Editor’s note: Subscribe to CNN’s stress, but less than the newsletter. The six -part alert guide will inform you and your inspiration to reduce stress while learning how to harness it.
CNN
–
I was working steadily for hours, but I felt as if I hadn’t even started. My attention is attracted from my specific mission – writing this story – through countless what I think is a necessary work interruption. (Well, the couple of my cat was also firmly believed.)
My children and I call days such as “Singing Days” In honor of drillingThe Talking Dog in (Squirrel !!) was the 2009 Pixar “Up” movie, which (Squirrel) was constantly distorting his attention, almost (Squirrel !!) …
Unfortunately, many of us face the “squirrel” days, according to Dr. Gloria Mark, a professor of information at the University of California, Irvin, who study how digital media affects our lives. In her book “The extension of attention: “A pioneering way to restore balance, happiness and productivity”, Mark explains how contracts of research are lower the ability to focus.
“In 2004, we measured the average interest on the screen to be two and a half minutes,” Mark said. “After a few years, we found attention to about 75 seconds. Now we find that people can only pay attention to one screen for 47 seconds on average.”
Mark said that people do not focus on less than a minute on any one screen, but when attention is diverted from an active business project, they take about 25 minutes to re -focus on this task. (Wait, what ??)
“In fact, our research shows that it takes 25 minutes, 26 seconds, before we return to the original or project field,” said Mark.
How can it be? Mark said: “If we look at work regarding the change of projects, in contrast to the partial offer for switching, we find that people spend about 10 minutes in any business project before boycotting – internally or by another person – then turning into another business project.”
Yes, but then we return to the original work, right? Mark said. Instead, when we are cut off in the second project, we again turn into a different mission – called the third project. Incredibly, her research showed that we also boycotted the third project and moved to the fourth project.
“Then the original project is returned and captured,” Mark said. “But it’s not as if you were cut off and do nothing. For more than 25 minutes, you are already working on other things.”
(At least I can tell my manager that when I miss the deadline.)
“However, there is also the cost of switching,” added Mark. “The cost of switching is the time it takes to redirect to your work:” Where were you? What was I thinking? “This additional effort can also lead to errors and tension.”
Why is all this a problem? After all, it is called multiple tasks, and it is believed that many are a highly expensive skill to deal with the requirements of the information age.
“With the exception of a few rare individuals, there is nothing like multi -task,” said Mark. “Unless one of the tasks is automatic, such as chewing gum or walking, you cannot do two efforts at the same time.”
For example, she said, you cannot read the email and be at a video meeting. When you focus on one thing, lose the other. Mark said: “You are already switching your attention very quickly between the two,” Mark said. “And when you switch your attention quickly, it is associated with stress.”
High blood pressure. The heart rate precedes. She said that psychological measures of stress also show negative results, such as more fatigue, errors and less productivity: “The more people who make multiple tasks, the greater the number of errors they make.”
Who did this to us? We have done, of course, with the help of technological perpetrators such as social media, tablets and television. But Mark blames the email more.
“For me, the email may be the worst because it has become a symbol of work,” she said, adding that her research has found a direct relationship between email and more tension.
“We have cut the email of some workers in an organization in one working week,” she said. “Using the heart rate screens, we found that it became significantly less tension and managed to focus significantly longer.”
(I find myself stopping temporarily to search for flights to Bora Bora. Oh, right. They have an email there too.)
Mark said: “There is no way for anyone to completely separate from technology and work in today’s world,” Mark said. “So let’s learn how to live with her in a way that preserves our positive well -being.”
Mark said that restoring your focus requires you to consider how technology uses, which is an arduous task if you are thinking that the average American spends at least 10 hours a day on screens.
Ironically, you can use technology to help. ROTE WORK scheduling of the first part of the day when it is not completely alert, then use technology to prevent deviations when you are at your best mental states. At night, empty your minds by writing them down and then put the list away.
He distracts his attention from social media? Mark said: “Take the codes from the desktop and bury the applications on your phone inside the folders, as it takes an additional effort to find them. Leave your phone in another room or put it in a stairs and stretch it.”
It is also important to learn when to take a rest. “If you have to read something more than once or if the words are not only recorded, then it’s time to stop and renew.”
Mark said that the best break is walking in nature. “We found that it could help people produce more ideas – it is called a different thinking.”
Very cold to walk outside? Do something attractive that does not require any mental effort.
“I have a friend who is a professor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his favorite activity is to match socks,” said Mark. “Another friend loves the iron. You can embrace ideas, then go back to hard work, and see it with new eyes.”