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It seems that distraction is the oxygen we breathe nowadays, with infinite bits of information at our restless fingertips. Each time I open my Edge browser, captivating news headlines and flashy images assault me. Half the time, I forget where I was headed!<\/p>\n
Is the effort to maintain control of our attention a fool\u2019s errand? Nicholas Carr, in his best-seller, The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> notes that more than a few top journalists have stopped reading books because 1) they can easily find the information they need at Wikipedia and other online sources, and 2) their attention spans have withered.<\/p>\n Mindfulness meditation nudges us in the opposite direction. Rather than surround ourselves with endless options, we simplify. The practice has us paying attention to this present moment, with curiosity, kindness, and nonjudgment. In place of multitasking and busyness, we discover present-moment attentiveness free from the relentless push to look for more. Mindfulness serves as a counterbalance\u2014a grounding influence that keeps us very much here, <\/em>on the spot.<\/p>\n Mindfulness serves as a counterbalance\u2014a grounding influence that keeps us very much here, on the spot.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n For people living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the need for attention training might be more pointed. In the winter and spring of 2025, two groups completed my six-week \u201cMindfulness for ADHD<\/a>\u201d workshop series, with the option to extend to nine weeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n I wanted to track if and how these techniques were making a difference for workshop attendees. Participants completed a 19-question evaluation at the beginning and end of the program, and data was analyzed for those who completed both: 5 participants from the 6-week program, and 3 from the 9-week program.<\/p>\n One evaluation statement read, \u201cI get distracted easily, and have a hard time refocusing on a task.\u201d<\/strong> With these negatively worded statements, greater disagreement shows improvement. The totals for both groups were pre: 14 and post: 20\u2014a 43% increase.<\/p>\n Henry, one of the participants, offered this reflection: \u201cI realize the benefits from feeling more grounded and able to recognize when distractions are impacting me and how to handle them in order to get on with things that are most important.\u201d<\/p>\n One common misunderstanding of mindfulness is that we are cultivating a particular state of mind, like calm or bliss, and anything that interrupts this process (\u201cmonkey mind\u201d) is a detriment. People who subscribe to this perfectionist view tend to become discouraged when their ideal doesn\u2019t materialize. They often quit, concluding that mindfulness is not for them.\u00a0<\/p>\n One common misunderstanding of mindfulness is that we are cultivating a particular state of mind, like calm or bliss, and anything that interrupts this process (\u201cmonkey mind\u201d) is a detriment.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The effort in mindfulness practice is not to exert oneself to keep the mind focused on a particular object, such as the breath. Rather, the aim is to recognize the wandering mind and return our attention to a stable anchor of awareness\u2014such as our breath, or feet on the floor. This exercise develops attention, and builds resiliency. You might as well be falling down and getting back up again, over and over.\u00a0<\/p>\n In one of the weekly sessions, participants were asked to set their intention in the beginning of the day, on arising. They identify a priority, such as cleaning the living room, and then keep reminding themselves of this during the day when they get involved in other activities\u2014an active application of the meditation technique.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw how often my mind drifted from the intention,\u201d wrote Casey, a longtime mindfulness practitioner. \u201cBy the end of the series, I had a good grip on it and was able to take on the task of painting my bathroom using this approach, and now it\u2019s finished. I was so used to not getting things done in the past!\u201d<\/p>\n Our modern culture is wedded to multitasking: the belief that we need to be dextrous at paying attention to a bunch of things at the same time. Research<\/a>, however, has dismantled this myth, as neuroscientists have shown that the human brain is best suited to paying attention to one task at a time. Any more than this creates stress, increases errors, and begins to erode productivity.<\/p>\n\n
What Attention Training for ADHD Can Teach Neurotypical Practitioners<\/h2>\n
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Starting With Simple Intentions<\/h2>\n
The Multitasking Myth<\/h2>\n