The attention span is hardly tangible, because it manifests as a state of flow where your mind just focuses deeply on a given task or activity. You are not distracted, neither confused. In that state, focus makes sense and it naturally evolves around your own dedication. But how to sustain this marvelous state and how to attain it in the very first place?
The avoidance of cognitive poisoning
Cognitive poisoning is what I call the status quo where the stimulus is too short termed, too infrequent and a mere frenzy of different tasks which are too overwhelming. When we don’t let our brains experience real-time focus dedication, it loses the ability to concentrate and to foster itself through challenging times. It occurs that the majority in society prefers to embrace a high stimulus with ever-changing input to keep its mind occupied. However, this is not advisable at all…
“The more varied and intense you live, the more it requires energy that you might not have in store.”
The brain’s functioning
Indeed, it is desirable to do different things and give yourself the permission to change your tasks frequently. But the brain is made by heart for routines and systems. It craves your full attention on a certain task that nourishes itself rather than draining it. The brain does indeed intend to serve you, but only if you are willing to let go of the thought that more is more.
“If you aim to cognitively score, be aware that less is always more.”
Try to focus on 3-4 certain activities or tasks and establish habits around them, so that your brain gets to habituate. For the brain it is more energy consuming to constantly switch focus between tasks and to dos. So try to lean into one task at a time, but do not pressurize yourself. The brain needs slow but consistent practice in order to internalise the attention span and improve it.
The wiring you need
Even myself, I struggle sometimes when I am in a queue or just sitting on the bus waiting for the time to pass. But this is exactly where a tiny practice could come into place. Try to let your mind wander off. Try to literally do nothing and just observe your surroundings. The mere act of not grabbing your phone, helps you to teach your brain that the “default mode network” is allowed to expand your brain’s capability to focus. Different thoughts might appear that give you a sense of unease, but try to hang in there and not compensate your sentiments with external action.
“Persistence to observe it steadily enlarging your focus curve.”
If it appears to be very difficult, try to give yourself a low stimulus like listening to steady lofi music or 40hz music that your brain engages with in a relaxing way. The constant urge to stimulate your brain is a compensatory act of negligence. What the brain actually needs is a fundamental devotion to an activity that it loves. Because as soon as you find such an activity or task, you will see that your attention span suddenly feels infinite and ever-lasting.
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