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“How To Increase Your Attention Span: What You Need To Know”
Introduction
In today’s world, a majority of us have terrible control over our minds. We give in to its demands, and listen to everything it has to say, even if we know that it might have nothing good to say.
One of the things that suffers as a result of giving in to its asks are our attention spans.
For that exact reason, some of us can’t sit down and eat without stimulating our minds. Without watching television. Without scrolling on our phones.
We are a species that used to advanced so fast that if you blinked enough times, we’d have invented things that were once deemed impossible. Sure, we are still progressing faster than ever before – but, it comes at a cost.
The Cost of Too Much Progession
With all these new technologies, opportunities, doors also arrive a load of new ways to distract ourselves from the real world.
The goal of this post is to cut off one of the ways that the current world has taken you over, your attention span. My goal is to fix that part of your brain that is cut off from the rest of its mates. Right here, right now, I will show and tell you everything you need to get your brain to appreciate any form of dopamine, even the really, really, boring ones that don’t even offer any dopamine (or so it seems).
My Story
Around over a year ago, I was the typical student. I did my homework, followed directions, slept, ate, and filled myself with cheap dopamine whenever I wasn’t doing any of those things. Life seemed like it was good, but it wasn’t.
I was living just like every other person my age and older. I lived and endured the same, boring old experience every single day of my life. Sure, I am not that different when you mention that definition (which is something I undoubtedly still have to fix), but I have changed my main source of dopamine.
Of course, I am not some magical person that has a secret pill that’ll make everything just suddenly perfect and just how you want them to be. Things and situations like these take reason, thinking, and logic.
How I Improved My Attention Span
And from everything that I’ve learned for the past year, the number one most important thing to improve your attention span is putting yourself in boring situations that don’t stimulate your mind. It sounds easy, but it isn’t.
Nowadays, our minds are hooked to consistent dopamine and if we aren’t being stimulated minute by minute, we consider it a ‘minute wasted’.
Yeah, imagine that.
So, what I did was put myself in situations that starved my brain of dopamine. I sat down and stared at my walls and ceilings for minutes on end without moving or thinking. I would do my homework as soon as I got back home from school, and just do general work and research, even if it sucked and starved my brain of dopamine.
In the end, I found myself more productive and actually wanting to do schoolwork. I plan on creating an entire individual post in regards to how I was able to do that, but for now, just keep the benefit in mind.
“There is no pill to greatness. The only pill you can take to fast-track greatness is responsibility.”
Questions To Ask Yourself Beforehand
- How Much Sleep Are You Getting? If your sleep sucks, so does your attention to anything (besides things that are intensely stimulating). You can do all the research you want, but if you are getting less than 6 hours of sleep and experience side-effects as a result to the poor sleep of yours, you really shouldn’t expect to get anything productive done, let alone pay attention to things of matter.
- How Bad (or good) Is Your Attention Span? To test this, I want you to find a lengthy article online on a subject that doesn’t interest you (I suggest choosing a topic discussed in school as those usually are always boring). Then, just read the content inside that article. Just read. How long did you last reading the article without giving up and realizing: “man this sucks”
- If you want an easier version, search up a decently lengthy video online that isn’t edited (or is poorly edited) on a subject that doesn’t interest you. Test yourself then and set a timer to see how long you last.
- A good attention span get finish the entire article/video without much struggle, and even remember some of the material that they read, despite the subject of matter sucking. A poor attention span can’t even get halfway through what they just consumed, with all the material that they read automatically leaving their brain.
My Step-by-Step Procedure (Daily)
I want you to follow every single step below, down to the crumb. Do not leave out a single step, because each one helps every other. Do this every day and watch things change, especially your attention span.
Morning
- Upon waking up, avoid using your phone and instead continuing with your morning routine immediately.
- After completing your morning non-negotiables, work. Work on anything of importance. Even if you have no tasks given by your boss, or no work to catch up on for school, work on something. Conduct research on a subject of interest, learn a language, exercise, teach, learn a new skill, freelance, anything.
- Eat breakfast 30 minutes to an hour after waking up. No later, no earlier.
- Continue working on whatever you were working on earlier.
Afternoon
- Keep on working.
- Take a break within those work sessions and DO NOT stimulate the mind during these breaks. If you really want to give your mind a break, then you are going to give it a break. Feeding it with dopamine isn’t relaxing it. Sure, you may not feel like you’re doing any work, but the brain has to process the content that your absorbing.
- Eat.
- Keep working.
Nighttime
- Keep working
- Take more breaks.
- Eat.
- Get a good nights rest and sleep a minimum of 7 hours. No less.
As you can see, the procedure is very simple. My best tip is to do things that your brain hates. It actually trains a part of your mind, and makes it stronger. After a few weeks of adapting and following this routine, you will see changes. Your mind will likely still heavily appreciate consuming dopamine-induced content, but it won’t depend on it. That’s where you wanna be.
“Boredom Sucks. But Did You Know That It’s Secretly Good For You?”
Do Not Give Up
There will be many moments in which your brain will insist on just watching one more video, or watching one more video. That’s when you come in to say: “no, I make my own choices”
I know. I know. It sounds corny. But look, if you wanna be great, you have to do what you hate. You have to keep on participating in this process until it becomes common practice. Keep on going until your brain just does it, without thinking. You probably will hate doing it for a long time, but the time in which it becomes normal and integrated into your daily routine will come faster. You just need patience.
As Thanos once said:
“The hardest choices require the strongest wills.”
Thanos
“The hardest choices require the strongest wills.”
Conclusion
To get a better attention span, you will have to starve your mind of dopamine and live a temporary life where your dopamine levels are never satisfied for weeks. It’ll suck but it’ll get you to the other end of the finish line.
