like that, you can start with shorter intervals and gradually increase your focus blocks. Ultimately, with diligent practice, you'll naturally rebuild your concentration muscle.

you'll naturally increase your attention span, which will serve you in the long run. And I think you really have to look at it like a muscle. If you haven't lifted a weight in a long time, you don't just go into the gym and lift the biggest weights there. So if you haven't focused and concentrated for consecutive hours for a long time, don't just force yourself to do what's ideal, what seems perfect. Take your time with it. And look, I'm not saying the Pomodoro technique is the be-all and end-all.

It's just one of many tools that could potentially help you to concentrate, to single task, to perform at your best. Right, we live in a connected world. I'm not saying anything you haven't heard before. And at any moment, we can be texting or checking emails or laughing at cat videos, which can be fine if you're waiting in line or lazing on the couch. But it's not so great when you're doing more active stuff, like hanging out with friends, getting work done, or simply walking around.

Which is why I highly recommend you also set no technology zones and no technology times in your home and in your workplace. One of the things I've done is I've disconnected my social media apps from my laptop. So if I'm on my laptop, I'm fully there for work.

I'm there for email, I'm there for my documents, I'm there for my spreadsheets, but I'm not connected to social media. So when it comes to no technology times, it's like saying no technology in the house before 8 a.m. And then no technology being used after 8 p.m. What you're doing is you're creating barriers and boundaries, healthy points of contact, so that now you're not constantly absorbed.

and the whole house has rules so that you can both follow them or however many of you are at home. Now, this also applies to no technology zones in the home. For example, the dining table, no need for technology. The bedroom, no need for technology. How can you find a way to make sure whenever you're going out to dinner, having friends over for dinner, no technology? It's creating these habits that everyone can subscribe to in order to limit distraction.

What we don't realize is inattention bleeds when we want attention.

So what happens is we want to be really attentive when we're with our family and our friends, but we want to be inattentive at work. It doesn't work like that. You can't be absent at work and be present at home. Inattention bleeds into all areas of your life. If you're not present in each moment, it's hard to be present in any moment.

And what's really important for me to say about these no technology times and zones, it is just creating barriers, boundaries, and healthy habits to protect your mind and the mind of others. Now, the other thing I want to discuss as we talk about distraction is we don't realize how we can also be distracted even when we're moving. Now, let me explain what I mean by that.

Obviously, it's quite common to walk around while looking at your phone. In fact, in 2014, it was estimated that 25% of pedestrians in Manhattan had their eyes glued to their devices. I'm guessing it's even worse today.

I remember Arianna Huffington telling a great story about how she was walking through New York and she saw this building and she said to her team, she was like, oh my God, this building's beautiful. Like how long has it been there? Like when was it made? And they were like 1929 or something like that. And she said she walks down this street every day. It's right near her office and she hadn't seen it. It

It's so common for us. I mean, I'm sure if you're a driver, you get angry at the people who are walking across the street with their head down looking at their phone.

Now, we all know that our phones can distract us from the present moment, but a team of researchers in New Zealand wondered if it affected us in other ways as well. So they devised a study. Participants were asked to stroll around a park. Half of them were given smartphones with instructions to read about the park while they were walking. This phone group was told it was important to stay focused on what they were reading.

The other half ambled about phone-free with instructions to pay attention to the environment. All the participants wore fitness trackers, and at the end, they performed self-evaluations about mood and comfort, as well as their feelings of power and connectedness to nature. Here's what the researchers found. The phone group walked with a more stooped posture and a slower gait. They felt less physically comfortable,

They also experienced more negative emotions and fewer positive ones, and they felt less powerful.

The phone-free group, on the other hand, felt positive, powerful, and connected to nature. Intuitively, this makes sense. It does feel better to stroll through a park disconnected. And clearly, that would help you get in tune with nature. But what surprised me was the depth of those differences. The researchers even stated that phone use effectively reverses all the beneficial effects of a jaunt in the park.

As Professor Elizabeth Broadbent told the New York Times, instead of feeling more positive after walking, people felt less positive, less excited, less happy, less relaxed. So the takeaway is clear. Go for a walk, but stay off your phone. And you know, this isn't only about walking.

This insight holds for parties and events, lunchtime with colleagues and dinner with friends. And I get it. We reach for our phones to stay on top of things. But there are tangible benefits to your mood and health if you can resist the urge. Really take a moment to think about what you can do and what you can change.

Because what I don't want to happen after this episode is that you feel guilty and you shame yourself. Because this is something we're all dealing with. This isn't a you problem. This is a 2024, 2025 and the rest of our life problem that each and every one of us is living with, struggling with and being challenged by. And so we can either sit here and guilt ourselves and make ourselves feel bad.

Or we can look at it and go, this is something we're going to have to deal with in our lifetime. Let's create effective strategies and steps to get ourselves out of it.

