On Purpose with Jay Shetty - 4 Simple Habits to Boost Focus & Stop Getting Distracted

Episode Date: November 15, 2024

Do you ever try focusing on just one thing at a time? What’s one way you avoid distractions? Today, Jay’s diving into a struggle we all know too well: distraction. If you’ve ever found yourself scrolling on your phone without even thinking about it, you’re definitely not alone. Jay breaks down why it’s so hard to stay focused in a world full of constant notifications and packed schedules. But this episode isn’t about making us feel guilty—instead, it’s about giving us simple, doable strategies to actually make focus easier. Jay’s packed this episode with practical tips, like creating “no-phone zones” at home and setting tech-free times during the day to really be present. One of the standout strategies he shares is the Pomodoro Technique—working in short, focused bursts with breaks in between to keep your brain sharp and productive. Jay’s main message? Real productivity isn’t about doing more, faster—it’s about doing things better. He even shares some unique Ayurvedic advice, like chewing each bite 32 times (yes, really!) to emphasize how slowing down can improve our lives. In this episode, you'll learn: How to Slow Down for Better Productivity How to Stay Present in Conversations How to Find Calm by Unplugging How to Build Stronger Focus Habits How to Reclaim Your Attention By setting intentional boundaries, slowing down, and practicing mindfulness, we can take back our attention in a way that enhances productivity, deepens our relationships, and brings peace to our daily lives.  With Love and Gratitude, Jay Shetty What We Discuss: 00:00 Intro 01:46 Have You Been Feeling More Distracted? 04:03 What Research Says About the Decline in Focus 06:12 Majority of Us Can’t Multitask 09:00 Doing Things Slower Makes Better Progress 11:43 #1: The Pomodoro Technique 13:38 #2: No Tech Zones, No Tech Times 15:56 #3: Go For a Walk, Stay Off Your Phone 20:34 #4: Finish What You StartSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey, I'm Jacquees Thomas, the host of a brand new Black Effect original series, Black Lit, the podcast for diving deep into the rich world of Black literature. Black Lit is for the page turners, for those who listen to audiobooks while running errands or at the end of a busy day. From thought provoking novels to powerful poetry, we'll explore the stories that shape our culture. Listen to Black Lit on the Black Effect podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hi, I'm Essie Cupp and I've spent my career interviewing people about politics, residential elections, and some really tough breaking news. But now I need a break. And I think you do too. So on my new podcast, Off the Cup, I'll still be interviewing people, usually famous and most likely my friends, but about life.

You know, the stuff that consumes us when we're not consumed by politics? So come join me every Wednesday for some conversational self-care. Listen to Off the Cup on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows. And if we don't know the answer, we bring in people who do, like negotiation expert Morrie Tehary-Pore. If you start thinking about negotiations as just a conversation, then I think it sort of eases us a little bit.

Listen to Let's Talk Offline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey everyone, it's Jay here. My wife and I have had so much fun creating our own sparkling tea Juni and I've got big news for you, it's at Target and we'd love your support. If you can go out, grab a Juni, you'll be adding adaptogens and neutropics into your life with mood boosting properties aimed at promoting a balanced and happy mind. Through our commitment to our wellness journey and striving to fuel our bodies

with the healthiest ingredients, it's been our purpose to make wellness journey and striving to fuel our bodies with the healthiest ingredients, it's been our purpose to make healthy choices accessible for all. Which is why Juni is now on shelves at Target. So head to our store locator at drinkjuni.com and find Juni at a Target near you. We feel so productive when we're doing lots of things. We feel good when we feel busy. We feel good when we feel busy. We feel valuable when we feel busy. So much of the reason why we enjoy being distracted is because we think we're doing

more when we're actually doing less. What's required is a change and shift in our mindset and recognizing that sometimes when you're doing things slower, you actually might be doing them better. The number one health and wellness podcast. Jay Shetty. Jay Shetty. Sometimes, when you're doing things slower, you actually might be doing them better. The number one health and wellness podcast. Jay Shetty. Jay Shetty. The one, the only Jay Shetty. Hey everyone, welcome back to On Purpose.

