Lack Of Attention: What Can We Do To Improve It?

Why is it important to improve our attention? What can we do to deal with a lack of attention? Find out how to improve this skill.

The development of technologies is making it increasingly difficult for us to maintain attention. You could say that we are massively approaching the “attention deficit ”.

Why do we have a lack of attention?

Factors that make it increasingly difficult to attend:

1. We are used to very powerful stimuli, which capture our attention effortlessly.
2. When the stimulus wanes we can quickly look for another one and we find it.
3. Something a little longer or slower requires our patience and we don’t have it.
4. Our mind is not used to being interested in something that does not attract us in a very powerful way.
5. We quickly got bored.
6. We don’t go deeper.
7. We see, hear or read everything superficially.
8. On many occasions, we use 2 devices at the same time because one seems insufficient to us. Therefore, we do not pay attention to details, we follow everything “on top of it”.

Why is attention important?

What happens when we go losing attention span ? Some of the effects that a lack of attention can have on our lives may be the following:

• Studying costs more: When we want to concentrate, it is very difficult for us. This leads us to study becoming an overexertion, something very painful.
• We do not enjoy movies, series, books: When we want to relax by watching something that is not very short or very fast, we get nervous because we have the “need” for stronger stimuli. We do not enjoy the details of a movie, a series, etc.
• Our information is very superficial: We have a very superficial idea of ​​the news, culture, current events… Since we only read headlines. We only support very short videos, increasingly shorter.
• We find it difficult to listen to others: A conversation, a meeting of friends, can bore us… They seem unstimulating to us. This can cause us to isolate ourselves.

What can we do to improve care?

1. Let’s not use 2 devices at the same time: Unless it is essential for work, let’s use the devices one at a time. Let’s not use our cell phones while watching a series. Let’s not play with the tablet while watching a movie. Let’s try to attend to the stimuli one by one.
2. Let’s lengthen the attention time little by little: Let’s observe how long we are able to pay full attention to something that requires a certain effort. If we are only able to spend 10 minutes with full attention –to a book, a movie etc.. – let’s lengthen it little by little, adding a few minutes, but intentionally, and let’s not allow ourselves to neglect beforehand. We can use an alarm that notifies us when the programmed time has ended. Let’s not be too ambitious, let’s do it little by little.
3. If we are fans of video games or games on mobile phones or tablets, let’s limit their use since they do not require effort of attention: These games capture our attention very easily and with them we do not train our attention. Let’s decide how much time we are going to dedicate to them.
4. Let’s also limit the time we spend on reels, tik toc and everything we see very quickly: Everything that is very fast and very short captures our attention very easily, thereby we do not train our attention. Let’s decide how much time we will spend.
5. Let’s not change the speed of sounds, videos, etc.: Let’s not speed up the sounds of messages, videos, series. Let’s not go see the end of a series or a movie.
6. Let’s try to have calm conversations, in which we actively listen to others: Let’s listen to what others say, without eagerness to intervene. Let’s enjoy the talk.
7. Let’s delay the age at which children access technological devices: At the age at which they are being trained, it is important that they learn to pay attention, which is why it is important that they learn to concentrate on what does not give us everything done. Let them read, paint, watch movies, play, move, invent…

As we see, we can improve our attention through our habits Even so, if you feel that your lack of attention is affecting you in certain areas of your life, it is important that you go to a professional psychologist to help you improve this aspect.