I’ve been coaching busy executives and leaders for over five years, and one thing is abundantly clear: the constant drive to do more with less, continuously changing priorities, and fast-paced environment knowledge workers are expected to maintain, is not going to improve anytime soon. The factors and challenges knowledge workers face regularly are only getting worse, making focus and productivity feel like an uphill battle.

If you, like many of my clients, struggle to stay on task, achieve your goals, or feel productive, there’s hope. In this blog, we’re going to explore habits and strategies that will help you regain control of your calendar (and sanity), and science-backed practices that will help you train your brain to direct and sustain your attention on the task at hand.

But first, let’s dive into why it’s so damn hard to focus in the first place!

The Attention Economy

Hebert Simon Quote from science-backed ways to improve focus blog

Herbert Simon, a psychologist, economist and Nobel Laureate, first introduced the idea of an ‘Attention Economy’ in the 1970s, when he discussed the scarcity of attention in an information-rich world.

Since that time, research from a range of disciplines, including psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, economics, support Simon’s theory, suggesting that humans have limited cognitive resources that can be used at any given time. As Matthew Crawford, author of The World Beyond Your Head states, “Attention is a resource, a person only has so much of it.”

The reality, is that our brains are not wired to handle the volume of information, speed at which we need to make decisions, and rate of constant change that we’re faced with on a daily basis.

Based on research compiled by the Institute for Organizational Science and Mindfulness, our brains evolved roughly two million years to handle basic survival tasks in the Savanna. It was only about 20,000 years ago that civilization as we know it today formed, and roughly 40 years that home computers and internet became popularized. Today’s ‘always on & accessible’ work environment started about 10 years ago with the launch of smart phones, skype, and social media.

The sheer volume of data we encounter daily overwhelms our cognitive capacity, making it challenging to process and prioritize information effectively.

Let’s look at just a few statistics:

68% of employees reporting they lack enough uninterrupted focus time during the workday [HBR]
Slack users doubled from 2020 (18mm) to 2022 (35mm), and over 1.5 billion messages are sent on the service each week [businessofapps.com]
90% of the world's data was generated in the last two years [IBM]
Every 24 hours we generate 2.5-quintillion bytes of data [IORG]
7.5 million blog posts are published per day. [earthweb.com]
1,000 news articles published daily [ResearchGate]
Knowledge workers spend an average of 28% of their workday checking emails. [HBR]
347.3 billion emails are sent every day worldwide, a 4.3% increase from the previous year. [Statista]

And if this isn’t enough, factor in the following challenges that many of my clients’ face:

A Culture of Pseudo-Productivity: The idea that busyness equals productivity, driving the need to constantly appear busy and available to take on more work. This obsession with looking busy yet available distracts us from meaningful work.
A Culture of Urgency: The constant urgency and numerous “dumpster fires” in our professional and personal lives create competing priorities, leading to stress and fragmentation of focus.
Digital Distractions: Frequent notifications from emails, social media, and messaging apps trigger dopamine releases, reinforcing the addictive habit of checking our devices and disrupting our concentration.
Never-Ending To-Do Lists: The feeling of an ever-expanding list of tasks can be overwhelming and impede our ability to focus on any one task.
Stress, Overwhelm, and Fatigue: High levels of stress and fatigue further diminish our capacity for sustained attention and productivity.
Worry, Fear, and Doubt: Emotional states like worry, fear, and self-doubt can cloud our thinking and reduce our ability to focus.
Lack of Clear Direction or Purpose: Without a clear sense of direction, it's easy to become distracted and lose focus on what truly matters.
Constant Change and Uncertainty: Rapid changes and uncertainty in our environment add to the cognitive load, making it difficult to maintain focus.
Environmental Factors: Whether working from home or in an office, our physical environment can either support or hinder our ability to concentrate.
Hormonal Fluctuations: Hormones can impact our mood and energy levels, affecting our focus and productivity. For women, their ability to be focused and productive is impacted by their monthly cycles, pregnancies, perimenopause and menopause. For men, low levels of testosterone can lead to difficulties concentrating, decreased mental clarity, low energy levels, and other memory issues.

All of this to say: there is a massive disconnect between our evolutionary wiring and our current environment, resulting in a severe scarcity of attention, leading to reduced productivity, poor decision-making, and burnout.

The Rise of Attention Deficit Trait (ADT)

In an effort to stay-afloat and survive in this new reality, we have effectively been training our brains over the past 30-40 years to ‘skim the surface,’ multi-task, and speed-task, rather than deeply focus on any one thing for an extended period of time.

