Between constant interruptions, shifting priorities and global uncertainty, staying focused at work feels increasingly impossible. Research from the University of California, Irvine, reveals that our attention spans on work screens have plummeted from an average of 2.5 minutes in 2004 to just 47 seconds today. Meanwhile, a new study from Insightful shows that 92% of employers consider lost focus a significant problem in the workplace.
在不断的干扰、不断变化的优先事项和全球不确定性之间，在工作中保持专注似乎越来越不可能。 加州大学尔湾分校的研究表明 ，我们在工作屏幕上的注意力持续时间已从 2004 年的平均 2.5 分钟骤降至今天的 47 秒。与此同时，Insightful 的一项新研究表明 ，92% 的雇主认为注意力不集中是工作场所的一个重大问题。

When we can't focus, we face higher stress levels, decreased job satisfaction and a nagging sense that we're always behind. The irony is that during times of uncertainty, when clear thinking and strategic focus are most crucial, our brains are least equipped to cope. Here are five reasons you can't focus at work, plus techniques you can implement today to regain your focus and transform scattered workdays into periods of meaningful productivity.
当我们无法集中注意力时，我们会面临更高的压力水平、降低的工作满意度以及一种我们总是落后的感觉。具有讽刺意味的是，在不确定的时期，当清晰的思维和战略重点最为关键时，我们的大脑最没有能力应对。以下是您无法在工作中集中注意力的五个原因，以及您今天可以实施的技巧，以重新集中注意力并将分散的工作日转变为有意义的生产力时期。

5 Reasons You Can't Stay Focused At Work
你不能在工作中保持专注的 5 个理由

1. Burnout Steals Your Energy
1. 倦怠会偷走你的能量

According to Boston Consulting Group research, half of workers worldwide are struggling with burnout, a condition that fundamentally rewires the brain's processing of information and ability to maintain focus. Burnout manifests in the workplace as an inability to concentrate on tasks that previously felt manageable. Your mind may wander during important meetings, or you might find yourself reading the same paragraph multiple times without absorbing its meaning. This isn't a character flaw or lack of willpower. It is your brain's protective response to chronic stress.
根据波士顿咨询集团的研究 ，全球有一半的员工正在与职业倦怠作斗争，这种疾病从根本上重新连接了大脑对信息的处理和保持注意力的能力。倦怠在工作场所表现为无法专注于以前认为可以管理的任务。在重要会议期间，您的思绪可能会走神，或者您可能会发现自己多次阅读同一段落而没有吸收其含义。这不是性格缺陷或缺乏意志力。它是您的大脑对慢性压力的保护性反应。

PROMOTED  促进

Solutions that work:  有效的解决方案：

  • Schedule regular recovery breaks throughout the day. Step away from your screen for five minutes every hour.
    安排全天定期恢复休息。每小时离开屏幕 5 分钟。
  • Take brief walks outside or practice a few minutes of deep breathing to reset your nervous system.
    在外面短暂散步或练习几分钟的深呼吸以重置您的神经系统。
  • Schedule your most demanding cognitive work during peak energy periods (typically late morning, two to four hours after waking).
    将您最苛刻的认知工作安排在能量高峰期（通常是上午晚些时候，醒来后两到四个小时）。
  • Prioritize physical health. Regular exercise, adequate sleep and proper nutrition directly impact concentration (even a 10-minute walk can improve focus for up to two hours).
    优先考虑身体健康。定期锻炼、充足的睡眠和适当的营养直接影响注意力（即使是 10 分钟的步行也可以提高注意力长达两个小时）。
  • Recognize that recovery is not optional. The brain needs downtime to consolidate information and restore attention.
    认识到恢复不是可有可无的。大脑需要停机来整合信息并恢复注意力。

