Pop Quiz- How many tabs are open on your device right now?

Let me paint a picture for you: You sit down at your desk, ready to tackle a big project. Within minutes, you’ve checked email, replied to a random chat message, glanced at your phone, scrolled through a news feed, and—wait, what was I doing again? If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone.  Research has shown that we now focus on a single task for an average of just 47 seconds before switching. That’s down from about two and a half minutes a decade ago. On top of that, the average worker checks their email 77 times a day.  At that rate, how do we have time for anything else?

In today’s fast-paced world, distractions are everywhere and multitasking can feel imperative to survival.  On fact, we often pride ourselves on being excellent multitaskers.  Yet, research shows that constant distractions, endless scrolling, and rapid task-switching may be taking a serious toll on our productivity and our well-being.

Attention, or rather, the lack of it, is one of the biggest challenges we face in today’s hyper-connected world.  It’s becoming a lost art! Our focus is fleeting, and our productivity is suffering.  Multitasking isn’t making us more effective.  It’s making us exhausted, stressed, and can even lead to burnout.

Why is this happening?  Think of our brain’s cognitive reserve like a tank of gas. When you focus on something challenging, it burns gas.  That’s why you can only focus for so long before you need to step away, rest your mind, and refuel.  Unfortunately, most people rarely step away.  Technology brings ample distractions (pseudo-breaks) right to our fingertips!  Rather than take a restorative break to refuel, we switch to another task.  We check email, scroll, respond to a text, and burn more fuel.

It’s the equivalent of eating junk food when you’re starving – temporarily satisfying, but ultimately depleting.  When our cognitive tank becomes drained, decision-making becomes harder, productivity plummets, and stress skyrockets.

So, what can we do about it?
1. Take Real Breaks: Not all breaks are created equal. Go for a walk, meditate, or have a meaningful conversation. Avoid breaks that pull you back into screens or emotionally charged distractions.
2. Practice “Intermittent Fasting” for Screens: Designate periods where you’re completely unplugged.  If that sounds daunting, start small.  Try 30 minutes without checking email or phone.
3. Schedule Focus Time: Work with your natural rhythms. If you’re sharpest in the morning, use that time for deep work. Save email or routine tasks for your less productive hours.
4. Be Present and Role Model Attention: Whether with coworkers or kids, show the behavior you want to see. If you’re distracted, they’ll be distracted too.

These tips sound simple, but they’re ridiculously hard to implement. Habits, external pressures, and internal critics make it easy to fall back into old patterns. I know because I struggle with this too. While typing this blog post, I caught myself with five tabs open and my phone buzzing next to me. The irony wasn’t lost on me.

If you want to regain your attention, an “Attention Audit” is a great way to start!   Take an honest look at where your attention is going, identify small, actionable steps to reclaim your focus, modify your environment for productivity, and build in restorative breaks.  Interested? Let’s chat.  Life’s too short to race through it feeling scattered and stressed.

Carolyn Kontos, MS, ACC, offers Wellness & Nutrition Coaching at the JCC through her Eat Well Programs. For more information, contact Carolyn at [email protected]

Read more Whole Health Insights:

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Intermittent Fasting – What is it and why has been getting so much attention? 

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