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The Two Brain Systems that Control

Our Attention: The Science of
Gaining Focus

By Belle Beth Cooper

34 Comments
LIFE HACKING - FEBRUARY 7, 2014

Ive
noticed
lately
that
my
mind
has
been

wandering a lot so I wanted to see how attention works and how to

manage it better.

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It turns out a lot of us have wandering minds and struggle to stay

focused. In fact, when were reading, our minds typically wander
anywhere from 20 to 40 percent of the time. Voluntarily keeping our
attention on one thing continuously can take a lot of effort, so its
not surprising that I struggle with this sometimes.

Luckily, there are ways to keep our attention spans from burning out,
once we understand how they work.

The two brain systems that control your

attention
Our brain is split into two systems, according to Daniel Kahneman.
In Thinking, Fast and Slow, he calls these System 1 and System 2 (to
get a full understanding of how these work, Id highly recommend
reading his book. I can only explain them briefly here, and theres a
lot more that goes into how our brains do the things they do!).

System 1 is the involuntary, always-on network in our brains that

takes in stimuli and process it. Its the system that makes automatic
decisions for us, like turning our heads when we hear our names
called or freezing when we see a spider.

System 2 runs the voluntary parts of our brains. It processes

suggestions offered by System 1, makes final decisions and chooses
where to allocate our attention. The funny thing about how these
system work is that we assume a lot of the things we do are purely
conscious decisions made by System 2. In fact, almost everything we
consciously decide on is based on automatic reactions and

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suggestions fed to us by System 1. Here is another great illustration

of both systems at work:

System 2 is in charge of anything that takes willpower and

self-control, and anything thats too difficult for System 1.

How we get distracted every day

Although System 2 is running our attention and our concentration,
theres only so much to go around, and it takes a lot of effort to stay
focused on something. Were bombarded all the time by distractions,
which the System 2 part of our brains has to fight against.

Distractions come in two main kinds, which Daniel Goleman

explains in Focus: The Hidden Power of Excellence: sensory
distractions (things happening around you) and emotional
distractions (your inner dialogue, thoughts about things happening
in your life).

If youve ever had something emotional weighing on your mind,

youll know how hard it is to block out that kind of distraction.
Goleman explains that this happens for a reason: if something is
upsetting us, our brains want us to find a solution so we wont keep

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worrying about it. Putting it off doesnt help us concentrate, because

we cant truly let go of those worrying thoughts until we have a plan
to work through it.

These kind of emotional distractions are the ones that plague us

most, according to Goleman:

Its not the chatter of people around us that is the most powerful
distractor, but rather the chatter of our own minds.

Even worse is that on average, when our minds wander they tend to
skew towards negative thoughts, and focus on self-centered
thoughts more than anything else.

So whats the answer? Well, staying focused takes a lot of work. Just
like our physical muscles, our attention muscle gets fatigued when
we overwork it. Pushing ourselves to cognitive exhaustion means we
end up mentally fatigued: less effective at our work, more easily
distracted and more irritable.

Bringing focus back

Ive definitely felt this myself, when I struggle to write a new post for
Buffer every single day. I always wondered why I was still feeling
drained by the next day, but it makes sense when you think about
how our brains relax. Just because we spend time on something else
doesnt mean our brains are recovering. They need full rest periods.

There are a few ways to achieve this, which are worth working into
your routine to keep your mind fresh and your ability to focus
refreshed.

1. Meditate

Ive written about the benefits of mediation before, which can help

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us to improve our attention spans.

Because meditation is a practice in focusing our attention and being
aware of when it drifts, this actually improves our focus when were
not meditating, as well. Its a lasting effect that comes from regular
bouts of meditation.

Focused attention is very much like a muscle, one that needs to be

strengthened through exercise.

2. Spend time in nature

One of Golemans suggestions for improving our ability to focus is to

spend time in nature. This is to help our brains switch offan
experiment found that even going for a walk on a city street didnt
let the brain switch off enough to fully recover its focus, whereas
walking in a park offered far fewer things for the brain to pay
attention and respond to.

3. Lose yourself in something you enjoy

I love this last suggestion from Goleman and I think Ill try to
incorporate all three of these into my routine.

Goleman pointed out that when youre completely wrapped up in

doing something easy that you enjoy, your inner dialogue switches
off. This lets your mind rest and recoup the ability to focus on
difficult tasks again later:

The key is an immersive experience, one where attention can be

total but largely passive.

This ones easier said than done, but the benefits to our work could

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be enormous so I think its worth trying.

Do you have a great way of switching off and letting your brain rest?
Let us know in the comments.

If you liked this post you might also like The secret to creativity,
intelligence and scientific thinking: Being able to make connections
and The science of self-control: 6 ways to improve your willpower

Image credit: Bob Gill, Gerald Travinsky

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Written by Belle Beth Cooper

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Belle is the rst Content Crafter at Buer and co-founder of Exist. She
writes about social media, startups, lifehacking and science.

Follow @bellebcooper 13.2K followers

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34 Comments Updates and tips from Buer !

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kevinkirchner 2 years ago

Most practically speaking for me personally, I'm not able to get into
nature during the work day (that would definitely be my first choice).
So I'm interested in learning more about losing yourself in something
you enjoy. Would something like a game on your phone be passive
enough to allow your brain to really rest?

I'm more of an introvert-type person so a lot of the things I can lose

myself in include a lot of thinking like the luminosity app which
is definitely NOT shutting your brain o.

Very interesting article ironic that I'm reading it b/c I'm having a
hard time focusing on my work today!
7 Share

Susan Kathleen Papesh > kevinkirchner 2 years ago

When I am seeking a solution I sometimes play Tetris or
Solitaire. These games relax my brain enough that I find
solutions more quickly but I am not sure if it helps with
attention :)
3 Share

Yesica Velez > kevinkirchner 2 years ago

Try painting, even if you've never painted before... make
circles or patterns while listening to an audiobook. Listening
(or even reading) to an audiobook doesn't require you to use
your brain, but instead feeds your imagination. Which only
but takes focus and stimulation, not output. It really worked
for me! Try it at night before you sleep, you'll wake up a bit
more focused as well... Only do things at night which require
the intake of information which is stimulating or enjoyable,
but never something that requires you to give output. Like
using the computer, using your phone, putting shapes
together... This in a way makes you forget that you are
thinking for a while.
Share

Belle > kevinkirchner 2 years ago

Bummer that you can't get out into nature during the day, but
I totally get that. Sometimes it's hard to work things like that
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