It’s hardly a revelation that we’re living in an era of distraction and smartphone addiction. Our phones interrupt us, hijack our attention, and tempt us into scrolling. Even when we aren’t interacting with them, their mere presence makes it difficult to concentrate.

To address this, app developers have responded with a vast ocean of productivity and focus apps, each promising to tame the chaos with timers, app blocking, habit reminders, and rewards designed to help you stay focused and be productive.

To understand whether these apps are worth our while, we first need to consider why staying focused is so difficult in the first place.

By and large, a lack of focus boils down to difficulties with self-regulation, the ability to monitor and manage thoughts, emotions and behaviours for goal pursuit.

In short, when a task feels boring, stressful, or tedious, it creates an unpleasant feeling. We then search for relief, and for most of us that comes by way of our smartphone, which has become our go-to coping device, even if it derails the work we need to do.

There’s been much talk that our capacity to focus has dwindled in........

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