When you really think about it, how many times a day do you look at your phone? There’s a big chance that you checked your phone less than 10 minutes ago.
We live in a world today which technology seems to have seeped into every facet of our lives. Have you felt like your attention span has decreased over the last few years? that seems to be a common complaint amongst most people nowadays. Not surprisingly though.
From early morning to night, we are rarely apart from our phone and are getting about 5+ hours a day of screen time on average. This constant connection means we have access to contact our friends, families, colleagues, and bosses at any time of the day.
We have built businesses, friendships, even romantic relationships via this wonderfully convenient virtual world. All of this does come with a cost though.
Constantly switching from app to app has drastically eroded our ability to remain focused on one individual task at any given time. In fact, studies show that the average young adult these days has an average attention span of only 7 seconds. Something nearly completely unheard of in previous years.
Mindfulness
These alarming attention deficit statistics have led many to the practice the ancient art of mindfulness; and while It’s been traditionally connected to Buddhism, It’s quickly becoming more accepted by the mainstream.
There are many benefits associated with mindfulness such as improved sleep, a reduction in anxiety, and even an increase in self confidence. We can all benefit from mindfulness to help us deepen our sense of focus throughout the day.
I wanted to talk about a quick exercise which can be done throughout the day to help you be more focused, alert, and refreshed. Like anything else, this requires constant practice in order to see the best results.
Here is a 3-step mindfulness practice
This exercise can be done in increments of 5, 10, or 15 minutes depending on how much time you have throughout your day. The best way to complete the exercise is by sitting upright with your feet on the ground and hands on your lap.
I personally like to close my eyes when doing this as it helps me concentrate but some people choose to keep their eyes open.
- Define your goal or intention. What is it you wish to accomplish from this exercise? what will doing this activity mean to you? Is there something you’ve been wanting to complete but haven’t made the time for it? begin to ask yourself these things and focus on one specific area.
- Focus on one thing. Unlike defining your goal or intention above, this requires you to focus on the one area you’ve determined you want to improve/work on. Focusing on just one thing is one of the hardest parts about mindfulness or any form of meditation. But like anything else, it does get stronger with practice.
- Practice holding the thought for as long as possible. It’s common to have the mind wander of course, but try to keep pulling it back to your one thing. Keeping your mind focused on this one specific area for as long as you can will certainly help you learn to pull your thoughts back to what matters a lot easier moving forward.
Daily mindfulness practice using these 3-steps should improve your ability to focus on tasks a lot easier. You will begin to notice that you’re living more in the moment, enjoying your work, and feeling more fulfilled with what you’re doing.
Try it out for a few days and let me know what you think!