Okay, I am so excited about this because we've got the first ever merch drop for On Purpose. It's finally here. And for World Mental Health Day, we're doing an exclusive limited edition drop with all the proceeds going to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, NAMI. So now you can wear your On Purpose merch, listen to the podcast, and know that you too are having an impact.

I want to thank you so much in advance. I can't wait to see all of your pictures wearing the merch, their sweatshirts, a hat, t-shirts. Check it out on our website, jshedyshop.com. That's jshedyshop.com. And remember, 100% of the proceeds go to NAMI. Another technique I love is finish what you start.

Don't start a new task before the current one is complete. I think we've got into this habit of starting multiple things at the same time, doing everything we possibly can at the same time, doing anything and everything at the same time, because it feels more fun. It feels more exciting. And what do we realize? Our completion rate drops. What happens when our completion rate drops? Our distraction increases because now we feel we become someone who doesn't complete things.

I want to read you something that I read from a book by Thich Nhat Hanh, an amazing Tibetan Buddhist monk called How to Walk. And one of the things he writes is invest your whole body. Invest 100% of yourself into making a step.

Touching the ground with your foot, you produce the miracle of being alive. You make yourself real and the earth real with each step. The practice should be very strong and determined.

You are protecting yourself from the habit energy that is always pushing you to run and to get lost in thinking. Bring all your attention down to the soles of your feet and touch the earth as though you are kissing the earth with your feet. Each step is like the seal of an emperor on a decree.

Walk as though you imprint your solidity, your freedom, and your peace on the earth. I mean, how beautiful is it to think that something as simply walking

could be that powerful. Something as simply taking a step could be that monumental. And that's really what meditation is. Meditation is the ability to create meaning through the most simple, ordinary things. The ability to find meaning, to find value, to find the essence of what that does.

every step can make a huge, huge difference. Well, I was talking to a friend yesterday and he said something amazing to me. He said, Jay, it was only when I stopped, I realized how many sensations there are in the body. He said, I didn't realize this before today about how much is going on. And another thing Thich Nhat Hanh says in How to Walk, which I love, is he says one of the most profound teachings is also the shortest. I have arrived.

Our true home is in the present moment. To live in the present moment is a miracle. When I breathe in and become fully alive, I see myself as a miracle. When I look at an orange mindfully, I see the orange is a miracle. When I peel an orange mindfully, I see that eating an orange is also a miracle.

The fact that you are still alive is a miracle. So miracles are the things that you perform several times each day with the power of mindfulness. The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now. I perform this miracle every time I walk. You too can perform the miracle of walking any time you want.

These words from Thich Nhat Hanh are so powerful because I think our busy lives have made us see the ordinary as nothing but ordinary. But if you think about your favorite moments, weren't they when you took in the ordinary? Maybe it was your friend's laugh.

Maybe it was something that you were both joking about. Maybe it was a shared emotion or expression. Maybe it was a joint love for food. It was something simple. It was something beautiful. It was something tiny and organic and natural. It wasn't something constructed, engineered and manufactured. If anything, when you were trying to create something,

It may not have had that. So I hope this is your reminder to be more in the present, to be more mindful, to live in a way that we're not just allowing ourselves to get distracted, that we recognize that just a few of these simple tips can help us walk and live a better life.

I really hope you love this episode. If you did, please go and check out some of my meditations on the Daily J on Calm, calm.com forward slash J. And you'll be able to discover some really beautiful meditations that you can practice. You can listen to as you walk, as you make your way to work. Rather than filling all of our gaps with scrolling meditation,

where we only feel more overwhelmed. Imagine we're consuming so much information in such a short period of time. Our brains and our mind deserve a bit of a break. You deserve deep rest.

And I hope this episode has helped you connect with it. Thank you so much. Remember, I'm always rooting for you and I'm forever in your corner. Thank you. Thank you so much for listening to this conversation. If you enjoyed it, you'll love my chat with Adam Grant on why discomfort is the key to growth and the strategies for unlocking your hidden potential.

If you know you want to be more and achieve more this year, go check it out right now. You set a goal today, you achieve it in six months, and then by the time it happens, it's almost a relief. There's no sense of meaning and purpose. You sort of expected it and you would have been disappointed if it didn't happen. Hate has been winning for too long. It's at an all-time high. And too many people are facing too much hate all over this country. To turn the tide, we have to stand together.

As a united team, we can change the momentum. It's time to take a timeout against hate. Visit StandUpToAllHate.org to help. Join us in calling for a hashtag TimeOutAgainstHate by following at What's Up With Hate or posting the blue square emoji.

This is Dr. Laurie Santos from the Happiness Lab. Many people have questions about how to improve levels of happiness. Living a healthy lifestyle is one sure way of increasing happiness. And a good place to start is with your oral health. Just a few small changes to your oral care routine, such as changing your toothpaste to Colgate Total, can lead to beneficial changes in your oral health. Colgate Total helps stop oral health problems like gingivitis and cavities before they start.

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We'll be right back.

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