How to learn to focus again

Berlin Californian psychologist Gloria Mark lived one of the most productive times of her career in Germany. At that time, shortly before the turn of the millennium, I worked part-time at a research institution in Berlin. The special thing: “I was only responsible for one project there the whole time.” In 2000, Mark returned to the United States – and her daily routine changed dramatically. She taught, researched and supervised students at the same time. “After a short time it completely drained.”

Mark’s problem has long since arrived in this country. Digitization enables professionals to complete more tasks at the same time than before – in theory. It’s practically a focus killer, says Mark, who’s been researching the topic for more than 20 years and just published her book, Attention Span, on the subject. The average office worker’s attention span has fallen from two and a half minutes to 47 seconds since 2004.