Reclaiming our Focus for Performance
By Becki Nazareth, Co-Founder of Wonderful Brilliant
My 3 year old spends more time than I like to admit, looking for and talking on her ‘phone’ (it’s a plastic Disney princess one from a magazine!) Really, this is unsurprising given that children are wired to mimic the behaviour they see and everywhere she looks she sees grown-ups so entirely engaged in their phones.
I love a stat to back up this picture I am painting for you so here goes:
The average person touches their phone over 2,000 times a day* (Dscout, 2016)
On average, we’re interrupted every 3 minutes at work.* (Mark et al, 2008)
It takes 23 minutes to fully refocus every time we are interrupted or distracted (known as the ‘switch-cost effect.’* (Mark et al, 2008)
Now let’s dial this up to showcase the impact on our performance at work:
One study showed ‘technological distraction’ e.g. emails, dms etc drop your IQ by an average of 10 points.* (Hewlett Packard)
A study by Udemy showed that individuals can lose about 2.1 hours a day due to distractions.
Your ability to be creative and innovate nosedives because your brain doesn’t have the space to shape new connections and process relationships between present and past experiences.
*stats all taken from ‘Stolen Focus’ by Johann Hari.
Ultimately, we need to address the work system we have created where instant replies whether that be over email or instant messaging on Teams, Slack etc is the norm. The tech-enabled world we live in is also stealing our productivity, focus and creativity. I see this even more with the scaling businesses I work with who are experiencing rapid growth where replying, problem solving, flexing and moving at speed is expected. After reading Stolen Focus by Johann Hari, I’ve realised there is a cost to the speed and distractions we are experiencing and it comes at the expense of getting the best from our brains, our people and performance.
First, let’s start with the neuroscience behind distraction…
I catch myself reaching for my phone like it’s a reflex but why? I, like all of us, am chasing the dopamine hit that apps have been specifically designed to give us. Hari clearly outlines the evidence for this in his book and it’s backed by other books I have read recently including Dopamine Nation and Atomic Habits. This behaviour is driven by a dopamine feedback loop. Dopamine is the key hormone associated with our motivation to meet our most basic needs and seek pleasure/reward.
Let’s run through this loop.
We receive a notification
Our dopamine increases slightly in anticipation & then drops below basal level creating a deficit.
This deficit drives us to react to the notification, we are seeking a dopamine hit.
We engage in the email, instant messaging, social media until we get our hit and this reinforces the behaviour.
Human behaviour theory and psychology are central to the design of apps that exist today, they have been built utilising the knowledge of what keeps your attention and how to deliver more dopamine hits. Individually, it is very challenging for us to overcome this especially as it becomes the cultural norm for us to reply at speed.
So, how can we reclaim our focus at work?
Take control of notifications: by switching to “do not disturb” or changing the notifications that pop up on your laptop/computer/phone you can take control of your focus. Once you see the notification pop up, the following dopamine deficit drives you to look, it is much easier when you don’t experience it in the first place.
Retrain your brain by using the Pomodoro technique: Think of your focus like a muscle, the more you practise the better you get. Start by setting a timer on your laptop (not your phone!) for 25 minutes, focus on one task for that entire time then reward yourself with something nice or a quick 5 minute break. Over time you can extend your focus and work to achieve flow. Leave your phone in a different room, it creates more friction against the habit of checking.
Timebox- Proactively outline the time you will spend in the day replying to emails, instant messaging, or on social media. Use apps or timers to ensure you stick to this. (We all know the feeling of diving into a social media hole accidentally and coming up for air half an hour later..)
Reframe How You Work-If you’re in a leadership role, think about how you could set up your team to enable deep focus work to happen and move away from being ‘on’ instant messenger all the time. Some clients I work with have introduced dedicated times of the week for focus to happen, where meetings and instant replies are off the table e.g. Wednesday and Friday mornings there are no meetings and it’s accepted not to reply straight away, and the results? Increased creativity, problem-solving, and performance.
Rebuild Real-Life Connections- It’s not easy in the world we live in to be present with those you are with but creating opportunities for genuine connection without distractions is so important. Trust is the foundation of all high performing teams, and listening actively without distraction improves this. Consider a team offsite or social where you are encouraged to put phones away and focus on rebuilding connections.
Reading Stolen Focus inspired many personal actions for me around how I interact with my phone and apps whilst I work but also in my personal life. In a world where we are more connected than ever before, I want to be able to be present with those I am with at the time I am with them. The impact goes beyond performance implications at work and feeds into the basic human need of connection which positively impacts our wellbeing. Since I’ve started making these changes, I’ve noticed a difference both in work and my personal life. My kids are getting a more present and engaged mum and that’s the kind of example I want to set for them. The impact goes beyond productivity; it’s about reclaiming the parts of our lives that matter most.
If you are interested in talking with us about how we can support you in reclaiming focus either individually, within your team or organisation then please book in a call using the link below.