I'm your host Jay Shetty and I'm so grateful that you've decided to tune in. I have been thinking about this a lot lately and it's because I find that our attention diminishes so gradually and so subtly that it can often take months or years to realize that there's been an incredible decline. Now I want to ask you an honest and vulnerable question. How many of you are feeling distracted? How many of you look at your phone for no reason whatsoever?

Studies show we grab our phone out of our pocket around 200 times per day. And the truth is a lot of us won't have seen the time, won't have checked anything specific, won't have done that intentionally. It will have been a completely unconscious, unintentional, potentially unnecessary action. So let me ask you again, are you feeling more distracted? Are you feeling like you're struggling to pay attention? Are you feeling challenged being present? Maybe you struggle in a meeting to really be there with everyone else that you're

around. Maybe when someone's giving a presentation on a zoom call, you see yourself just drifting in and out. Or maybe sometimes the meeting ends and then you finally realize that you weren't present at all. Maybe it's your partner who's pointed it out a few times telling you, Hey, are you really listening to me? Hey, I don't think you're always present with me.

Hey, did you know what happened with the kids today? If you've experienced any of this, I want you to know you're not alone. It's not a weakness, it's somewhat not your fault and it's actually something that we're all struggling with. Listen to this episode to get less distracted, listen to this episode to increase your focus and listen to this episode so that you can be more present in your life. Now tell me if this ever happened to you, or tell me if it often happens to you. You're paying attention to something or someone, maybe it's a speech, an activity, and you get the urge to look at your phone.

You better believe I've been there. Regularly, in fact, I think it's fair to say we all do this. As technology's advanced, as distractions have multiplied, our ability to focus has been shrinking. But I promise you, with some conscious effort, you can build it back. This episode is dedicated to help you do just that. Now listen to this research. Back in 2004, researchers at UC Irvine set out to understand how information workers divided their focus. They looked at analysts, software engineers

and managers, examining how quickly people pivoted between email, desk work and their phones. And the results were kind of mind boggling. The researchers found that on average, people spend about two and a half minutes concentrating on a task before turning their attention elsewhere. That's not long at all, right? Because that original study came before smartphones, before social media, before 24x7 notifications and always access scrolling. So in 2012 some of the researchers ran another study. This time they found that the average time spent on a task had dropped

to 75 seconds and even more, one researcher discovered that the average attention span on computers and smartphones was a mere 47 seconds. That's a whole another level of mind-boggling. To make the point really clear, if you look at platforms like TikTok, platforms like Meta, platforms like Instagram, a lot of them count an eight second view as a view. So when you look at views, it's really someone who's watched it for eight seconds. Eight seconds is considered presence. And I think if you look at yourself scrolling on social media, you'll find yourself spending one to two Maybe three seconds on a video before you scroll past it, which is why eight seconds is seen as such a significant number

That's what it takes to keep or lose our attention eight seconds all of the social media World knows that if you don't grab someone's attention in 8 seconds, you've already lost it. Now, this probably isn't the first you're hearing about this precipitous decline in focus. And at the very least, you definitely feel it. And even if multitasking may seem efficient, it actually has a negative impact on cognitive performance, on productivity and mood. Listen to this, studies show that only 2% of people can actually multitask. And the funny thing is when 98% of us hear that, we all think we're in that 2%.

The truth is, the majority of us cannot multitask. Monotasking or solo-tasking is the art of focusing on one thing at a time. The ability to dedicate that moment, your conscious effort, and your mind space to that time. One of the things I've been practicing to help me with that is leaving my phone outside of the room. Sometimes I'd have my phone in my pocket.

