How to Protect Your Attention in a Distracted World

🌟[TT] Lion v Snake 🧠

Lion v Snake – not the World Cup kind, but one inspired by Michael McIntyre’s comedy skit, who in turn is the inspiration for today’s Thursday Tips!

Michael McIntyre told the story of going on a social media platform, and accidentally watching a video about a lion fighting a snake. After that the algorithm decided that lions versus snakes was part of prime interest and kept showing him videos of lions v snakes (There are more slightly non-PG funny parts to that story!).

It was a very funny video, in typical Michael McIntyre style, and I found myself laughing, and then thinking…

About attention – that it is our most precious resource, and increasingly fragile in a distractible world!

Here are three ways to reclaim it back:

📍3 Ways to Protect Your Attention for Better Performance

[1] Turn off your notifications

(BRA(i)NS® Method: Optimisation, under Habits)

Every ping is a small bid for your attention. Even when you don’t respond.

Researchers found that simply receiving a phone notification, without touching the device, disrupted performance on an attention task to a similar degree as actively using the phone.* The brain hears the signal and starts wondering…

The fix is simple, if not always easy: go into your settings and turn off notifications for everything that isn’t time-sensitive. Email, WhatsApp groups, most apps.

Instead, check them on your terms, at a time you choose.

I also put my phone out of sight when I am working on tasks that require deep focus (like writing my next book and this Thursday Tips!)

>>Try this: Pick one app today and turn its notifications off. See how that feels by end of the week.

[2] Curate who you follow

(BRA(i)NS® Method: Optimisation, under Habits)

Social media can have positive upsides – like a sense of community and a great learning opportunity. But, and that’s a strong but, it depends on how you use it!

The algorithm learns from what you pause on, what you react to, and what you watch to the end. Like McIntyre’s Lion v Snake situation, it is not always a conscious choice. You watch for long enough, and the feed decides that is your new interest.

Social media platforms are built to maximise the time you spend on them. Research confirms that recommendation algorithms are specifically designed to sustain your attention on personalised content for longer periods.** That is the point of them.

So the question worth asking every so often: does following this social media person/account add something helpful, or does it pull me into a scroll I didn’t plan?

It was with some trepidation that I started posting on social media and reminding myself of why I’m there has helped a lot – I would like to make a positive contribution and inspire people to take action for their brain health and wellbeing (like this TT! So that has given me more courage to show up)

>>Try this: Once this week, spend five minutes auditing who you follow. Mute or unfollow one account that reliably pulls you into mindless scrolling rather than something you value.

[3] One thing at a time

(BRA(i)NS® Method: Optimisation, under Habits and Mindset)

This one connects back to the “Dinner” edition of Thursday Tips 2 weeks ago, where we looked at attention residue: the way part of your focus stays stuck on the last task even after you have physically moved to the next one.

Every open tab, every half-finished message, every background notification is a quiet invitation to switch.

The single most effective thing you can do for your attention is give it one place to go. Only one place!

That does not require long, uninterrupted hours. Even a protected ten minutes on one thing, phone face down (our out of sight is better!), tabs grouped and collapsed, makes a difference.

>>Try This: Choose one task today and set a timer for 10min to see if you can stick with that before getting distracted or have your attention pulled away. Managed that? Great! Now extend that to 20min. If something pops up, just return to the task at hand (it’s kind of like mindfulness meditation training with mind wandering!)

📍The Brain Science Behind It

Attention is not unlimited. It is a finite resource, and the brain treats competing demands as a genuine workload.

When a notification arrives, even an unread one, it triggers what researchers call mind wandering: the brain drifts toward the notification and away from the task at hand.* That drift carries a measurable performance cost.

The mechanism behind tip three is attention residue, first described by Sophie Leroy in 2009 (discussed in more detail in the “Dinner” edition of [TT] 2 weeks ago). When you switch tasks before fully finishing the previous one, part of your cognitive attention stays allocated to what you left behind. The new task gets less of you than it deserves.

