We’re more distracted than ever, but it’s not necessarily our fault. Research reports that the sheer number of distractions vying for our attention at any given moment may be at an all-time high.

The reasons are many, from social media, to phones in general, to the rapid news cycle, to a workday that never ends.

Ironically, with unlimited tools and information at our fingertips, it can be hard to actually buckle down and get things done when intense focus is required. But the good news is that many studies agree our underlying attention spans are still OK. We just need the right environment to activate their full powers.

Study skills teacher shares special technique she uses ‘5 times every day’

Erin Meryl McGurk is a popular content creator and startup founder. She’s built an audience of more than 80,000 subscribers on YouTube and another 200,000 on TikTok with practical videos about discipline, focus, neuroscience, and more.

In a recent video, McGurk shared her “absolute favorite concentration hack that I use whenever I need to focus,” along with the neuroscience behind why it works.

It’s called the 3-2-1 method, and it goes like this:

3 minutes of somewhat intense physical activity. It primes your body and brain for focus and relieves restlessness or fidgetiness.

2 minutes of brain-dump journaling to clear the mind.

1 minute of detailed planning about what you hope to accomplish during your focus time.

And then you’re off and running.

The sequence takes six minutes in total. “You might be thinking, Erin, six minutes is a really long time,” McGurk says.........

© Upworthy