Sometimes I'd have my phone on my desk. Now if you have it in your pocket, you have the urge to take it out. If you leave it face up on your desk, you see notifications popping through. If you leave it face down on your desk, you may notifications popping through. If you leave it face down on your desk, you may have the urge to flip it over. Just it being there causes attention and a distraction between you and the person you're with. Leaving it outside of the room has allowed me

to create that space to truly monotask or solotask. I also started to realize how much I've been losing the ability to immerse myself. I remember being able to really sit with something. Radhe and I took a trip a couple of weekends ago to Big Sur. Big Sur is around and, you know, I think about like seven or eight hours drive away from L.A. and it's known to be a really peaceful place, a very spiritual place

where you can, you know, bathe in the trees, you can go for hikes, you can, you know, be in nature. And so, Radhika and I took a break and I noticed how my entire nervous system switched off by being there. And when we were there, it was so natural to just be present with the trees or when we'd go on hikes and we'd see deer to just be present. When we'd be on a walk through these winding pathways and bridges to just be present. And if you've ever experienced deep presence or deep rest in that way, you start to value it. And I think often what we've done is we feel so productive

when we're doing lots of things. We feel good when we feel busy. We feel valuable when we feel busy. So much of the reason why we enjoy being distracted is because we think we're doing more when we're actually doing less. So what's required is a change in our values. What's required is a change in shift in our mindset and recognizing

that sometimes when you're doing things slower, you actually might be doing them better. Think about that for a second. It's a really random thought, right? It's kind of counterintuitive. There are a lot of things in the world that if you did them slower, you'd be doing them better. I'll give you an example. Ayurveda talks about how when you're eating food, each morsel should be chewed 32 times.

Now I know that may sound ridiculous, but if you try and do it, there's a reason why. When you bite your food and the example or the Ayurvedic language around it is you should drink your food, chew your drinks. Now I know that sounds complicated, but let me break it down for you. So you should drink your food. What does that mean? If you've broken your food down, if you've chewed it enough down to feeling like liquid, it becomes easier on your digestion.

If you've been able to chew your drinks, you don't just gulp it down, but you take a moment with it, you actually make it easier to digest. So when you change the pace of how quickly you eat, how quickly you bite, how intentionally you digest food, it becomes easier for your gut. There are so many things that would be better if we did them slower. So I want to ask you to reflect, what is it that you could do more slowly? What is it that you could do more present that you think would improve it? Maybe the flusteredness that you feel in a meeting or the stress you feel in a meeting

is because you're allowing your mind to jump from place to place. What if it was just in that meeting? What if you just listened to what that person was saying? What if you'd actually achieve more? You'd make better decisions. You'd make better long-term decisions. How many times have you had it where someone said something you go, yeah, sure, that's fine. And then a month later, you're like, wait a minute, I don't remember even saying that. I had this happen to me recently and it just I mean my team will probably tell you it happens more often than not and I started to realize how we don't make good decisions We're just making decisions in the moment Strung between two decisions right you're choosing what to order to eat at the same time as making a decision at work

You're choosing where to go out for dinner tonight while you're deciding what to wear. You're choosing whatever it is. There's just so many things like that. So let's talk about what else we can do to combat this wavering attention. What's up y'all? This is Questlove. And you know, at QLS I get to hang out with my friends Sugar Steve, Laia, Von Tigolo, Unpaid Bill and we at Questlove Supreme like to nerd out

and do deep dives with musicians and actors and politicians and journalists. We give you the stories behind all your favorite artists and creatives that you have never heard. I'm talking about stories behind their life journeys and their works of art. I love QLS because of the QLS. Team Supreme, they're like a second family to me. Your fan is deep diving into music, everything,

almanac-ing your musical history, and learning things about hip hop artists and things you never thought, then you're a lot like me. But you're also a fan of Questlove Supreme. One of the things I love the most about this show is that we get to learn from the masters. I look at being on this show as my graduate program in music. Listen to Questlove Suprema on the iHeartRadio app.

