--- description: If you guys are anything like the readers of Slate.com, 38% of you are already gone. title: Stay Focused: 5 Ways to Increase Your Attention Span image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0170a36781a1f60c/6986992de8524b4b906039d2/170881850.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Psychology](/tag/psychology/) ## Psychology Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Stay Focused: 5 Ways to Increase Your Attention Span by [Eric Barker](/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 26, 2014 4:01 AM CUT  Hispanic boy studying at desk Hispanic boy studying at deskBlend Images - KidStock—Getty Images/Brand X by [Eric Barker](/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 26, 2014 4:01 AM CUT You couldn’t stay focused long enough to engage with this post at all. Is it time to scroll to see more? **_Too much effort, too busy, meh, gotta go, HEY LOOK SOMETHING SHINY!!!_** **— another 5% of you just vanished.** Yes, attention spans are that bad. A dictionary update is just a list of words. It's also a testament to who English-speakers are and how we see ourselves Now I’m wondering if I should have made this post shorter. [Cal Newport](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/04/interview-author-cal-newport-on-how-you-can-become-an-expert-and-why-you-should-not-follow-your-passion/ "undefined"), Georgetown professor and expert on expertise, thinks **the ability to stay focused will be the superpower of the 21st century**. Those who can sit in a chair, undistracted for hours, mastering subjects and creating things will rule the world — while the rest of us frantically and futilely try to keep up with texts, tweets and other incessant interruptions. **How can you improve your attention span? Here are five tips:** ## 1) Stress Makes You Frazzled And Stupid **Reducing stress improves your ability to stay focused.** Via [Up: How Positive Outlook Can Transform Our Health and Aging](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594631212/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1594631212&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20 "undefined"): Drs. Eldar Shafir of Princeton and Sendhil Mullainathan of Harvard tested the IQs of Indian farmers before and after their harvest–times when their finances were maximally depleted and maximally flush, respectively.**Before the harvest, as a consequence of being strapped for cash, the farmers were in a general state of worry, and their IQ tests were significantly lower than after the harvest, when the money flowed more freely** and the farmers did not have to attend to their financial concerns moment-to-moment. **The implication is that the attentional resources of these farmers–in other words, their ability to focus–were depleted by their financial worries.** (Here’s more on [reducing stress](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/05/12-ways-to-eliminate-stress/ "undefined").) ## 2) Give It Your Best Hours Want to insure you can focus? **Give whatever is most important** [**your prime hours**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/09/time-management-skills/ "undefined"), when you have the most energy. Via [The Power of Full Engagement](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743226755/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0743226755&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20 "undefined"): **Energy, not time, is the fundamental currency of high performance.** [Night owl or morning lark](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/05/night-owls-vs-morning-people-who-comes-out-ah/ "undefined")? Work on important things when you’re not depleted. (Here’s more on using your [prime hours](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/09/time-management-skills/ "undefined") wisely.) ## 3) Dedicate Time **If it’s important, give a project it’s own exclusive block of time.** This gives you permission to work on it and ignore other things. You stress less about work [when you have a plan](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/10/how-can-you-stop-worrying-about-projects-at-w/ "undefined"). Believe it or not, worry affects you less when you [schedule a time to worry](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2011/09/whats-a-simple-trick-to-help-you-worry-less/ "undefined"): When people with adjustment disorders, burnout or severe work problems used techniques to **confine their worrying to a single, scheduled 30-minute period each day, they were better able to cope with their problems**, a new study by researchers in the Netherlands finds. (Here’s more on [using time wisely](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/02/checklist-5-secrets-time-wisely/ "undefined").) ## 4) One Thing At A Time **Put aside the distractions and do one thing at a time.** Your brain was never designed to multitask well. Via [Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0979777704/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0979777704 "undefined"): **To put it bluntly, research shows that we can’t multitask. We are biologically incapable of processing attention-rich inputs simultaneously.** Across the board, multitasking lowers productivity. But if multitasking doesn’t work, why do you do it so often? It makes you more [emotionally satisfied as it makes you less productive](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/if-multitasking-doesnt-work-why-do-we-do-it-s "undefined"): **“…they seem to be misperceiving the positive feelings they get from multitasking. They are not being more productive – they just feel more emotionally satisfied from their work.”** (Here’s more on [productivity](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/09/6-things-that-will-make-you-more-productive/ "undefined").) ## 5) Meditation Is Weight Lifting For Your Attention Span Meditation doesn’t just chill you out; **if your attention-span is a muscle,** [**meditation is exercise**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/10/happier-increase-attention-span-courageous/ "undefined"): **This article shows that a group randomly assigned to 5 days of meditation practice with the integrative body-mind training method shows significantly better attention and control of stress than a similarly chosen control group given relaxation training.** (Here’s more on [meditation](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/10/happier-increase-attention-span-courageous/ "undefined")–including how to do it.) ## Wow! Congratulations on finishing this post. (Then again, if you finished it, maybe you’re not the type who needed help…) **Still struggling to stay focused? For more tips from focus-master Cal Newport, sign up for my free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD "undefined")**.** Related posts: [How To Make Your Life Better By Sending Five Simple Emails](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/07/make-your-life-better/ "undefined") [What 10 things should you do every day to improve your life?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/05/what-10-things-should-you-do-every-day-to-imp/ "undefined") [Undivided Attention: 6 Ways To Focus That Will Make You Happier](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/08/undivided-attention/ "undefined") _This piece originally appeared on_ [_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/ "undefined")_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2921341/stay-focused-5-ways-to-increase-your-attention-span/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2921341/stay-focused-5-ways-to-increase-your-attention-span/"},"headline":"Stay Focused: 5 Ways to Increase Your Attention Span","datePublished":"2014-06-26T04:01:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:43:09.678Z","description":"If you guys are anything like the readers of Slate.com, 38% of you are already gone.","url":"https://time.com/2921341/stay-focused-5-ways-to-increase-your-attention-span/","keywords":["Psychology"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0170a36781a1f60c/6986992de8524b4b906039d2/170881850.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0170a36781a1f60c/6986992de8524b4b906039d2/170881850.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"170881850","caption":"170881850","creditText":"Blend Images - KidStock—Getty Images/Brand X","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2921341/stay-focused-5-ways-to-increase-your-attention-span/","name":"Stay Focused: 5 Ways to Increase Your Attention Span"}}]}] ```