2. Lack of Purpose Destroys Focus
2. 缺乏目标会破坏专注力

When work feels disconnected from your values or larger goals, maintaining focus becomes an uphill battle. Boredom compounds this challenge. When tasks feel repetitive or beneath your skill level, your brain essentially goes into power-saving mode, making concentration feel nearly impossible.
当工作感觉与您的价值观或更大的目标脱节时，保持专注就变成了一场艰苦的战斗。无聊加剧了这一挑战。当任务感觉重复或低于您的技能水平时，您的大脑基本上会进入省电模式，使注意力几乎不可能集中。

Solutions that work:  有效的解决方案：

  • Identify aspects of your current role that align with your personal values or long-term goals.
    确定您当前角色中与您的个人价值观或长期目标相一致的方面。
  • Keep a "meaning journal" documenting how your daily tasks connect to larger outcomes.
    写一篇 “意义日记” 记录你的日常任务如何与更大的结果联系起来。
  • Look for ways to develop skills or build relationships that serve your broader career aspirations.
    寻找发展技能或建立关系的方法，以服务于您更广泛的职业抱负。
  • Reconnect with your "why" by asking: How did my work impact someone today?
    通过问自己来重新连接你的“为什么”：我的工作对今天的某人有什么影响？
  • Find mentoring or teaching opportunities within your role to create additional purpose and fulfillment.
    在您的角色中寻找指导或教学机会，以创造额外的目标和成就感。

3. Digital Distractions Hijack Your Brain
3. 数字干扰劫持了你的大脑

Each notification, ping or alert creates what researchers call an "attention residue," where part of your mind remains focused on the interruption even after you have returned to your primary task. Social media platforms, news websites and messaging apps are specifically designed to capture and fragment attention. The intermittent reinforcement schedules built into these platforms trigger the same neurological pathways associated with gambling addiction, making them particularly difficult to resist during moments when focus wavers.
每个通知、ping 或警报都会产生研究人员所说的“注意力残留物”，即使您已经回到主要任务，您的部分注意力仍然集中在中断上。社交媒体平台、新闻网站和消息应用程序是专门为吸引和分散注意力而设计的。这些平台内置的间歇性强化计划会触发与赌博成瘾相关的相同神经通路，这使得它们在焦点动摇的时刻特别难以抗拒。

MORE FOR YOU  更多内容

J.K. Rowling Is A Billionaire—Again
J.K. 罗琳再次成为亿万富翁

Bill Gates Would Be Worth A Lot More Than Elon Musk If He’d Kept His Microsoft Stock
如果比尔·盖茨保留他的 Microsoft 股票，他的价值会比埃隆·马斯克高得多

Meet Venture Capital’s First Woman Billionaire
认识 Venture Capital 的第一位女性亿万富翁

Solutions that work:  有效的解决方案：

  • Create distraction-free work blocks by silencing all non-essential notifications during designated focus periods.
    通过在指定的重点时段将所有非必要的通知静音，创建无干扰的工作块。
  • Move your phone to another room or place it in a drawer where it requires deliberate effort to access.
    将您的手机移至另一个房间或将其放在需要刻意访问的抽屉中。
  • Schedule specific times for checking email, Slack or news (many experts recommend just three times daily: morning, midday, and end of day).
    安排特定的时间来查看电子邮件、Slack 或新闻（许多专家建议每天只检查三次：早上、中午和一天结束时）。
  • Use website blockers during deep work sessions to prevent unconscious browsing.
    在深度工作期间使用网站拦截器以防止无意识浏览。
  • Set up your phone's home screen with only essential apps, moving social media and entertainment apps to secondary screens.
    在手机主屏幕上设置仅包含必要的应用程序，将社交媒体和娱乐应用程序移动到辅助屏幕。

4. Constant Interruptions Fragment Your Attention
4. 不断的打断分散了你的注意力

Well-meaning colleagues can be among the most challenging obstacles to sustained focus. Even brief, seemingly harmless conversations can derail concentration for extended periods. Open office environments, while designed to foster collaboration, often create a constant stream of visual and auditory distractions. The mere possibility of interruption can reduce cognitive performance, as part of your mental resources remain allocated to monitoring your environment rather than focusing on your task.
善意的同事可能是持续专注的最大障碍之一。即使是简短、看似无害的对话也会长时间分散注意力。开放式办公环境虽然旨在促进协作，但通常会造成源源不断的视觉和听觉干扰。仅仅中断的可能性就会降低认知能力，因为您的部分精神资源仍然分配给监控您的环境，而不是专注于您的任务。