Attention Deficit Trait (ADT), a term coined by Dr. Edward Hallowell, describes a neurological response to our hyperkinetic environment. Unlike ADHD, ADT is not genetic but rather a learned behavior influenced by our chaotic surroundings. Symptoms include distractibility, impatience, and difficulty organizing tasks—all of which can severely impair productivity.

The good news? ADT is preventable and reversible with the right strategies.

Proven Habits and Strategies to Enhance Focus and Productivity

Cal Newport, the author of Slow Productivity, said “The ability to focus without distraction is a superpower in the age of distraction.”

Here are just a few habits and strategies that my clients have implemented, with great success, allowing them to reclaim their time, energy, and focus, leading to increased productivity and less stress.

Energy Mapping: Align your tasks with your natural energy levels. Identify when you’re most productive during the day and schedule your most critical work for those times.
Time Blocking: Set aside specific blocks of time for focused work and treat them as non-negotiable appointments. This signals to others that your time is dedicated to important tasks.
Single Tasking: Avoid multitasking. Each time you switch tasks, you lose around 23 minutes of focus. Use a timer to dedicate uninterrupted time to a single task and watch your productivity soar.
Office Hours: Establish set times for interruptions, allowing you to focus deeply during other parts of the day. This also empowers your team to handle minor issues independently. For more, check out this article “Want to Reduce Meetings, Emails, Teams, and Slack Messages? Implement Office Hours!”
Minimize Distractions: Turn off notifications, use “focus mode” on your phone, or invest in noise-canceling headphones. Create an environment that supports concentration.
Create Routines: Develop morning and evening routines to set priorities and wrap up your day. Consistent routines help you transition smoothly in and out of work mode.
Time Audits: Regularly assess how you spend your time. Many knowledge workers underestimate task durations. A time audit can reveal hidden time sinks and help you plan more realistically.
Buffer Your Time: Avoid cramming excessive work into limited hours. Build in buffer time for unexpected tasks and allow yourself some breathing room.
Take Walk Breaks: Fresh air and movement can refresh your mind. If going outside isn’t possible, even sitting by a window can be rejuvenating.

Mindfulness: Rewiring Your Brain for Better Focus

For over 50 years, there have been rapid advancements in physics and technological insights and innovations which spurred research into neuroscience. This research is now delivering life-changing insights that can be applied to, and help transform, leadership, the work force and the workplace.

Science now shows that through neuroplasticity, we can train new neural pathways and networks that, with repetition can turn temporary traits into permanent states. So, just as we’ve trained our brains to become distracted overtime, we can consciously choose to practice focusing our attention on a regular basis, which will ultimately increase the strength and number of synapses firing in our brains, form new connections, and pathways, as our brain adapts and acquires this new skill.

As discussed in my previous article, Mindfulness Practices to Improve Your Focus and Attention, regularly practicing attention control exercises can strengthen the neural pathways required to direct and sustain your attention.

The 3-3-3: This informal practice quickly centers individuals, reducing both external and internal distractions. Regular practice cultivates mindfulness and clarity, empowering decision-making from a place of centeredness.
Focused Attention: This formal practice directs focus to a specific object or sensation, such as the breath or a sound. Regular practice trains your brain to direct and sustain focus on a single anchor.
Open Monitoring: This formal practice trains your brain to observe myriad stimuli, without attachment or judgement. This ultimately helps you see distractions come and go, without being ‘pulled in,’ unless you consciously choose to pivot.
Flexible Attention: This formal practice trains your brain to intentionally shift between focused attention and open monitoring, improving your ability to navigate distractions more effectively. In time, this practice enhances your responsiveness to change.

To learn more about these practices, please visit this blog: Mindfulness Practices to Improve Your Focus and Attention.

Final Thoughts

Photo of Jenn leaning against wall in staircase

Focus and productivity isn’t just about managing time—it’s about overcoming everyday challenges and managing your attention and energy in a way that aligns with your goals, values and objectives. With the right techniques, you can cut through the noise and make meaningful progress in your work and life.

By implementing the proven and science-backed strategies discussed in this article, you can retrain your brain, reclaim your attention, and boost your productivity. When you focus on what matters with intention and clarity, you can achieve more by doing less!

If you’ve made it this far and are overwhelmed with the idea of implementing any of the above practices and strategies alone, I’m here to help. Through structured and personalized coaching sessions, we can identify which of the above strategies will work for your situation, and discuss how to implement them in a way that feels authentic to you. To explore coaching, please visit my website, or schedule a complimentary discovery session.

And, as always, if you’re new here, please consider subscribing to my newsletter, and connecting with me on social media: LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest where I post regular tips, tricks and education to help busy executives and people leaders take control of their time, stress and energy!

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