A new study by Crucial Learning, a learning company with courses in communication, performance, and leadership, shows that we’re failing to stay focused on the task at hand or when communicating with others – and it’s crippling our mental health, our relationships, and our productivity.

In an August 2022 poll of 1,600 people, 2 out of 3 respondents said they struggled to fully focus on a single task or person. More people find it difficult to focus at work (68 percent), but 62 percent also have a hard time focusing at home.

Even when respondents can concentrate, it’s usually not for long. Nearly 1 in 3 survey respondents admitted they can only focus on a task for 10 minutes or less before getting distracted. Just 3 out of 5 last 20 minutes or less.

“Distractions are disastrous but they’re not going away,” says Justin Hale, researcher at Crucial Learning and co-designer of the Getting Things Done® course. “With long to-do lists and numberless notifications and interruptions, it’s harder than ever to stay focused on our priorities. If individuals don’t learn a few key strategies to manage their workload, we’ll continue to see high levels of burnout and tanking productivity.”

The effects of unfocused behavior are severe and far-reaching—starting with a decrease in mental and physical health. Respondents listed the greatest costs of their inability to focus as:

• Overwhelm – “I have too much to do” (73.2 percent)
• Lack of Energy – “I feel drained” (73 percent)
• Stress – “I feel worried about all I have to do” (72.6 percent)
• Decreased Efficiency – “I work much slower” (71.7 percent)
• Less Fulfillment – “I’m not feeling fulfilled at the end of the day” (54.2 percent)
• Disappointment – “I’m letting myself or others down” (49.4 percent)

A lack of focus also hurts our relationships. Most of us (61.2 percent) regularly think about unrelated things or people when we spend time with friends and family and 2 out of 5 allow themselves to get distracted by emails, texts, and social media while having important conversations with people they care about. During our most Crucial Conversations with the most special people in our lives, we still struggle to give our full attention.

Of course, the consequences of being unfocused don’t just affect our personal lives, they also hinder an organization’s bottom line. Most of the workforce (60.6 percent) rarely to never does an hour or two of deep, focused work each day without distraction. And 72.5 percent of employees admit to being physically in a meeting, but not focused on the discussion at hand.

Another 63.5 percent regularly feel like they’re not getting the most important priorities completed even though they’re putting in a lot of hours and feel busy. That’s likely because 71.1 percent admitted they rarely say no to things they are asked to do.

“Employees are feeling pressure to accept any and all assignments,” Hale says. “And that’s a problem because when stress mounts employees look for relief in menial tasks and less stressful activities rather than accomplishing the most important and meaningful work. Learning the skills to stay focused isn’t just a way to be more productive, it’s also imperative to reducing stress, being more present, and finding fulfillment.”

To help teams and individuals stay focused, Hale shares a few tips from Getting Things Done®, a Crucial Learning course which has been recently updated with new videos, exercises, and skills to teach the principles found in the New York Times bestselling book by David Allen:

5 Tips to Stay Focused

1. Minimize distractions. When it’s time to do meaningful work, close your email and other team collaboration apps. Don’t kid yourself into thinking you’ll be able to ignore those dings and notifications – your brain is built to respond to those cues in search of dopamine hits that come from responding.  
2. Plan time for work. You need to set aside time each day for focused work, email, and surprises. And don’t say that you don’t have the time; you’re already working in these modes, but you’re likely doing so all at once, which is incredibly inefficient. For example, spend 45 minutes only processing your email inbox. That way you’ll get through more items and can populate your calendar and to-do lists, setting yourself up to accomplish your highest priorities that day.
3. Prime your eyes. Take two to three minutes each morning to review your calendar and task lists before diving into email or work. When we begin the day by looking at email, we put a lens of “latest and loudest” over our productivity eyes. No more busy and unproductive days; instead, you’ll find yourself working the most important stuff more often. 
4. Ditch your phone. If you don’t need your phone for the activity you are doing or the conversation you are having, put it elsewhere. When you are done with that task or conversation, then pull out your phone. Even then, consider putting a time limit on your phone time.
5. Say no. It’s hard to focus when you’re drowning in opportunities of what you could do. Get in the habit of saying no to things that are not aligned with your larger goals. The best way to say no is by sharing your good intent and explaining why. Try this: “My goal is to be a solid contributor and help the team where I can, but I also don’t want to overcommit myself. If I agree to this, I’ll be at a high risk of dropping something, which wouldn’t be fair to you, me, or the team. I think it’s best for me to not commit to this right now.”

About Crucial Learning
Crucial Learning improves the world by helping people improve themselves. We offer courses in communication, performance, and leadership, focusing on behaviors that have a disproportionate impact on outcomes, called crucial skills. Our award-winning courses and accompanying bestselling books include Crucial Conversations® for Mastering Dialogue, Crucial Conversations® for Accountability, Influencer, The Power of Habit™, and Getting Things Done®. CrucialLearning.com.

CONTACT: Jordan Christiansen +1-801-995-5458, jordan.christiansen@cruciallearning.com