Why Can’t I Focus? The Science of Sustained Attention
- Eric Kaufmann
- Jul 16
- 17 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
Focus doesn't come from trying harder. It’s about understanding sustained attention, executive function, and why modern life makes it so difficult.
🔎 TL;DR:
People with ADHD, or who are otherwise neurodivergent, can focus. Sustaining that focus is the challenge.
Better focus usually comes from better design, not stronger discipline.
Distractions can be external or internal.
Modern life makes sustained attention harder.
Table of Contents:
Is your focus so fractured that paying attention to something for more than 10 minutes feels like a vicious battle with your brain?
Sometimes, no matter how hard I try, I can’t focus on one thing for more than two minutes.
It’s embarrassing and incredibly frustrating.
Picture this:
It’s a Monday morning, and as I open my laptop to knock out email, I notice one of the 53 tabs I have open…tennis rackets.
That’s right, I think I’m going to get back into tennis!
Click.
Luckily, I caught myself after a few minutes, which doesn’t always happen.
“Alright, focus, Eric!”
But before I started writing my first email, I realized I was thirsty. “I’ll grab water and then get started.”
If you have ADHD or struggle with executive function, you know exactly where this story is going.
A glass of water turned into a snack, which reminded me that I needed to do laundry, so of course I did, because that’s productive.
All the while, those emails sat untouched. Later, they became a source of stress and stirred up feelings of failure as my busy afternoon of back-to-back meetings allowed no free time.
Why am I always distracted? Is social media ruining my ability to pay attention?
How is it possible that I can focus on a random interest for three hours but struggle to focus on work for more than three minutes?
Today, we’re answering the most common question I’m asked as an executive function coach:
Why can’t I focus?
Let’s dive in.
What is Sustained Attention?
When we think about “focus,” what we’re really talking about is sustained attention.
Sustained attention is an executive function skill. According to Dr. Peg Dawson, it is “the capacity to maintain focus on a situation or task in spite of distractibility, fatigue, or boredom.”
Put simply, sustained attention is your ability to stay focused on one thing for the amount of time you want without getting distracted.
Sometimes that’s 30 seconds while your boss explains a project update. Other times it’s an hour while reviewing your finances. The amount of time changes, but the skill stays the same.
Like all executive function skills, we can improve our ability to sustain our attention (more on that later).
There are a few other terms worth understanding, too.
Attention variability is the natural fluctuation of our attention over time.
Why does this matter?
Because it shows us that people with ADHD or autism don’t lack the ability to focus. Instead, they often have a harder time directing and sustaining their attention on the task they want to focus on for an extended period.
Hyperfocus is intense, sustained attention on a task to the point that we lose track of time and awareness of our surroundings.
Why does this matter?
Many adults with ADHD can hyperfocus on something that feels interesting, urgent, or novel. That alone proves people with ADHD can focus—and sometimes incredibly well.
Task switching is rapidly shifting your attention from one task to another.
Why does this matter?
Every time we switch tasks, our brain has to refocus, reinitiate, and reorganize. That mental reboot drains our energy much faster than we realize.
Why Is It So Hard To Focus?
People who struggle with sustained attention often grow up believing something is wrong with them.
They’ve heard the same comments over and over.
Sit still.
Pay attention.
Are you listening to me?
But attention challenges have nothing to do with intelligence or capability.
They’re about consistency.
You may think that no matter what you try, you simply can’t focus for long periods of time, or focus at all. That’s not true.
People who struggle with sustained attention don’t lack the ability to focus. They naturally have a harder time directing and holding their attention on one task over time.
Research shows that adults with ADHD and many autistic adults have a harder time sustaining attention over long periods than their neurotypical peers.
And modern life makes this even harder.
At work, we’re expected to meet deadlines while replying to emails, Slack messages, texts, and random notifications that appear every few minutes.
Then we pick up our phone to set one reminder and somehow end up scrolling Instagram.
