Why You Can't Pay Attention - And How to Think Deeply Again | Johann Hari

1. Prioritize 8 Hours Sleep

Aim for eight hours of sleep per night to allow your brain to properly clean and repair itself, as insufficient sleep clogs the brain with metabolic waste and significantly impairs attention.

2. Maximize Flow States

To enter a flow state (deep attention), narrow your focus to one meaningful goal that is at the edge of your abilities but not overwhelming, as multitasking kills flow and meaningful challenges activate deep capacity for attention.

3. Use Device Control Tools

Employ pre-commitment tools like a K-safe to physically lock away your phone or an app like Freedom to block distracting websites or the internet, preventing constant interruptions and enabling deeper focus.

4. Create Phone-Free Zones

Establish phone-free zones during activities like watching movies or having dinner with friends by imprisoning devices, allowing for present attention and deeper connection.

5. Disable Unnecessary Notifications

Turn off phone notifications to reduce constant interruptions, which significantly degrade attention and require an average of 23 minutes to regain focus after each interruption.

6. Regularly Practice Slowing Down

Regularly incorporate practices like meditation, yoga, or Tai Chi into your life, as these practices improve attention even when not actively doing them.

7. Avoid Sugary Breakfasts

Do not consume sugary or high-carb breakfasts, as they cause rapid energy spikes followed by crashes and ‘brain fog,’ making sustained focus difficult.

8. Eat Nutrient-Rich Foods

Ensure your diet includes crucial nutrients like omega-3s (found in fresh fish like sardines), as these are vital for brain function and focus and supplements don’t cut it.

9. Avoid Synthetic Food Dyes

Reduce consumption of foods containing synthetic dyes, as studies show these chemicals can lead to hyperactivity and attention struggles, particularly in children.

10. Seek Quiet Environments

Prioritize working or focusing in quiet areas, as noisy environments demand more brain power for filtering, making it harder to pay attention.

11. Restore Children’s Free Play

Allow children increasing levels of independence and unsupervised outdoor play, as running around develops better brain connections and free play teaches them to deploy attention and discover interests.

12. Support ‘Let Grow’ Initiative

Engage with groups like ‘Let Grow’ (letgrow.org) at schools and in communities to collectively restore childhood independence, enabling children to play outside and develop essential attention and life skills.

13. Advocate for Ethical Tech

Support collective action to ban the current social media business model that profits from invading attention, pushing for alternative models that incentivize designing technology to heal focus.

14. Advocate for Right to Disconnect

Support policies like France’s ‘right to disconnect’ to ensure workers have legally defined work hours and are not obligated to answer calls or emails outside of them, reducing stress and exhaustion that harm attention.

15. Reform School Learning

Support reforms in the school system to move away from meaningless rote learning and idiotic tests, as these methods destroy children’s attention by failing to attach to meaning.

16. Advocate for Cleaner Air

Support collective solutions to reduce air pollution, as pollutants like iron cause brain inflammation and damage the ability to focus and pay attention.

17. Join Attention Movement

Actively participate in a collective ‘attention movement’ to reclaim minds from forces that invade focus, advocating for societal changes to enable deeper thinking and conversation.