460: Find Focus and Fight Distraction with Dr. Gloria Mark

A few weeks ago here on the podcast, I teased six books you should make it a priority to read in 2023, all of which are set to release within the first six months of the year.

Dr. Gloria Mark

I also mentioned that I hoped to successfully invite each of these authors on to talk about their books.

So far, I’m one for one!

That first book is called Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness, and Productivity. Its author, and my guest today, is Dr. Gloria Mark.

We spend, she says, an average of just 47 seconds on any screen before shifting our attention. It takes 25 minutes to bring our attention back to a task after an interruption. And we interrupt ourselves more than we’re interrupted by others.

Wow! All news to me!

In Attention Span, Gloria reveals the surprising results from her decades of research into how technology affects our attention. She also shows how much of what we think we know is wrong!

While the concept of “flow” has previously been considered the ideal state of focus, Gloria offers a new framework to help explain how our brains function in the digital world: kinetic attention

She unpacks how we can take control, not only to find more success in our careers, but also to find health and wellness in our everyday lives.

I hope you’ll click the play button below to learn more about Gloria and her work. For a summary, just keep scrolling.

Join in on our chat below

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In today’s episode, I ask Dr. Mark about:

  • Some of the commonly-held misconceptions about distractions 
  • Understanding our “attentional states” and how they change throughout the day
  • The costs and consequences of our constant interruptions 
  • And lots more!

Order Gloria’s Book

You can order your copy of Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness, and Productivity right now!

Consider Ordering My New Book Too!

Purchase a copy of my new book (written with Jesse Wisnewski) Read to Lead: The Simple Habit That Expands Your Influence and Boosts Your Career. There, you can also download the introduction and first chapter for free!

Note-Making Mastery Cohort

Get notified when I open up my next Note-Making Mastery Cohort for registration (space is limited)!

Books Gloria Recommends

Homo Dais: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships by Nina Totenberg

Check Out These Additional Resources

Grab a copy of Gloria’s book now.

Find out more about Gloria at her website.

Invite Gloria to speak at your next event.

Connect with Gloria personally on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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Finally, thanks for listening and remember, “Leaders read and readers lead.”