By the time we finally sit down to read, our brain has switched tasks so many times that we find ourselves rereading the same paragraph over and over.
We’re fighting a monster designed to steal and hold our attention.
And unlike a video game, there isn’t a cheat code.
Why Neurodivergent Adults Struggle with Attention
Neurodivergent adults face an even bigger challenge.
In both ADHD and autism, natural differences in executive function can make sustained attention more difficult.
Attention difficulties often begin in childhood, affecting learning and the development of executive function skills that can persist into adulthood.
As adults, these differences often show up as difficulty sustaining attention, filtering distractions, or directing our attention toward the task we actually want to do.
Again, this has nothing to do with intelligence. It means we have to be more intentional about protecting our attention.
What Is Explore Mode vs. Exploit Mode?
One way researchers think about attention is through two different brain modes: explore mode and exploit mode.
Explore mode is exactly what it sounds like. Your brain jumps from one idea to the next, looking for something interesting or rewarding. You open Netflix, watch a trailer, switch to YouTube, remember you wanted to text a friend, then somehow end up researching the history of snurfing.
(Don’t go down that rabbit hole).
Explore mode isn’t bad. It’s where creativity, curiosity, and problem-solving often happen. We need to spend time in explore mode.
But when we want to direct our attention on one thing, explore mode doesn’t work. Exploit mode is where we want to go.
This is the state where your brain commits to one task and keeps working, even when something more interesting pops up.
The challenge for many neurodivergent adults is making the switch from explore to exploit mode.
When we’re uncertain, overwhelmed, or emotionally uncomfortable, our brain often stays in explore mode because searching for something new feels safer than sitting with the discomfort of the task at hand.
Is It Normal for Your Attention to Wander?
First, let’s get something out of the way: it’s normal for your attention to wander.
Even people in high-stakes professions experience attentional lapses. Sustained attention doesn’t mean maintaining laser-like focus every second of the day.
In fact, I think we set ourselves up for failure when that’s the goal.
Strong sustained attention doesn’t mean hyperfocusing for three hours without looking up. It’s being able to notice when your attention has wandered and redirect it toward what matters.
Why Does the Brain Get Distracted So Easily?
Attention isn’t passive. It’s selective.
Even on the days when you feel completely distracted, your brain isn’t focusing on anything.
It’s choosing among competing information:
The email you’re writing or the notification that just appeared in the corner of your screen.
The book you’re reading or the electric bill you suddenly remembered you forgot to pay.
The grocery list you’re making or your neighbor’s dog that WILL NOT STOP BARKING.
Your brain can’t give everything the same amount of attention at once.
Something gets prioritized.
And sometimes, it’s not the thing you wanted.
What Is The Difference Between Bottom-Up and Top-Down Attention?
Researchers often distinguish between bottom-up attention and top-down attention.
Bottom-up attention is stimulus-driven. Something in your environment automatically captures your attention.
A loud noise.
Movement outside your window.
Your phone buzzing.
You didn’t consciously decide, “I’d like to focus on that now.” Your attention was captured.
Top-down attention, on the other hand, is goal-directed.
You intentionally decide what deserves your attention and try to keep it there.
That’s what you’re using when you choose to read a book, finish a report, listen during a meeting, or write a newsletter instead of checking Instagram for the 47th time.
Our attention can also be directed toward information coming from outside of us or inside of us.
At any given moment, your brain is balancing:
What’s happening around you.
What’s happening inside your mind and body.
What you’re intentionally trying to accomplish.
And your attention naturally shifts among them throughout the day.
Executive functions, including sustained attention, help us stay engaged with our goals and redirect ourselves when something else captures our attention, whether it’s external or internal.
What Is the Difference Between Internal and External Attention?
When we feel distracted, we can typically categorize the distraction into one of two categories: external attention or internal attention.
External Attention
Sometimes, something in our environment grabs our attention.
A notification.
Someone walking past your office.
