Are we really incapable of paying attention or are we just more distracted than ever?

Last week, I had the chance to present the course of Decision-Making and Problem Solving to a group of brilliant executives in Saudi Arabia. Along many factors that contribute to our daily fight against info overload, work stress, and demands for productivity, we discussed Justified Distraction: that urge to check Instagram for news, Slack for a message from your boss, or WhatsApp because the house may be on fire. These digital excuses lead to a disruption of attention and derail deep work. So, although there's corporate pressure to perform better than ever, your brain's reaction to its modern environment is crushing those chances.

What happens internally based on neuroscience is fascinating

When you justify checking Slack or Instagram in the middle of deep work, your brain isn't being weak. It's just running an old survival program in a world it wasn't built for. An ancient alert and reward system is scanning the environment for threats or rewards, and the thought let me just check, in case is how that system explains itself.

Your attention opens brief windows for anything that might be more important, and modern notifications exploit that ancient survival mechanism. Dopamine spikes not when you get a message but when you might, making checking feel urgent. Your brain then rationalizes the impulse as something reasonable, masking a pull from boredom, anxiety, or FOMO. AI tools add a new layer to this, since let me just ask ChatGPT feels productive in a way Instagram never did, which makes the interruption even harder to refuse.

Some daily relief can be taken from the science of flow, a state of intense, energized focus where skills perfectly match the challenging task at hand. This leads to higher productivity and enjoyment of work.

To combat Justified Distraction, flow principles state we should

-> Not use screens during first and last hour of being awake

-> Turn off phone entirely or use Do Not Disturb during your working hours

-> Put phone out of sight while working, your willpower is weaker than you think

-> 1 day per week: tech fast

-> Read and respond to emails 2x per day. Designate those times in your calendar.

-> The famous Pomodoro Method (25 mins on, 5 min break; or 50 mins on, 10 mins break)

-> Workspace is crucial here, design your workspace to have limited distractions and designate each space for something.

You're pre-programming your future decisions while in a rational state. Pre-planned decisions are easier to execute than when you give your brain the opportunity to roam freely without boundaries.

In the end, what we are practicing with this is identifying moments of truth in your day where you are operating on autopilot. You feel out of control but if you build a system, you can quickly regain it.

This resonate with anyone?