Solutions that work:  有效的解决方案：

  • Use visible cues to signal when you need uninterrupted time, such as noise-canceling headphones, a small sign on your desk or strategic body language.
    当您需要不间断的时间时，使用可见的提示发出信号，例如降噪耳机、办公桌上的小标志或战略性的肢体语言。
  • Position your workspace to minimize visual distractions from high-traffic areas.
    调整工作空间的位置，以尽量减少人流量大区域的视觉干扰。
  • Communicate your focus needs proactively by letting colleagues know when you'll be available to answer questions.
    通过让同事知道您何时可以回答问题，主动传达您的重点需求。
  • Create structured opportunities for social interaction to prevent colleagues from feeling shut out.
    为社交互动创造结构化的机会，以防止同事感到被拒之门外。
  • Schedule brief coffee breaks or walking meetings to maintain relationships while protecting uninterrupted work time.
    安排短暂的咖啡休息时间或步行会议，以维持关系，同时保护不间断的工作时间。

5. Unclear Priorities Create Decision Paralysis
5. 不明确的优先事项导致决策瘫痪

Nothing destroys focus more effectively than unclear or constantly shifting priorities. When you are unsure what deserves your attention, every task feels equally important, leading to decision fatigue and scattered effort. Many managers, overwhelmed by their own competing priorities, inadvertently create confusion by failing to communicate clear expectations or by treating every request as if it were urgent. This creates a work environment where employees constantly switch between tasks, never achieving the sustained attention required for high-quality output.
没有什么比不明确或不断变化的优先事项更能破坏注意力的了。当您不确定什么值得关注时，每项任务都感觉同样重要，从而导致决策疲劳和分散的努力。许多管理者被自己相互竞争的优先事项压得喘不过气来，由于未能传达明确的期望或将每个请求都视为紧急请求，从而无意中造成了混乱。这创造了一个工作环境，员工在任务之间不断切换，永远无法获得高质量产出所需的持续关注。

Solutions that work:  有效的解决方案：

  • Schedule regular check-ins with your manager to discuss which projects deserve your primary focus.
    安排与您的经理定期签到，讨论哪些项目值得您关注。
  • Ask specific questions: "If I can only complete three things this week, which three would have the greatest impact?"
    提出具体问题：“如果我本周只能完成三件事，哪三件事的影响最大？
  • Start each day by writing down your three most important tasks before checking email or attending meetings.
    每天开始时，在查看电子邮件或参加会议之前写下您最重要的三项任务。
  • When priorities shift, ask for explicit guidance about what should be deprioritized rather than simply adding new items to your list.
    当优先级发生变化时，请寻求关于应该取消优先级的明确指导，而不是简单地将新项目添加到您的列表中。
  • Document priority conversations to refer back to when new requests arise.
    记录优先级对话，以便在出现新请求时参考。

Remaining Focused at Work Despite an Uncertain World
尽管世界充满不确定性，但仍能专注于工作

The challenges to staying focused at work are real and growing, but they’re not insurmountable. By intentionally shaping your environment, clarifying your priorities and caring for your well-being, you can rise above distractions and excel in your role. When you address the true sources of distraction and put practical solutions in place, you transform chaos into opportunity. Each moment you’re able to focus is a step toward greater impact, meaning and satisfaction at work—even when the world feels anything but certain.
在工作中保持专注的挑战是真实存在的，而且越来越大，但并非不可克服。通过有意识地塑造您的环境、明确您的优先事项并关心您的福祉，您可以克服分心并在您的角色中脱颖而出。当您解决分心的真正来源并制定切实可行的解决方案时，您就会将混乱转化为机遇。你能够集中注意力的每一刻都是朝着在工作中产生更大的影响、意义和满意度迈出的一步——即使世界感觉不确定。