The pile of plates and empty coffee mugs sitting on your desk.
Your coworker talking loudly three desks away.
Our brains are built to notice changes in the environment. That’s incredibly useful when something around us actually requires our attention.
The problem is that our modern environments contain an enormous number of things competing for it.
Instead of noticing movement that might signal danger, we’re noticing the Slack notification flashing in the corner of our screen.
And suddenly, the important project we’re working on has lost the competition.
Internal Attention
Other times, the distraction comes from inside our own mind or body.
Maybe you’re hungry. Thirsty. Tired.
Maybe you suddenly remember an email you forgot to send.
Or maybe the task in front of you is boring, confusing, or making you anxious.
When something feels uncomfortable, our attention can drift toward something that provides relief.
Our brains naturally respond to discomfort.
Hungry? Find food.
Thirsty? Get water.
Terrified to open your bank account and review last month’s spending? Maybe cleaning the kitchen suddenly sounds VERY important.
This is why distractions don’t always come from the outside world.
Sometimes the thing competing for our attention is a thought, emotion, memory, physical sensation, or unfinished task.
Lack of clarity can also make sustained attention harder.
If you don’t understand what you’re supposed to do or where to start, almost anything else can become more appealing than the confusing task sitting in front of you.
Why Is It Harder for People With ADHD to Stay Focused?
There’s another interesting piece of the puzzle for people with ADHD.
When we’re not focused on an external task, a network of brain regions known as the default mode network (DMN) tends to become more active. It’s associated with internally focused processes like mind wandering, remembering, and thinking about ourselves or the future.
During demanding, goal-directed tasks, other task-related brain networks become more active while activity in parts of the DMN typically decreases.
Research suggests that this separation between the DMN and task-related networks may be less consistent in ADHD. One theory, called the default mode interference hypothesis, proposes that greater interference from the DMN during tasks may contribute to attentional lapses and mind wandering.
In other words, the challenge isn’t simply that someone with ADHD “can’t focus.”
The systems involved in staying on task and allowing the mind to wander may not separate as cleanly.
No wonder getting “into the zone” can feel so difficult sometimes!
Why Does Focus Get Worse Throughout the Day?
Ever notice how focusing gets harder as the day goes on? Or how much harder it is to stay focused after hours of mentally demanding work?
That’s normal.
Sustained cognitive effort can contribute to mental fatigue, which can make sustained attention and vigilance more difficult.
I like to imagine attention like a battery.
You don’t necessarily start every morning at 100%. A poor night of sleep might mean you’re starting at 62%.
Then you spend the morning answering emails, making decisions, sitting through meetings, solving problems, and switching between tasks.
That battery gets depleted. Normal!
This is one reason I recommend scheduling tasks that require your strongest attention during the times of day when you typically have the most mental energy.
And yes, you can recharge that battery throughout the day.
Sleep is obviously a big one, but we can also create small opportunities to recover:
Go for a walk.
Step away from screens.
Take a real mental break.
Give your mind a little space to wander without immediately filling that space with scrolling.
Before we can improve our focus, we need to understand why it breaks down.
Surprisingly, the problem usually isn’t a lack of willpower or discipline.
Why Doesn’t Trying Harder Help Me Focus?
Our attention can be trained and strengthened. But trying harder isn’t what people with strong attention are doing.
Some of the most common mistakes neurodivergent adults make when trying to improve their focus are:
Why Doesn’t Forcing Myself to Focus Work?
Forcing ourselves to focus through willpower and negative self-talk isn’t a sustainable strategy. It’s a recipe for frustration and burnout.
Instead of repeatedly asking your brain to resist distractions, change the conditions that make distraction so easy in the first place.
Is Poor Focus a Discipline Problem?
Struggling to sustain attention doesn’t automatically mean you lack discipline.
Often, it’s an environmental design challenge.
If your phone is next to you, Slack is pinging, 17 tabs are open, and coworkers are talking around you, you’re asking your brain to constantly ignore competing information.
