"We live in a world of technology and for any individual to pull out is very likely going to penalize that individual if you’re interconnected with other people in some way."
Dr. Gloria Mark
EFR 681: How to Increase Your Attention Span, Find Focus, Fight Distraction, and Restore Balance, Happiness, and Productivity with Dr. Gloria Mark
Gloria Mark, PhD debunks popular myths about focus and attention span and reveals the science behind why multitasking is a lie. She talks about why mindless scrolling isn’t a total waste of time and why digital detoxes aren’t as impactful as we think. Plus, Gloria teaches you two ways to gain more agency over your attention.
How many tabs, browsers, and apps do you have open right now?
Do you ever notice how glued we are to our devices, yet it’s so hard to even focus on what’s on our screens? You’re not the only one… it has become a way of life for so many of us in the Digital Age. So, what do we do about it?
Gloria Mark is a psychologist and professor at UC Irvine who studies human-computer interaction (HCI), which essentially is our relationship to our devices. Gloria is also the author of “Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity”, which debunks popular myths about our attention and technology, then teaches you how to use your technologies and maintain a healthy psychological balance.
Follow Gloria Mark @GloriaMark_PhD
Follow Chase on Instagram @chase_chewning
Follow him on Twitter @chasechewning
Key Highlights
Does multitasking actually help you get more done? Do some people really thrive when multitasking? Are women better multitaskers than men? To answer these questions, Gloria breaks down the concept of controlled information processing, which proves that multitasking is not as productive and beneficial as you think.
Gloria summarizes her research on human attention span and remote work. Then, she dissects the three pillars of focus and attention: the anatomy of attention, underlying forces of distraction, and focused rhythm and balance.
Are digital detoxes actually beneficial? Do digital detoxes increase our focus and attention span? Tune in to hear Gloria’s thoughts!
Meta awareness and self-regulation are tools you can use to stay conscious of your behaviors and achieve agency over your attention and focus.
Gloria debunks these four MYTHS about attention and technology:
Myth #1: We should always strive to be focused, and should feel guilty if we can’t.
Myth #2: Rote, mindless activity that we do on our computers and phones is wasteful of our time (think of Candy Crush).
Myth #3: Our distractions and inability to focus on our devices are due primarily to notifications overload and our own lack of discipline.
Myth #4: “Flow” is the ideal state we should strive for when we use our technologies.
Powerful Quotes by Gloria Mark
We found, in the last five years or so, that people’s average duration of attention was 47 seconds on any screen before switching… irrespective of whether you’re interrupted by something else or by your own volition.
A lot of people propose taking a digital detox and I want to point out that’s a temporary fix because the ship has sailed. We live in a world of technology and for any individual to pull out is very likely going to penalize that individual if you’re interconnected with other people in some way.
I’m always in favor of people self-experimenting and trying to understand their own patterns in behavior... Be your own scientist.
The only way to really stay young is to keep learning.
Recommended Resources:
Visit Gloria’s website
Buy her book, Attention Span
The Power of When: Discover Your Chronotype by Michael Breus PhD
EFR 024: How to Improve Every Area of Your Life Through The Power of When with Dr. Michael Breus
Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life by Nir Eyal
EFR #271: Indistractable - Realistic Ways to Overcome Life's Biggest Distractions with Nir Eyal
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