As for social media algorithms: the research is clear that they are optimised for engagement time, not for your wellbeing.* They work by learning your reactions, including accidental ones, and serving more of the same. Understanding this does not make the platforms bad, but it does make intentional use a wiser approach.

The brain science here sits squarely in the prefrontal cortex: the region responsible for focused attention, decision-making, and filtering distraction. It is powerful, but it is not immune to a constant stream of competing signals. Reducing that stream is not laziness. It is neuroscience.

📍Where this sits in the BRA(i)NS® Method

For those new to the Thursday Tips Tribe, welcome! A quick summary of the BRA(i)NS® Method appended below**

Attention sits within the BRA(i)NS® Pillar of Optimisation, under Habits and Mindset. Managing what pulls at your focus, and practising single-tasking, are habits that protect the quality of everything else you do.

So attention touches all three pillars of the BRA(i)NS® Method:

Your sleep quality (Building Brain Resilience) affects how well you can focus the next day.
Your stress response (Balancing the Autonomic Nervous System) affects how easily you get pulled off task, since an activated stress response narrows attention and makes distraction harder to resist.
And the habits you build around your phone, your feed, and single-tasking (Optimisation) are the daily decisions that compound over time.
The (i) fits too: what pulls at your attention, and how long you can sustain focus, differs from person to person. There is no single right approach, only the one that works for your life.

📍Question for you today

Which of the three tips feels most relevant to you right now: notifications, your social media feed, or single-tasking?

And, I am curious: did you ever have a McIntyre moment with an algorithm, where one accidental click sent your feed in a completely unexpected direction? Hit reply, I would love to hear it.

Wishing you focused and intentional attention,
Dr Sui Wong

PS: If you are not yet following me on Instagram, here is my link(slightly cheeky grin), where I share quick tips, in the vibe of Thursday Tips. These two recent ones seem to have been helpful, check them out here:

Measure of brain health: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DaNMDRYon3Q/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Quick nervous system reset: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DaIHTATIYYK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

It has Purpose and Meaning as its container, with three pillars inside:

References:

Stothart et al 2015 – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26121498/
Hasan et al 2018 – https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563217306581

**The BRA(i)NS® Method

It is my framework on helping you build your brain health ecosystem for consistent energy, focus and performance.

It has purpose and meaning as its container, holding the following 3 pillars:

Building Brain Resilience covers your physical foundations.
Balancing the Autonomic Nervous System covers your stress and relaxation responses.
Optimisation pulls these together through mindset, habits and community.
The (i)? All this is individualised to you, giving the (i) in BRA(i)NS®.

📌 Summary

Attention is one of your brain’s most valuable resources, yet modern technology constantly competes for it. From notifications and social media algorithms to task switching, small distractions quietly reduce focus and cognitive performance. In this Thursday Tip, Dr Sui Wong shares three practical ways to protect your attention by reducing unnecessary interruptions, curating your digital environment, and practising single-tasking. Supported by neuroscience, these simple habits can help improve concentration, productivity, and overall brain health.

❓ FAQ

Why do notifications affect my focus?
Research suggests that even hearing or seeing a notification, without responding to it, can interrupt attention and reduce performance on the task you’re doing.

What is attention residue?
Attention residue occurs when part of your focus remains on a previous task after you’ve switched to a new one. This can make it harder to fully concentrate on your current work.

Can social media algorithms influence my attention?

Yes. Recommendation algorithms learn what you watch, pause on, and engage with, serving more of similar content to maximise engagement. Curating your feed can help you regain control over your attention.

My mission:

To inspire a movement for better brain health.

Because better brain health supports better wellbeing. And better wellbeing creates a ripple effect that benefits individuals, families, communities, and beyond. Making the world a better place for all. And it all starts with you as the individual.

I am a practising medical doctor (MBBS MD FRCP MA FHEA DipIBLM) working as a Neurologist and Neuro-Ophthalmologist, and am an active neuroscience researcher. My research is inspired by questions arising from my busy clinical practice, and I am grateful that both have been recognised with awards.

I am also an Author and Speaker, creating public-facing health content in my spare time.

Learn more:
drsuiwongmd.com

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