Hyperfocus: How to Manage Your Attention in a World of Distraction

by Chris Bailey

when our intention is to focus, daydreaming can destroy our productivity. But daydreaming is immensely potent when our intention is to solve problems, think more creatively, brainstorm new ideas, or recharge.

Entering scatterfocus mode is easy: you simply let your mind be.

When your mind wanders, it visits three main places: the past, the present, and the future. This is precisely why scattering your attention allows your creativity to flourish as you travel through time and connect what you’ve learned to what you’re doing or what you want to achieve.

We consider our goals only about 4 percent of the time when we’re immersed in what we’re doing, while in scatterfocus mode we think about them 26 percent of the time. The more time you spend scatterfocusing between tasks—rather than indulging in distractions—the more thoughtful and productive your actions become.

There are two ways your mind wanders: unintentionally and intentionally. Unintentional wandering takes place without your awareness, when you don’t choose to enter into the mode. This is where I draw the line between mind wandering and scatterfocus. Scatterfocus is always intentional.

Problem-crunching mode is most useful when you’re brainstorming a solution to a specific problem. To enter this mode, hold a problem in your mind and let your thoughts wander around it, turn it over, and explore it from different angles. Whenever your mind ventures off to think about something unrelated or gets stuck on one point, gently nudge your attention back to what you intended to think about, or the problem you intended to solve.

An elevated mood actually expands the size of your attentional space, which leads you to think more expansively.

a creative thought is useless if it goes unnoticed.

To practice habitual scatterfocus, pick something simple that you enjoy doing. Then carry out that one task—and nothing else—until your mind wanders.

The size of your attentional space is one of the biggest determinants of how fruitful your scatterfocus episodes will be. The bigger the better, as it will allow you to keep more in mind while scatterfocusing.

There’s an interesting reason that it takes us awhile to realize that our mind has wandered. As one study put it, its doing so “can hijack the very brain regions that are necessary for recognizing its occurrence.”

Getting enough sleep, for example, can increase the size of attentional space by as much as 58 percent, and taking frequent breaks can have the same effect.

Practicing scatterfocus, even if just for five to ten minutes, lets your brain rest, which helps replenish your limited pool of mental energy.

Research has shown that a refreshing work break should have three characteristics. It should be low-effort and habitual; something you actually want to do; and something that isn’t a chore (unless you genuinely enjoy doing the chore).

This could involve walking around the office, taking advantage of a gym nearby, or spending time with coworkers who energize you. These activities are a great way to give your mind a genuine break.

Here are a few other break activities that have worked for me, and for the people I’ve coached: Going on a nature walk* Running outside or visiting the gym at work (if your company has one) or off-site Meditating (especially if your office has a relaxation room) Reading something fun and not work-related Listening to music, a podcast, or an audiobook Spending time with coworkers or friends Investing time in a creative hobby like painting, woodworking, or photography

Research on the value of breaks points to two simple rules: Take a break at least every ninety minutes. Break for roughly fifteen minutes for each hour of work you do.

In most cases, we’re better off working fewer hours and getting enough sleep than trying to do a full day’s work while tired.

Even worse, a sleep deficit makes us perceive our productivity as being higher than it actually is.

The brain also fires somewhat randomly in each mode, which can lead to breakthrough ideas (as well as to some random, useless material). It’s no wonder countless great ideas have come to people in their sleep—including Paul McCartney’s melody for “Yesterday,” Dmitry Mendeleyev’s idea for the periodic table of elements, and Jack Nicklaus’s new and improved golf swing.

We’re wired to remember what we’re in the middle of more than what we’ve completed. In psychology circles this phenomenon is called the Zeigarnik effect,

In fact, odds are that your mind will wander more often than usual—our thoughts drift more often when we’re in the middle of solving a complex problem—which will cause you to make a higher-than-normal number of mistakes in your work.

Passively consuming pointless trash adds nothing to your life. Choose two items that don’t bring you genuine enjoyment, and eliminate them entirely.

If you’re going to veg out, do so with intention—set the criteria for what you plan to do, such as the number of episodes you’ll get through, what you’ll eat as you watch, what you’ll do afterward, and so on. This not only allows you to act with intention but also leaves you feeling less guilty so that you actually enjoy yourself.

Consume challenging things outside the boundaries of your expertise, ones that force you to make more disparate connections. The more disparate the dots you connect, the more valuable the connections often end up being.

When you double down on what you’re already accomplished at, you’ll be surprised by how much more productive and creative you become.

Positive thinking lets us feel successful in the moment, but at the price of making an actual plan to become successful later. In practice, there’s little difference between positive thinking and wishful thinking.

When you’re happy, the amount of dopamine in the logical part of your brain rises, which leads you to approach your work with more energy and vigor—and because you have more attentional space to work with, you have the resources you need to focus more deeply and accomplish more.