Have a podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. Suprema! Hey, I'm Jacquees Thomas, the host of a brand new Black Effect original series, Black Lit, the podcast for diving deep into the rich world of Black literature. I'm Jacquees Thomas, and I'm inviting you to join me and a vibrant community of literary enthusiasts dedicated to protecting and celebrating our stories. Black Lit is for the page turners,

for those who listen to audiobooks while commuting or running errands, for those who find themselves seeking solace, wisdom, and refuge between the chapters. From thought-provoking novels to powerful poetry, we'll explore the stories that shape our culture. Together, we'll dissect classics and contemporary works while uncovering the stories

of the brilliant writers behind them. Black Lit is here to amplify the voices of Black writers and to bring their words to life. Listen to Black Lit on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Gianna Predente. And I'm Jeme Jackson-Gadsden. We're the hosts of Let's Talk Offline, a new podcast from LinkedIn News and iHeart Podcasts.

When you're just starting out in your career, you have a lot of questions. Like how do I speak up when I'm feeling overwhelmed? Or can I negotiate a higher salary if this is my first real job? Girl, yes. Each week we answer your unfiltered work questions. Think of us as your work besties you can turn to for advice. And if we don't know the answer, we bring in experts who do, like resume specialist Morgan Sanner.

The only difference between the person who doesn't get the job and the person who gets the job is usually who applies. Yeah, I think a lot about that quote. What is it? Like, you miss 100% of the shots you never take? Yeah, rejection is scary, but it's better than you rejecting yourself. Together, we'll share what it really takes to thrive in the early years of your career without sacrificing your sanity or sleep. Listen to Let's Talk Offline on the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Now, one of my favorite techniques is called the Pomodoro technique. The way this works is you focus on a single task, usually for 25 minutes. Then you take a short break around five to 10 minutes, and then repeat that cycle. After four cycles, you've earned yourself a longer break to reset. During each period of focus you silence your phone, turn off notifications and clear your workspace of distractions. The idea is that if you know a break is coming and you only have to put your head down for a manageable interval, then you can truly commit to the task at hand. And I mean that. That social media notification can wait for 25 minutes, right?

And by the way, when your mind knows that it's only 25 minutes away, you can actually resist the urge for checking it. This is often the techniques that apply to children. When children know that there's a reward at the end of a challenge, they're more likely to sit through it. Now that said, if initially this makes you feel uneasy to disconnect like that,

you can start with shorter intervals and gradually increase your focus blocks. Ultimately, with diligent practice, you'll naturally rebuild your concentration muscle. You'll naturally increase your attention span, which will serve you in the long run. And I think you really have to look at it like a muscle. If you haven't lifted a weight in a long time, you don't just go into the gym and lift the biggest weights there. So if you haven't focused and concentrated for consecutive hours for a long time,

don't just force yourself to do what's ideal, what seems perfect. Take your time with it. And look, I'm not saying the Pomodoro Technique is the be all and end all. It's just one of many tools that could potentially help you to concentrate to single task to perform at your best. Right, we live in a connected world. I'm not saying anything you haven't heard before. And at any moment, we can be texting or checking emails or laughing at cat videos, which can be fine if you're waiting in line or lazing on the couch.

But it's not so great when you're doing more active stuff, like hanging out with friends, getting work done, or simply walking around. Which is why I highly recommend you also set no technology zones and no technology times in your home and in your workplace. One of the things I've done is I've disconnected my social media apps from my laptop. So if I'm on my laptop, I'm fully there for work. I'm there for email, I'm there for my documents, I'm there for my spreadsheets, but I'm not connected to social media. So when it comes to no technology times,

it's like saying no technology in the house before 8 a.m. And then no technology being used after 8 p.m. What you're doing is you're creating barriers and boundaries, healthy points of contact, so that now you're not constantly absorbed. And the whole house has rules so that you can both follow them or however many of you are at home. Now this also applies to no technology zones in the home.

