Transcript for:
How To Increase Your Attention Span

can you make a video about how we can increase our attention span yes please share with us your hacks on increasing attention spans impr my attention SP improving my attention attention attention span you're making me scared to post YouTube videos why because I don't trust your attention span to not click away that even after hours and hours of hard work and thinking of how to help you that now I'm pressured to add in little animations and gifts and funny memes and blah blah blah hold up if you're already trying to skip through the chapters or watch this on 2x speed you really need this video more than anyone you know what's crazy you want good grades and to self-improve but you're making it 10 times harder and cancelling out all your hard work because studies show that students with shorter attention spans tend to perform worse on tests struggle to retain information longterm and have a harder time connecting disperate ideas into cohesive understanding that my friend changes today hey team it's I was valedictorian a Regional Tennis champion and got into a top 10 University while sleeping 8 hours a night even though I had a disability of migraines I was able to do all of that because of my ability to focus a longer attention span makes you more efficient effective and smarter so it's way more crucial than any study tip if you clicked on this video only kind of wanting to save your mind then this is not for you this is for you if you are truly committed to living up to your fullest potential potential and acing school in life if you're serious turn this video on full screen put on that do not disturb and watch it on 1X speed I challenge you you'll see why later today we're going to go over the Golden mindset and eight tips to increase your attention span for good let's go improving your attention span is no not just about social media once you understand to not blame everything on social media and to take accountability that's the first step to actually making product progess realize that technology is meant to improve your life there are many benefits to it and you are the one that uses it make sure that technology is not the thing using you thus instead of thinking my phone is decreasing my attention span shift your mind set to understand that your reactions are what's decreasing your attention span each negative effect is simply a product of a reaction when your phone is right there when you get a notification you are in control of the reaction in response to the technology get excited because you being in control means that you can literally get your life back and become smarter between stimulus and response lies a space in that space lie our freedom and power to choose a response in our response lies our growth and our happiness now that you've taken accountability over your actions what actions should we do it's all about habits the more you do something bad for yourself the even more you're going to do it and it snowballs so we need to switch it around to start doing some good habits such that you can continually improve so here are the eight tips to start doing today don't have Dynamic tabs open if you use things like Facebook Messenger or have an email account if that tab is open and a new message comes in it will Ding and have a notification change that tab but this is distracting so have those Dynamic tabs closed and a lot dedicated time to check what those messages are recently I've really been trying to have my email tab closed because even if I don't have notifications coming up if I see that email tab I will be tempted to click it every once in a while just to check if something new is there minimize multitasking I see you reading the comments while watching this video that is so bad because you are processing English words while reading other English words and your mind is just like going haywire so even if you think you're a master multitasker try to really put your time and energy and focus all on one thing at a time the moment you realize you're multitasking pull yourself away if you look up how to improve your attention span on Google you'll find things like drink tea eat brain foods exercise okay now we're not about those surface level fixes because we all know that those will make minimal impact compared to tackling the biggest culprit which is your phone create no phone zones no phone in the bathroom because that's gross no phone in the bedroom because you can end up scrolling on on your bed forever and no phone at the dinner table because your family and friends are more important than seeing what Taylor Swift has done on her latest eras tour say I'll do it after X often when we're working distractions will inevitably pop up whether it's your mom telling you to do something or your brain making up stuff on its own instead of dealing with that right away write it down on a piece of paper and tell yourself that you will deal with it after X after the thing that you're currently doing right now so if I'm working on a math set and I'm grinding through the five problems and I suddenly remember I have to write an email I will write that task down next to me on a piece of paper or on a reminder system and then I'll say I will write that email after I finish problem three so finishing problem three would be my ex that you fill in for this situation this is an amazing habit because it trains you to understand that you're in control that notifications and other people don't own your time they can't force you to step away from your current Endeavor really have it ingrained that just because someone texted you doesn't mean you have to respond right away just because a new K-pop music video came up doesn't mean you have to watch it right away and just because phone notifications are a thing doesn't mean you can't turn them off and prevent them from happening in the first place automate work/school hours on your phone the great thing about technology is that there's a lot of automation tools so on iPhone for example you can set time times where your phone will automatically go on Focus mode which means that it will automatically not have notifications during that time for example I also set a sleep mode where an hour before I set my sleep time my phone will automatically go on do not disturb so I won't get any new notifications it's all about setting boundaries so you don't jump from one thing to the next which prevents your brain from also jumping from one thing to the next be curious like a kid during wait times like waiting in line for your chicken sandwich riding the subway what are most people doing they're scrolling on their phones and why is that because they're bored they're no longer curious or interested about the things that are literally happening right in front of them it's not like you're locked in a white box with nothing to look at you can look at what people are doing around you if you're riding in a car you can stare outside the window and look at the scenery trying to distract yourself from boredom is one of the fastest ways to ruin your attention span because that is telling yourself that every single second you have to be stimulated by something so one of the easiest ways to maintain a more Zen State of Mind where you're not like itching to pull out your phone is to become curious about what's happening around You observe what that lady in front of you is wearing look outside and notice how the flowers are extra pretty today if you Daydream a lot this is your chance to be preoccupied with your own thoughts and think about hm what do I want in life what do I want to eat for dinner tonight with all that wait time instead of wasting it on your phone you could have figured out your whole life's Purpose By Now consume long form content you are smart you're commenting thanks Amy for making longer videos