Keeping your mind on task

As the rules keep changing, and the news grows more jaw-dropping, our ability to remain focused on daily activities — on almost anything else — feels more and more elusive.

In some ways that's not surprising. In 2010, Matthew Killingsworth and Daniel Gilbert at Harvard developed a phone app that asked 2,250 users to record what they were thinking and feeling, as well as what they were doing, at random times throughout the day. Results revealed mind-wandering occurred 46.9 per cent of the time then — under “ordinary” circumstances. Now, when we're facing a constant threat and changing rules, no doubt that figure is much higher.

What can you do to reawaken your ability to remain focused?

Create priorities. Make a list each morning of everything you hope to accomplish that day, then rank order the items in terms of importance/urgency. Next, write down the top three tasks. Work only on those until you can tick them all off. If there's still time, go back to your list and write down the next three. Discard any remaining items at the end of your day — things are likely to change tomorrow, so start with a fresh list.

Treat your devices with respect. A survey in May this year conducted by the research and advisory service Valoir found social media/ phone use was the biggest distracter for professionals working from home during lockdown — even more of a distraction than their children if they were also at home.

Of course you'll need to use your phone often, particularly for work purposes, but don't underestimate its power to lure you off task. Adrian Ward at the University of Texas and colleagues in California asked participants to complete a test that required high levels of concentration. Some were told to leave their phones in another room, some to put them in their bag or pocket, while others were allowed to keep their device on the table beside them. Those whose phones were in another room significantly outperformed the others, while those who had them on the table beside them performed worst — regardless of whether the phone was face up or down, or on or off. When you need to concentrate, put your device in another room — on silent.

Prioritize exercise. J.C. Coulson and colleagues at Bristol and Leeds universities asked employees in three companies with on-site exercise facilities to record their mood and work performance before and after exercising on the days they chose to exercise, and twice daily on non-exercise days. Mood was significantly better and work performance significantly higher after exercise.

Use recommended games to sharpen focus. Daphne Bavelier at the University of Rochester reviewed the benefits of playing action video games, those in which players must focus on achieving a goal while screening out frequent onscreen distractions. She found practising such games increases processing speed and improves focus.