For example, the dining table, no need for technology. The bedroom, no need for technology. How can you find a way to make sure whenever you're going out to dinner, having friends over for dinner, no technology. it's creating these habits that everyone can subscribe to in order to limit distraction. What we don't realize is inattention bleeds when we want attention. So what happens is we want to be really attentive when we're with our family and our friends, but we want to be inattentive at work. It doesn't work like that. You can't be absent at work and be present at home. Inattention

bleeds into all areas of your life. If you're not present in each moment, it's hard to be present in any moment. And what's really important for me to say about these No Technology times and zones, it is just creating barriers, boundaries and healthy habits to protect your mind and the mind of others. Now, the other thing I want to discuss as we talk about distraction is we don't realize how we can also be distracted even when we're moving. Now let me explain what I mean by that. Obviously it's quite common to walk around while looking at your phone. In fact in 2014 it was estimated that 25% of pedestrians in Manhattan had their eyes glued to their devices. I'm guessing it's even worse today. I remember Ariana Huffington telling a great story about how she was walking through New York

and she saw this building and she said to her team, she was like, oh my God, this building is beautiful. Like how long has it been there? Like when was it made? And they were like 1929 or something like that. And she said she walks down this street every day, it's right near her office and she hadn't seen it. It's so common for us.

I mean, I'm sure if you're a driver, you get angry at the people who are walking across the street with their head down looking at their phone. Now we all know that our phones can distract us from the present moment, but a team of researchers in New Zealand wondered if it affected us in other ways as well.

So they devised a study. Participants were asked to stroll around a park. Half of them were given smartphones with instructions to read about the park while they were walking. This phone group was told it was important to stay focused on what they were reading. The other half ambled about phone free with instructions to pay attention to the environment. All the participants were fitness trackers and at the end they performed self-evaluations about mood and comfort, as well as their feelings of power and connectedness to nature. Here's what the researchers found.

The phone group walked with a more stooped posture and a slower gait. They felt less physically comfortable. They also experienced more negative emotions and fewer positive ones. And they felt less powerful. The phone free group on the other hand felt positive, powerful and connected to nature. Intuitively this makes sense. It does feel better to stroll through a park disconnected. And clearly that would help you get in tune with nature. But what surprised me was the depth of those differences. The researchers even stated that phone use effectively reverses all the

beneficial effects of a jaunt in the park. As Professor Elizabeth Broadbent told the New York Times, instead of feeling more positive after walking, people felt less positive, less excited, less happy, less relaxed. So the takeaway is clear. Go for a walk, but stay off your phone. And you know this isn't only about walking. This insight holds for parties and events,

lunchtime with colleagues and dinner with friends. And I get it, we reach for our phones to stay on top of things. But there are tangible benefits to your mood and health if you can resist the urge Really take a moment to think about what you can do and what you can change Because what I don't want to happen after this episode is that you feel guilty and you shame yourself Because this is something we're all dealing with. This isn't a you problem. This is a 2024 2025 and the rest of our life problem

that each and every one of us is living with, struggling with, and being challenged by. And so we can either sit here and guilt ourselves and make ourselves feel bad, or we can look at it and go, this is something we're gonna have to deal with in our lifetime. Let's create effective strategies and steps to get ourselves out of it.

Okay, I am so excited about this because we've got the first ever merch drop for On Purpose, it's finally here. And for World Mental Health Day, we're doing an exclusive limited edition drop mental health today we're doing an exclusive limited edition drop with all the proceeds going to the National Alliance on Mental Illness NAMI. So now you can wear your on-purpose merch, listen to the podcast and know that you too are having an impact. I want to thank you so much in advance. I can't wait to see all of your pictures wearing the merch, their sweatshirts, a hat, t-shirts, check it out on our website jsheddeshop.com that's jsheddeshop.com and remember 100% of the proceeds go to NAMI.

Another technique I love is finish what you start. Don't start a new task before the current one is complete. I think we've got into this habit of starting multiple things at the same time. Doing everything we possibly can at the same time. Doing anything and everything at the same time. Because it feels more fun, it feels more exciting. And what do we realize? Our completion rate drops. What happens when our completion rate drops? Our distraction increases.

