5 Tips to Improve Your Attention Span and Stop Feeling Scatterbrained

Hey Friend!

Do you find yourself feeling kind of… scatterbrained? Do you ever get frustrated with yourself when you can’t remember simple tasks or even what happened yesterday?

I know it’s not just me. I’ve been hearing from you guys. You’re also having difficulty focusing on one cohesive thing at a time. This ultimately decreases our productivity. We run around like chickens with our heads cut off, constantly busy and distracted.

One of the roots is our attention span. No, you’re not the only one. A study by Microsoft claimed the average attention span has fallen to 7-8 seconds. Think about that. How do we lean into heartfelt conversations if our attention span is 7-8 seconds? How can we be present now without wanting to reach for our phones or otherwise get diverted?

Looking at me and my family, we all do this! It’s such a problem! I went online and researched how to increase my attention span because I don’t want to live in a world where my attention span is seven seconds. I want to give 100% of myself to the people, missions, and things I’m called to.

Can We Be Less Scatterbrained and Increase Our Attention Spans?

I need to grow my ability to focus, which includes increasing my attention span. The other component to this is smartphones and social media are contributing to this reduced ability to sustain attention. The most expensive engineers in the entire world are being paid millions of dollars to engineer these pay-for-play platforms to keep us glued to them and addicted. It’s changing the chemistry of our brains so we’re constantly looking for the next fix.

This is data-driven and we’re living it. I hate when I’m looking for my phone in a panicked sense and it’s in my pocket or my son has it. How ridiculous is it that I can’t go an entire day without needing to know where my phone is? It really bothers me and I’m working to change this.

Shorter attention spans impact productivity, learning, listening, and loving. We can’t love deeply if we can’t be deeply engaged.

It is time for a deep dive, specifically into increasing our attention spans and becoming less scatterbrained. I’ve got five things we can begin working on together to become more intentional and grow our attention spans scientifically.

Are You Ready to Ditch the Scatterbrain and Increase Your Attention Span?

We’re juggling a lot: managing our businesses, being moms, and being addicted to social media and the news. Is this your life, too? 

I’m taking you through the five ways I’m working on to increase my attention span from a dismal 7-8 seconds to something I hope will grow over time.

Less Scatterbrained Tip 1: Schedule Regular Breaks

When we get burned out or fatigued, we often look for a diversion. We walk to the kitchen for a snack or the breakroom for more coffee. It’s not necessarily that you’re trying to distract yourself, it’s that your brain is feeling fatigue and exhaustion. 

I’m working on taking some time to rest and recharge during my work blocks and throughout my day. I take mini-breaks. After my work block, I take a five-minute walk to get some sunshine and fresh air and detox from the screen. 

Another thing is to have a big mental break each day. I’m done working at 3 p.m. each day. I used to say I was done at three, but then I’d get my laptop out or keep working on my phone. 

We need to separate work and home as much as possible. If you are having difficulty with more peace and less scatterbrain, it’s often because you may overlap or intermingle these areas of your life. 

I know it’s not possible for everyone right now, but maybe there’s one small thing you can do to create a little more separation. Maybe don’t bring your phone into your room or stop working at 7 p.m.

The Bible confirms this in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me all who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”

Take this to heart. Take that rest, relaxation, and mini-breaks. This will alleviate some of that distraction and scatterbrained feeling.

Less Scatterbrained Tip 2: Focus On One Task at a Time

The state of your desktop is the state of your mind. Do you have 50 tabs open? Are you clicking in one place and writing on a sticky note in another? Then are you writing a reminder because you don’t want to forget?

Multi-tasking seems normal, but “busyness is not productivity” (shoutout to my VA, Mel, who said that to me the other day). It may seem the most effective way to get everything done, but research shows we decrease productivity when we multi-task. We decrease that attention span. 