Instead, we want to make distractions harder and focusing easier.
How Does Your Environment Affect Focus?
We learned that bottom-up attention can automatically pull our attention toward something in our environment.
We can’t turn that system off…but we can change what we give it to notice.
That’s the power of environmental design: creating environments where distractions are less likely and focusing is easier.
If you have no idea where to start, begin here.
Can a Dedicated Workspace Help You Focus?
Whether you work from home, in an office, or simply want to focus on a book or project, choose a location where you’ll consistently do that task for a week.
Using a consistent workspace can create a reliable environmental cue: when you’re here, this is what you do.
For example, I always write from a desk in the second bedroom of our home. When I’m in session with clients, I use a standing desk in a different room.
One space means it’s time to write. The other means it’s time to coach.
You’re not locked into that space forever. Test it. See how your attention responds. Then adjust.
Does Having Your Phone Nearby Affect Focus?
Once you’ve chosen your workspace, add friction to your biggest distractions. In other words, make distractions slightly harder to access.
If foot traffic grabs your attention, try headphones.
If notifications snag your attention, close unnecessary apps and put your computer and phone on Do Not Disturb.
If your phone is the problem, put it in another room.
That last one matters.
A 2017 study found that the mere presence of a person’s smartphone reduced available cognitive capacity, including working memory capacity, even when participants weren’t using their phones.
“Your cognitive capacity is significantly reduced when your smartphone is within reach — even if it’s off.”
Interestingly, the researchers found this effect even when people successfully resisted checking their phones.
So, if you really want to dial in your focus, try putting your phone in another room for a specific amount of time.
Add Friction to Digital Distractions
You can apply this same idea to other technology.
Turn off nonessential notifications.
Log out of distracting apps.
Close tabs you aren’t using.
Remove tempting apps from your home screen.
Use tools that temporarily block distracting apps or websites.
This is how we create enough friction between the impulse and the distraction that you have a chance to make an intentional choice.
Think about an app that takes forever to load. Sometimes those extra few seconds are enough for you to think, Eh, never mind, and close it.
That’s the kind of friction we want.
Does Clutter Make It Harder to Focus?
Visual clutter can also compete for our attention.
The pile of unopened mail reminds you about a bill.
The coffee mug reminds you that you wanted more coffee.
The notebook reminds you about another project.
Suddenly, your workspace is giving your brain a menu of things to think about.
It’s not that you need a Pinterest-level, minimalistic office. Just try keeping the things you need for your current task visible and reducing the things that have nothing to do with it.
How Can I Improve My Focus at Work?
We can use these same environmental strategies at work, but the office creates another challenge.
Email
Slack
Meetings
Coworkers
Plus the expectation that we should somehow be constantly available while completing work on time…
That constant switching has a cost.
Why Does Task Switching Make It Harder to Focus?
Our brains don’t instantly switch from one task to another.
Researcher Sophie Leroy describes something called attention residue: after switching tasks, part of our attention can remain stuck on the previous task. This can make it harder to fully engage with what comes next.
Think about a typical workday.
You start writing a report, then…
Check an email.
Return to the report.
Answer a Slack message.
Return to the report.
Jump into a meeting.
Return to the report.
Every switch asks your brain to disengage, reorient, and get back into the task.
No wonder you can work all day and somehow feel like you accomplished nothing.
One way to reduce those switches is task batching.
Can Task Batching Help Me Stay Focused?
Task batching means grouping similar tasks together and completing them in one block of time.
Instead of answering a few emails, starting a project, checking Slack, returning to the project, and answering another email, group your communication tasks together.
That batch might include:
Email
Slack messages
A quick conversation with a colleague
The fewer unnecessary transitions you create, the fewer times your brain has to refocus.
How Can I Reduce Distractions From Email and Slack?
Not every message needs an immediate response.
If your job allows it, create specific windows for communication instead of leaving email and Slack open all day.