Because now we feel we become someone who doesn't complete things. I want to read you something that I read from a book by Thich Nhat Hanh, an amazing Tibetan Buddhist monk called How to Walk. And one of the things he writes is invest your whole body. Invest 100% of yourself into making a step. Touching the ground with your foot, you produce the miracle of being alive. You make yourself real and the earth real with each step. The practice should be very strong and determined. You are protecting yourself from the habit energy that is always pushing you to run and

to get lost in thinking. Bring all your attention down to the soles of your feet and touch the earth as though you are kissing the earth with your feet. Each step is like the seal of an emperor on a decree. Walk as though you imprint your solidity, your freedom and your peace on the earth. I mean how beautiful is it to think that something is simply walking could be that powerful. Something is simply taking a step could be that monumental. And that's really what meditation is.

Meditation is the ability to create meaning through the most simple, ordinary things. The ability to find meaning, to find value, to find the essence of what that does. Every step can make a huge, huge difference. I was talking to a friend yesterday and he said something amazing to me. He said, J, it was only when I stopped, I realized how many sensations there are in the body. He said, I didn't realize this before today

about how much is going on. And another thing Thich Nhat Hanh says in How to Walk, which I love, is he says, one of the most profound teachings is also the shortest. I have arrived. Our true home is in the present moment. To live in the present moment is a miracle. When I breathe in and become fully alive, I see myself as a miracle.

When I look at an orange mindfully, I see the orange as a miracle. When I peel an orange mindfully, I see that eating an orange is as a miracle. When I peel an orange mindfully, I see that eating an orange is also a miracle. The fact that you are still alive is a miracle. So miracles are the things that you perform several times each day with the power of mindfulness. The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth

in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now. These words from Thich Nhat Hanh are so powerful because I think our busy lives have made us see the ordinary as nothing but ordinary. But if you think about your favorite moments, one day when you took in the ordinary, maybe it was your friend's love, maybe it was something that you were both joking about, maybe it was a shared emotion or expression, maybe it was a joint love for food, it was something simple, it was something beautiful. It was something tiny and organic and natural. It wasn't something constructed, engineered and manufactured. If anything, when you were trying to create something, it may not have had that.

So I hope this is your reminder to be more in the present, to be more mindful, to live in a way that we're not just allowing ourselves to get distracted, that we recognize that just a few of these simple tips can help us walk and live a better life. I really hope you loved this episode. If you did, please go and check out some of my meditations on The Daily J on Calm.com.com. And you'll be able to discover some really beautiful meditations that you can practice. You can listen to as you walk, as you make your way to work. Rather than filling all of our gaps with scrolling, where we only feel more overwhelmed, imagine

we're consuming so much information in such a short period of time. Our brains and our mind deserve a bit of a break. You deserve deep rest. And I hope this episode has helped you connect with it. Thank you so much. Remember I'm always rooting for you and I'm forever in your corner. Thank you. Thank you so much for listening to this conversation. If you enjoyed it you'll love my chat with Adam Grant on why discomfort is the key to growth and the strategies for unlocking your hidden potential. If you know you wanna be more and achieve more this year, go check it out right now.

You set a goal today, you achieve it in six months, and then by the time it happens, it's almost a relief. There's no sense of meaning and purpose. You sort of expected it and you would have been disappointed if it didn't happen. What's up y'all, this is Questlove, and and you know at QLS I get to hang out with my friends Sugar Steve, Laia, Von Tigolo, Unpaid Bill and we you know Questlove Supreme like to nerd out and do deep dives with musicians and actors and

politicians, creatives, people that we feel really deserve that attention. We learn, we laugh, we fall down rabbit holes. Listen to Questlove Suprema on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Suprema! Hey, y'all. Nimmini here. I'm the host of a brand new history podcast

for kids and families called Historical Records. Executive produced by Questlove, The Story Pirates, and John Glickman, Historical Records brings history to life through hip hop. Get the kids in your life excited about history by tuning in to Historical Records. Listen to Historical Records on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Want to know how to leverage culture to build a successful business?

Then Butternomics is the podcast for you. I'm your host, Brandon Butler, founder and CEO of Butter ATL. And on Butternomics, we go deep with today's most influential entrepreneurs, innovators and business leaders to peel back the layers on how they use culture as a driving force in their business. Butternomics will give you what you need to take your game to the next level. Listen to Butternomics on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.