What I do is I work on one thing at a time. Am I perfect? Absolutely not! But that is my goal. When I sit down to a work block, I think about the one core thing I need to do at that moment. I shut everything else out and try to put my phone out of reach. I stay hydrated so I don’t get up and break my attention. Then I do that one task.

BONUS TIP: Putting on worship music or other kinds of music is helpful, reducing my feeling scatterbrained. 

It helps things go so much quicker, but it also trains our brains to focus on one thing from start to finish.

Proverbs 31:17, “Focus on your task. Work hard, and you will succeed.”

Focus on one task. Work diligently and you will have success in that one thing and increase your ability to grow your attention span.

Less Scatterbrained Tip 3: Renew Your Mind

We’ve heard about mindfulness and meditation, but when we look Biblically, Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.”

The enemy wants to distract you, throw 100 things your way, and keep you busy. He wants you to feel panicked and anxious, bouncing from thing to thing. I think our attention span has diminished over time because we’ve allowed ourselves to play into this trick.

God has the way and the answer in Scripture: “Be still and know that I am God.” We can practice this renewal of our mind in a Biblical sense.

For me, that’s my morning: having those 30-60 minutes to pour into time with God. We need to be present with God. We need to breathe and be aware of our surroundings. There’s no way to be present except to actually be present.

Take a few minutes in the morning, and even throughout the day, to close your eyes, place your hand on your heart, and thank God for the moment and for allowing you peace and focus. God controls every piece of us, so thank Him for freeing you from being scatterbrained and increasing your attention span. God can help us in this area.

Less Scatterbrained Tip 4: Get Enough Sleep

The quality of your sleep significantly increases your attention span. Sleep helps our brains improve our attention spans and cognition. Research suggests that adults need 7-9 hours of sleep each night. 

Even the Bible says in Psalm 147:2, “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil for He gives to His beloved sleep.”

Take this to heart and get some more rest.

• Get rid of any type of visual stimulation a few hours before bed. Read a book. When was the last time you poured into a great book?
• I like to take a bath before bed with Epsom salts and lavender oil. This allows me to have a moment of rest, relaxation, and prayer.
• Start your bedtime routine earlier than necessary. Try 30 minutes before you think you have to start. Then everyone can take their time and it can be a peaceful experience.

Less Scatterbrained Tip 5: Exercise

We have to take care of our physical bodies. I know. This is the last thing on everyone’s list because we tend to put ourselves last. If you’re in a season of motherhood or trying to work another job while starting your business, there’s limited time. 

Working out and moving your body actually increases your attention span. It has been shown to improve concentration and increase energy. Together, those things increase your ability to focus.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. If our bodies are temples, let’s treat them that way.”

I’ve always loved working out, but there have been seasons when I’ve been intentional and others when I’ve fallen off. But for all of us, we must return to this headspace that “God comes first.”

Stop Feeling Scatterbrained. Let’s Do This Together.

We need to focus on our health and our families. Then, when we sit down to focus on our work, we need to focus on doing one thing extraordinarily well.

I’m working on these practices and wanted to bless you guys with what I’m doing because I want us to be high performers, intentional, and productive humans. Do this with God at the center and His Word at the forefront. To do this, we must be at our operational best with balance and peace. Is that too much to ask?

None of us are perfect, but we are all on this journey together.

Wrapping up, we’ve got five things we can do to increase our attention span and feel less scatterbrained, Biblically speaking and from a data perspective:

1. Schedule & Take Breaks
2. Focus on One Task at a Time
3. Renew Our Mind & Practice Biblical Mindfulness
4. Get Enough Sleep
5. Exercise & Take Care of Your Physical Health

You can train your brain to remain focused for longer periods of time and be less scatterbrained. We can stretch this ability to focus.

Colossians 3:23-24 says, “We are called to work hard and do everything as unto the Lord.”

That includes focusing and increasing our attention spans. Let’s start incorporating these practices into what we do every day. Start cultivating these habits so we can get where we want to go.

I pray this blesses you!

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