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We Are Our Own Worst Attention Hijackers
I talk a lot about the Storm and the constant barrage of outside interruptions. But research show that an average of 50% of the time, we are our own Attention Hijackers. Interruptions come from inside. We end up spuddling around, jumping to an admin task, an email, or checking Slack “just in case.” Why do we self-interrupt, and how do we stop?
Research shows that when we’re working on the computer, we maintain our focus for an average of 40 seconds before task-switching. This gets even worse if we have something like email or Slack open. We’re easily distracted, even when we want to focus. Researchers are still trying to fully understand why, but some strong theories have emerged.
One problem is that our brains are evolutionarily wired to respond to distractions. It even gives us a dopamine hit. So, when we’re by ourselves, we find ways to self-distract – and in today’s always-online world, that isn’t difficult. Sometimes we interrupt ourselves with other work, like admin tasks.
Unfortunately, our modern world offers constant stimulation. Even when we come home and “relax,” we’re watching Netflix (still cognitively demanding)
FACTS:
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Even if are able to control external Attention Hijackers, research show that about 50% of the time you become your own worst attention Hijacker.
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Researchers have several theories as to why, and our always-on, overstimulated reality is a big one.
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The average American worker gets 7 hours and 24 minutes of screen time per day. That’s 45% of the average waking hours.
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This hyper-stimulation is believed to lead to changes in the brain’s dopamine fueled habit system.
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This leads to a self-created Attention Residue, which have massive productivity costs.
SOLUTIONS:
Take regular short breaks.
5-10 minutes every 1.5 hours, or whatever works for you.
Build in a “margin”
into your day.
Never have back-to-back meetings.
Introduce short periods in your day without stimulation e.g., a short drive without the news.
"We’re just as likely to interrupt ourselves as get interrupted by others."
- Dr. Gloria Mark,
interruption science researcher, UC Irvine