to increase my attention span exactly so any video you watch from now on try to do it on 1 x Speed without skipping I dare you just like you're doing right now right that's level one of consuming long form content level two is listening to a podcast podcasts are amazing because you can listen to them on the go but you also have to train yourself to actively listen and absorb Words which will probably make you a better student so you actually hear what your teacher is talking about instead of just letting the words go in one year and out the other podcasts are slower more conversational but you'll find some of the most valuable advice ever and some of the most amazing facts ever hidden in these podcasts so because you want to find those little golden nuggets you'll be able to train yourself to listen intently and patiently to whatever the podcaster is talking about you ask me what podcast I recommend and the top one I recommend is that was so weird sorry is my own which is your A+ life it's launching on Spotify so you can check out the link in the description I talk about discipline and motiv ation I also go in depth as to how I built confidence and dealt with the insecurities that I had plus many more golden nuggets that you won't find on this main channel so definitely check out the link in my description to watch my new podcast and I would love if you give it a high rating if you like it level three of long form content is to read a book by being so dedicated to read a book from cover to cover that reflects the dedication and commitment you will have to other large tasks when you read a book your eyes literally can only look at one thing at once and you have to process what the words are saying so it's a time of intent Focus different from levels one and two where your eyes can still be observing and taking in other things as you go up these three levels remember to prioritize the type of content the kind that gives you value train yourself to like that instead and it will be so much easier to stay off of things that decrease your attention span consume to absorb not skim this habit even applies to Tik toks because usually when you scroll through Tik toks you're skimming through them barely taking in what's happening in the first 2 seconds before deciding to scroll by but if your entire feed is study tips or skin care advice and you're watching each video all the way through really absorbing the information then that is also actually good for your attention span regardless of the the type of content you consume engage deeply and actively so many of you are actually already doing this because you leave long comments that indicate how much you internalize the advice and that will increase the probability of you applying that advice and you know what's amazing you engaging and summarizing a video and posting that comment is like you making a mini YouTube video yourself when I write these videos that you're watching right now I'm reflecting and I'm synthesizing other information to put out to help others when you write that comment you're actually doing the exact same thing you are also putting your Reflections on the internet and providing Value Plus you just turned what you learned into your own knowledge that piece of advice is now internalized into yourself and will become a greater and greater part of yourself each time you engage having a short attention span means that your or not living life to the fullest because with anything that happens in your life you are going to be distracted or your mind is not going to be fully present absorbing the beauty in that moment so think of a sunset with a loved one if you have a short attention span you're not going to be able to make the most of that moment when it's your graduation when you get your first job when any moment comes up that is deep and longer than a Tik Tok you're not going to be able to absorb it as much so instead of thinking of attention span as this thing that oh I have to improve it because everyone says our attention spans are getting shorter understand that to live a great life and to reach your potential if you are doing X then you should be fully doing X in that moment some people when they're playing they think about work and when they're working they're thinking about playing that's not really fully living the great things in life are not short they are deep so that's why all of the eight tips are talking about how you can be more present and deep in your current situation yes like even my tip of no phone in the bathroom be fully present when you're on the toilet what is important in your life that you don't want to miss out on what do you want to be fully present for comment that below as your commitment to gaining your attention span back choose one or two habits from the list of eight to really start doing this week remember don't try to do all that once really be making changes by focusing on a couple at a time it just takes that split-second decision making it a habit it is not in our control to have everything turn out exactly as we want but it is in our control to control how we respond to what happens you're in the driver's seat it's time you start acting like it remember to check out my podcast Linked In the description it's your A+ life where we go over topics like how to master discipline how to overcome fear and how to stop comparing yourself the episodes are really amazing because they will rewire your mind to be more resilient and happier no matter what life throws at you and of course listening will increase your attention span so what could be better than that thanks so much and I'll see you next time on 1X speed right peace day one of applications I'm going to be applying to grad school I'm applying to a program with a very low acceptance rate so I'm well aware that all this effort could lead to zero results that's why I was kind of reluctant to decide to apply but now that I've decided this is when I'm going to give my all and stop thinking about the hesitancy most of my videos are talking about things in the past so at the end of my videos during this application period I'm going to be giving little updates I'm bringing you along this journey with me so let's see how I do you never know till you try it right also throughout this series of my application process I'll be revealing what I'm going to be applying to and of course I will do a reaction cuz I never did a college video re action today is a light work day where I just tried to make an application but the application's not even open yet I'm too early so I Googled all the parts of the application I read some sample essays the sample essays got me a little stressed because they're all so good they inspired me but they made me feel really doubtful of my writing and storytelling skills feel some anxiousness for sure but I'm really glad I'm starting early to gradually get my mind in the zone of subconscious ly processing what I want to write about as I go about my everyday life and I also made a notion page where I'm going to be brain dumping I'm going to be adding more pages over time and useful links I also put in some approximate deadlines for when I should keep things in mind like see when the application actually opens and when it's due the original Mini Vlog was a little too long for the end of the video and I'm afraid that people would not click on the video because the whole timestamp of the YouTube video just seems too long yeah just let me know your thoughts I was kind of hesitant about this idea but at the end of my videos I'm going to give a quicker update on my mental state and what I'm currently working through so it's more interesting when you see the reaction video of whether I get in or not for those who are interested in the longer explanation and vlogg year style then I put the unlisted video in the description box thank you