Around the end of last year, I noticed something really alarming: I was having a seriously hard time concentrating.
- I couldn’t write a blog post without flipping through random tabs.
- I couldn’t read a book without checking my email.
- I could barely make it through a long form news article.
- Forget about trying to sit down to be productive writing a novel!
Since then, as you may have noticed with the uptick in blog post frequency, I’ve made a nearly-full concentration recovery.
You too can once again have an attention span greater than a hamster’s! Here’s what I learned about how to regain concentration.
Turn off your notifications
All of them, except for the barest essentials.
I now keep my phone almost entirely in Do Not Disturb mode, and have programmed just a few exceptions, namely phone calls from family members in case of emergencies. And I turned off notifications on my computer entirely.
Now…
- When I walk down the street, I can let my attention wander without getting pinged. I have ideas again!
- When I’m at my computer, I’m not getting distracted with incoming emails.
- I’m not getting a random notification about the latest Netflix show I’m not going to watch.
Decide when YOU want to look at your phone. Don’t let your phone decide that for you.
(And for a look at some of the science behind the effect this type of technology is having on us, check out Jennifer Hubbard’s recent article in Creative Nonfiction).
Close all those browser tabs
I used to have about twenty tabs open to sites I would check frequently. Email. Facebook. Twitter. The weather. The news. You name it.
The problem with having a million tabs open is that I got into this mind-numbing habit of scrolling through them and checking for updates… even sites that basically never update.
And meanwhile, every time I got a Twitter notification or a new email, I’d jump and check it, interrupting whatever else it was I was doing.
Close those tabs, or at least limit to the precious few that you need to check a million times a day. Otherwise, open stuff only when you need to.
Write in full-screen mode
Even when I was writing, I was still constantly distracted. I’d see a new email open up behind my writing window and go and check it. And good luck if you happened to have Twitter open underneath your word processing application.
Now, I only write in full-screen mode. It’s the only thing occupying my vision when I need to concentrate.
Practice “extreme calendering”
One of the most important changes I’ve made to my routines is to practice what I refer to as extreme calendering.
Essentially, I enter nearly everything I do into my calendar in 30 minute increments. Every Sunday I plan my week, and every morning I spend some time looking at my calendar to visualize my day.
What that means is that when 8:30pm rolls around and I’ve known since the morning that I have an hour blocked off to blog… that’s what I do. Most times I’ve already half-written the post in my head because I knew that’s what I was going to be doing at that time.
Trust me on this one: being able to visualize when you’re going to do something helps immensely with concentration.
Curtail your social media usage
Like many people, I’ve really grappled with the moral imperative of paying attention to ongoing atrocities vs. tuning out and looking away from time to time. It’s a tricky balance.
Stay engaged and stay outraged about the injustices you care about, but take care of yourself too.
Honestly, one thing that you notice when you stop paying attention to social media is that the news still finds you. You’re probably not really at risk of being uninformed even if you tune out.
I’ve gotten my social media usage down to about a half hour a day, and I’ve cut down on the number of sites I check.
Exercise
Exercise is crucial for creativity.
Meditate
Meditation doesn’t hurt either.
Read from a book every day
I’m on record that you don’t need to write every day to be a writer. But I now believe wholeheartedly that you have to read from a book every day. (FWIW I still read e-books, the format doesn’t matter that much to me as much as the fact of reading).
Exercise the part of your brain that can pay attention for longer stretches, slow down, find deeper meaning in things.
Start noticing things again
Look out the window. Go on a walk. Smell the air.
The last ten years have been an incredible digital ride and the Internet has given us a lot of wonderful things. Now it’s probably time for a break.
Need help with your book? I’m available for manuscript edits, query critiques, and coaching!
For my best advice, check out my online classes, my guide to writing a novel and my guide to publishing a book.
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Art: Mujer sentada by Juan Gris
Howdy! All great advice.
I tell myself that I steadfastly resist most forms of scheduling but on the other hand, I find that I have to have stuff on my calendar more and more. What’s helped me clear away a lot of mental clutter is a system called Personal Kanban, mainly because it’s SIMPLE. I use sticky notes on the back of a door. I still waste a crap-ton of time — but it’s really helped.
Good explanation here:
https://qz.com/985821/personal-kanban-a-life-changing-time-management-system-that-explodes-the-myth-of-multitasking/
Sometimes, I have a problem with being unable to stay sitting while I’m working. I finally figured out it was because of my back. Sitting causes spinal compression. So, when I notice I’m getting antsy and my attention is failing, I get up and get something healthy to drink and do some stretches while thinking about what I want to write next. That usually works.
Thank you for this, Nathan. Really interesting and helpful. Especially about planning out each day with help of a calendar. And how fascinating your comment about visualizing doing something before-hand to help in the process of getting it done. I’m glad you reminded me of this philosophy. This is fascinating because I’m starting to speculate on the benefits of visualization. The old saying ‘seeing is believing’ kind of explains – for me, anyway – how this might work. Everything we can or can’t achieve is based on our beliefs about ourselves, and others, how the world works and what is possible. I think that, perhaps, visualizing an outcome or action in a positive way encourages our belief system to expand what is possible for us to achieve. Our mind seems to create our life, our world and even ourselves as we go along. The trick is to take control of our mind and not allow our mind to control us. Our minds tend towards pessimism and panic if allowed to roam freely, but if we deliberately focus on desired outcomes and uplifting thoughts – and visualisations – about ourselves and others, perhaps the sky isn’t the limit.
Many thanks for sharing your experience and advice, Nathan! I’ve always thought of you as a master of social media, but it is my own experience too (in other areas) that our strengths can become our weaknesses at times.
I’ve also upped my online activity last year and this, after a long quieter period, and found it informing and rewarding but also overwhelming, feeding my completism and Fear of Missing Out (FOMO!). I’ve always done some of the things you suggest, particularly as regards the phone, though I did get my first smartphone less than a year ago. I had planned to go down in history as the last person on Earth to get a smartphone, but I gave in!
Back before TV, not to mind the Internet, C. S. Lewis stopped reading newspapers because he had come to realize the news was basically the same things happening over and over again. This saved his time and attention for other things, only occasionally coming against him, such as when he and several friends were debating who was the world’s most beautiful woman. One suggested Elizabeth Taylor (this was in the 1950s). Lewis’s response? ‘Elizabeth who?’
Like Jennifer Hubbard, the irony that we’re talking about this ONLINE is not lost on me!
I bought my last phone (a flip-phone) in 2004. It’s normally turned off. I check for messages once daily after 6PM. I choose when and to whom I respond. I do not have a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat or similar account. I have no RSS or similar feeds. I have several email accounts and receive a few dozen emails a day which I also scroll through after 6PM. I delete without reading more than 85%. I reply to maybe 2%. Guess what? My concentration hasn’t suffered at all. I read and write voraciously. I’m widely published (under various pseudonyms, the one I use for this site being one). I have a social life. I have a family. I have friends and acquaintances. I have hobbies (although, if you ever see me with a golf club in my hands you have my permission to shoot me). Obviously, I have a dim view of social media and ultimately consider it both a drug and addiction for those with a sense of low self-esteem and lack of self-worth. Regardless of what the pundits may advise, no one needs social media to succeed at whatever career they may choose. Your efforts exemplified by your portfolio determine your value. Social media is less than fluffy lint and cat dander.
I am interested in reading more about your “extreme calendaring” ideas. I use a calendar for my day to day appointments but not for writing.
I also decided to give FB a break on weekends. I completely uninstall FB from my phone on Friday’s and re-install on Monday. My phone is the only place I use FB. It’s been great not feeling an urge to check or “like” posts.