How to Strengthen Your Attention Span in a World of Distraction

When was the last time you set your phone—and all its distractions—aside to give your full attention to reading a good, long book?

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I may speak for many people when I say my attention span isn’t what it used to be.

In college, I remember devouring books at the rate of one or more per week. In cross-country, I went on 10-mile runs with nothing but a friend by my side. Most of all, I remember sitting in church, at dinner, and among friends, without the constant itch to pick up my phone.

There’s plenty of research linking smartphones, in particular, with lower cognitive performance. A 2023 report in Nature found that merely having a smartphone nearby caused people to be more distracted.

Most of us don’t need a scientific study to tell us that modern life is more distracting. Common sense and our own experience speak loudly and clearly in this area.

Lately, I’ve been on a personal quest to regain some of my lost attention span. Thanks to the neuroplasticity of our brains, we can train them—just like a muscle—and regain the ability to focus.

4 Ways to Strengthen Your Power of Attention

If you sense that life feels more scattered, stressful, and stretched thin than it did in the past, you may want to join me in my attention-strengthening protocol. It’s a short list of practices that I’m using to push back against the distracted spirit of our age.

1. Don’t Scratch That Cellphone Itch

Anytime we give in to a desire the moment we feel it rise up, we’re etching a habit into our brain. Think of it like training a dog that will get a treat when it hears a bell. One simple way to break the chain is to pause before satisfying the “itch” to pick up your cellphone—or decide not to do it at all.

For example, maybe you’re the kind of person who impulsively checks your favorite news sites anytime you’re on the computer. Try to catch yourself when you feel like clicking over to one of those sites and make a decision to delay the act for 10 minutes—or resist altogether. Teach your brain that not every distraction has to be given attention when it demands.

2. Progressive Brain Overload

If you work out with weights, you’ve probably heard the term “progressive overload.” Essentially, it means incrementally increasing resistance so your body has to adapt by getting stronger. The heavier the weights, assuming proper recovery, the more your muscles will grow.

Try applying this same concept to your mental focus training. Choose a regular activity in your life that requires your full attention, such as reading a book. Start with a goal of reading 10 minutes without any breaks or distractions, and slowly build up to something more ambitious—such as an hour.

Don’t extend your time goal until you’ve had a week of success. Slow, steady progress strengthens your focus “muscles” while giving you time to adapt to less stimulation.

3. Intentionally Do Hard Things

Our world is more convenient than ever—yet we should recognize that convenience comes with a price. When you can buy things with a click of a button, never get lost thanks to GPS, and get answers to almost any question by asking a device, naturally, your tolerance for friction and frustration will grow thin.

For example, I now find myself annoyed when I have to order toothpaste from Amazon when we run out, as if that’s even a chore. We used to have to get in our cars and drive to the store for things like that.

The best way to inoculate yourself against the constant rise of expectations and lowering of patience is by intentionally doing hard things. Take cold showers, do hard workouts, read challenging books, drive without a GPS, and do long math by hand. Doing “hard things” builds character and trains your mind to stick with a task, even when it requires focus.

3. Tune Into More ‘Nutritious’ Media

Just as it’s hard to lose weight if you’re regularly eating junk food and sugary treats, it’s nearly impossible to strengthen your attention span if your media diet is the equivalent of Twinkies and Doritos. Cutting back for many of us probably means less social media feeds, short-form videos, and skimming headlines.

One change I’ve found helpful is swapping out my podcast listening for audiobooks. While there’s nothing wrong with podcasts, I found myself listening to too many of them and jumping back and forth between topics. Listening to a long audiobook over the course of weeks has been a unique and challenging alternative, and I’ve learned to enjoy going deeper on subjects than I have in many years.

4. Fast From Things You Enjoy

Therapeutic fasting from food is an ancient practice with roots dating back to the fifth century B.C. We’ve long known that certain types of stress can be good for us and that depriving yourself of pleasure makes it more enjoyable when it returns.

I recommend the practice of occasional fasting from all sorts of pleasures in your life—TV, social media, favorite foods, eating out, alcohol, online shopping, music—add yours to the list.

By withholding these innocent pleasures, you’re teaching yourself that you don’t need them to be happy—they are just icing on the cake. Realizing you have the power to say no to good things is empowering and strengthens the part of your brain that resists distraction. You’re making yourself less dependent on quick hits of dopamine and more sensitive to the ordinary joys of being alive.