0:01 Attention fragmentation is the worst
0:03 it's ever been. We're distracted,
0:05 scattered, pulled in a thousand
0:06 directions. If we don't fix it, we're
0:09 toast as workers, as learners, as
0:11 humans. Here's my challenge to you.
0:13 Watch this video on full screen 1x speed
0:15 with no distractions. Because I'm going
0:17 to share five sciencebacked steps to
0:20 rebuild your attention span before it's
0:22 too late. They're pretty simple, but if
0:23 you follow these steps, [music] your
0:26 attention span will improve. I would not
0:27 have been able to write seven books if I
0:29 was scrolling on my phone every 15
0:32 minutes. But these steps help me take
0:35 back my time. The first step is setting
0:37 a baseline. So grab a book and time
0:39 [music] yourself. How long can you read
0:40 without getting up or checking your
0:43 phone? Really try to push yourself, but
0:44 don't judge yourself if it's only a few
0:47 minutes. Write down your time. That's
0:49 your baseline. The rest of these steps
0:52 will expand it. You need to train your
0:53 attention like a muscle. Build it by
0:56 starting small and [music] gradually
0:58 stretching it. Step two, eliminate the
1:00 attention leeches. Your environment is
1:02 rigged against you. Billiondoll
1:04 companies are trying to hijack your
1:07 attention. So, design your environment
1:09 for focus. Here are some simple but very
1:12 practical tips. One, create a no phone
1:14 zone. When you have important work to
1:16 do, put your phone in another room. Two,
1:19 in all cases, turn off notifications.
1:22 Three, close those 27 tabs you got open
1:25 and check them only in scheduled blocks.
1:27 Your attention problem isn't only your
1:29 fault, it's an environmental problem.
1:31 So, fix the environment first. Step
1:33 three, practice deep work rituals. Take
1:35 a page from Cal Newport, the Georgetown
1:37 professor and author of the book Deep
1:39 Work. Focus is easier when you build
1:42 cues that tell your brain, "Now it's
1:43 time to work." Some writers light a
1:45 candle at the start of a writing
1:47 session. Some coders put on the same
1:49 playlist. Some entrepreneurs sit in the
1:51 same chair with the same cup of tea. The
1:53 ritual itself doesn't matter. What does
1:55 matter is the consistency. It's like
1:58 hitting play on a soundtrack your brain
2:00 already knows. Rituals tell your mind
2:02 stop wandering. Start [music] focusing.
2:06 So right now, today, create your own
2:08 starting ritual that tells your brain
2:10 it's work time. Step four, leverage
2:13 breaks and movement. Your brain isn't
2:15 designed to focus for 12 straight hours.
2:17 90 minutes is about the max before
2:19 performance beep falls off a cliff. So
2:21 instead of pushing through until you're
2:24 fried, build in recovery, take short
2:26 breaks, walk around, stretch. Think of
2:29 your brain like a toddler. It melts down
2:31 if you don't give it snacks and naps.
2:32 And ignoring that fact won't make you
2:34 heroic. It'll just make you cranky and
2:36 unproductive. High performers know what
2:39 other folks don't get. Breaks aren't
2:40 deviations from your performance.
2:43 They're part of your performance. So
2:46 right now, today, schedule a 15-minute
2:49 walk break outside, no phone every day
2:51 for the next week. Step five, reconnect
2:53 attention to meaning. Meaning sounds
2:55 like a soft-hearted notion, but it can
2:57 be a hard-headed strategy. So use it to
2:59 reclaim your attention. Before you start
3:01 anything, ask, "Why does this matter?
3:04 Who benefits?" Then write it down and
3:07 keep it in view. Because purpose fuels
3:09 persistence. When you connect attention
3:11 to meaning, it stops being a chore and
3:13 starts being a choice. I learned this
3:14 myself on my last book. I was
3:17 struggling. I was distracted. I was on
3:19 my phone and watching sports highlights
3:20 rather than doing my work. And I
3:22 realized the problem was that I didn't
3:23 know why I was writing this [music]
3:25 book. I didn't have a purpose. And once
3:26 I thought that through, and it took a
3:28 couple of weeks, I actually wrote down
3:30 my purp typed out my purpose, figured
3:31 out what it was, and then posted [music]
3:34 it on the wall and used that as a way to
3:36 maintain my attention, maximize my
3:39 focus, and then the work started
3:40 flowing. You know, [music]
3:42 it's really easy to make things
3:44 complicated. It's harder to make them
3:46 simple. And the way that we can get our
3:48 attention back is relatively simple and
3:51 straightforward, but you have to do it.
3:53 You have to follow the steps. So, here's
3:55 how to do that. How to fix your
3:57 attention span [music] before it's too
3:59 late. Number one, establish a baseline,
4:02 then train it like a muscle. Two,
4:04 eliminate those attention leeches.
4:06 Three, build your own focus rituals.
4:08 Four, take breaks before your brain
4:11 crashes. And five, connect your focus to
4:14 a larger purpose. Life is not meant to
4:16 be lived in 15-second increments. So try
4:18 these steps today because the sooner you
4:21 reclaim your attention, the sooner you
4:23 can reclaim your life. If you found this
4:24 video at all valuable, check out the
4:26 link in the description to my
4:28 newsletter. It's called The Pink Report.
4:30 It's [music] free and it offers all
4:32 kinds of ideas, stories, and takeaways
