Why Can't I Stay Focused?!

In this episode of Dharma Lab, Dr. Cortland Dahl and Dr. Richard Davidson explore why attention feels harder to control than it used to, how modern technology exploits basic mechanisms in the brain, and what we can do to regain more choice over where our attention goes. They discuss why we may be more distracted than we were 50 years ago, how novelty and emotion capture attention, and why simple acts of intentionality can function like reps for the brain. Enjoy!Watch on YouTube; Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.If these conversations are useful, please consider subscribing to our YouTube channel.Reminder: We have a FREE 1-hour live practice session on Wed Aug 19th, 7pm CT with Richie and Cort discussing how different meditation practices map to the four pillars of well-being (Awareness, Connection, Insight, and Purpose). More details and register here!Companion FlashcardsIn This Episode:00:00 Taking Back Control of Attention01:21 Why Focus Feels So Hard02:51 Are We More Distracted Than 50 Years Ago?05:15 Why the Brain Is Wired for Distraction09:03 How Our Attention Gets Hijacked13:20 Why Surprise Captures the Brain16:35 The Reinforcement Loop Behind Endless Scrolling17:44 How Emotion Disrupts Self-Control21:24 Rebuilding Control Over Attention25:53 Attention as a Practice of Intention29:46 Digital Hygiene: Designing Your Environment for FocusWritten transcript for those who prefer to read:00:00 — Taking Back Control of AttentionRichie: Now we have basically ceded control to the forces around us, and it has led to a kind of impairment, a collective impairment in prefrontal function that we’re all suffering from. There are data to suggest that we are indeed more distracted today than we were 50 years ago. It’s not just a kind of subjective impression.Cort: I would say if there’s one word that captures the heart of this as a practice, I would say intention. And simply being intentional about what’s going on with my attention. Just choose. Before your mind gets pulled somewhere, I just got an alert. I’m going to choose to do that. And I noticed the pull, but I’m going to actually ask myself, do I want to check this message right now? Or I just heard a sound. I’m going to actually choose. Do I want to keep my attention with what I’m doing? Or do I want to You know, turn and look to see what was happening over there, like actually just making a choice. Like you were saying, the reps, you can do a thousand of those a day easily.01:21 — Why Focus Feels So HardCort: Welcome everyone to another episode of Dharma Lab. I am Cortland Dahl, one of the co-hosts here, and of course I’m here with Dr. Richard Davidson. Richie, to all of us who know him well, one of the preeminent neuroscientists on the planet. And today we’re gonna discuss one of the most common problems that probably every human faces, which is how incredibly hard it is just to stay focused. Now, I must admit, maybe this is an embarrassing admission, given that I’m supposedly one of the experts who’s talking about this stuff. But there’s a lot of days where I’m sitting, getting stuff done, answering emails or focused on some project. And it’s just really hard to not get pulled in to other things. You know, I’m answering emails and suddenly I’m shopping online or I’m working on a report and then I’m checking my emails. It’s just it feels like There are so many things in our life that are just pulling us in a million different directions. And I thought today we could just answer two very simple questions. One, why is it so incredibly hard to stay focused? And two, what can we do about it given this chaotic world we’re living in? So maybe we can just I can just turn this over to you, Richie, and you can kick this off however you want to. But I’d love to hear specifically from a neuroscientific point of view at some point. But yeah, what does this spark for you?Richie: Yeah, well, first it sparks familiarity.02:51 — Are We More Distracted Than 50 Years Ago?Richie: So, you know, I think that it’s true. I often say we’re all participants in a grand experiment for which none of us have p