How to Find Focus in a World Full of Distractions

These days, we are bombarded with seemingly endless distractions, interruptions, and fleeting doses of mental stimulation from our phones, TVs, computers, and more. With all the alerts, notifications, messages, and alarms, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to tune out the noise and completely focus on a singular task for any length of time.

In his recent book, “Stolen Focus,” Johann Hari dives into this topic and highlights research on ways in which new technologies are hampering our ability to focus. Thankfully, Hari also provides evidence-based practices that can help combat the problem. I was not surprised to learn that many of these practices are built-in components of learning to play musical instruments.

One of the concepts Hari explores in his book is that of flow state, which is the experience of being so engrossed in doing something that you lose track of just about everything else including time. Flow state involves an extremely high level of focus. While this sounds very intense – and it is – it’s called “flow” because people report having a light feeling as if they are flowing into the experience or that the creativity is flowing out of them. Flow state is the opposite of feeling distracted, interrupted, and overwhelmed.

So, how can we achieve flow in a world that is so full of distractions? In his book, Hari suggests the following three steps to help us get there.

Setting a goal – define what you want to achieve and then decide to spend the time and energy needed to achieve it. For example, when playing a musical instrument, your goal is often to learn a song.
Making sure it is meaningful – your goal must mean something to you. When you don’t care, you don’t achieve flow state. Playing a musical instrument is very meaningful to people because music often evokes significant feelings or memories.
Challenging yourself a little bit – your goal must be challenging enough that it requires you to concentrate to achieve it. If it’s too easy, you’ll get distracted. If it’s too difficult, you’ll get discouraged. If it’s a little bit challenging, you’ll be engaged and motivated enough to really dig in. In music, we continually attempt songs that are just a little bit beyond our reach. We don’t learn by playing easy tunes, or by trying to tackle complex pieces when we’ve only just learned the basics. Learning to play means building incrementally, always moving up to a song that is just a little bit more challenging than the last.

Like anything in life, the more you practice something, the better you’ll become at it. It follows that the more you engage in activities that require your focused concentration – like learning to play an instrument – the better you’ll become at focusing for sustained periods of time.

So, the next time you feel like the distractions are consuming you, consider taking up a musical instrument to reclaim your focus and maybe even your flow.

Julie Chambers is the owner of Chambers Music Studios with locations in Bexley, Columbus, and Worthington, and host of the Musical Life Podcast.