Turn off nonessential notifications. Close communication apps during focused work. Then intentionally check them between blocks of focused work.
This shifts you from constantly reacting to intentionally deciding when communication gets your attention.
Obviously, some jobs require immediate availability. The goal isn’t to ignore the responsibilities of your job.
It’s to question whether everything currently treated as urgent actually is.
Does Body Doubling Help With Focus?
Many neurodivergent adults find it easier to focus when another person is working nearby. This strategy is commonly called body doubling.
Body doubling means doing focused work near someone else who is also working. You don’t need to be working on the same thing.
You can even use this strategy in a coffee shop, library, coworking space, or virtually.
Research specifically examining body doubling for ADHD and autism is still limited, so I wouldn’t call it a proven treatment for sustained attention.
But if another person’s presence helps you initiate a task and stay engaged, experiment with it.
At the beginning of a body doubling session, state what you’re going to work on and for how long.
Then get to work.
What Happens If I Still Get Distracted?
Throughout this guide, we’ve learned that attention naturally wanders, external and internal distractions compete for our attention, and modern life is constantly trying to snag our focus.
And, the truth is…
You can create the perfect workspace, put your phone in a different room, silence email notifications, put on noise-cancelling headphones…
But still get distracted.
Insanely frustrating, I know. But thinking we will never get distracted is unrealistic.
And we know that the most focused people aren’t the ones who never lose focus. They’re the ones who have designed systems to strengthen their attention and quickly refocus when distractions occur.
How Do I Refocus When I Get Distracted?
The 4Cs is a framework we can use to strengthen our attention.
Every time you notice your attention drifting, walk through these four steps. Over time, it will become automatic.
Here’s what it looks like in real life:
1. Calm
Imagine you’re working on a report at work when you remember that you need to call the dentist to reschedule an appointment.
Your first reaction might be negative self-talk: Why can’t I just stay focused?!
But that isn’t helpful.
Instead, when you notice you’re distracted, pause. Then, stay calm. Your attention wandered. It happens.
Use this moment to regulate enough to make an intentional choice rather than following the distraction.
2. Contain
Instead of grabbing your phone and calling the dentist right away, capture the distraction.
There are a few strategies for doing this. My personal favorite is distractibility delay.
The technique is straightforward:
Create a designated parking lot for stray thoughts (I use a blank piece of paper).
Every time something pops into your mind, jot it down.
By writing these thoughts down and setting them aside temporarily, you can stay focused on the current task without fear of forgetting.
Some other strategies that help limit distractions are:
close the tab
move the phone
set a reminder
reduce access to the competing task
3. Clarify
Now that you’ve written down “reschedule dentist” as a reminder, ask yourself two questions:
What was I doing? Working on slides for a work presentation.
What is the next small step? Rereading the slide I’m currently working on.
4. Commit
Now it’s time to refocus. Return to the task for a small, defined period or action.
This might be…
The next small step
one email
five minutes
The goal isn’t to finish the entire project; it’s to regain momentum through tiny actions.
Final Takeaway
If there’s one thing I hope you take away from this guide, it’s this:
Your struggles with sustained attention are not a reflection of your intelligence, your potential, or your work ethic.
Attention naturally wanders. That’s what brains do.
The goal isn’t to become someone who never gets distracted. The goal is to understand what pulls your attention away, design environments where distractions are less likely, and have a plan for refocusing.
Remember, this isn’t about finding the one perfect strategy that magically fixes your focus forever.
It’s about becoming curious.
Experiment.
Collect data.
Keep what helps.
Change what doesn’t.
Your systems will evolve as your life changes.
One intentional adjustment probably won’t transform your focus overnight. But one adjustment, repeated consistently, can completely change the way you work, learn, and move through the world.
And that’s what improving executive function skills is all about.
Not becoming some productivity robot. But becoming someone who understands how their brain works so that you can create strategies that make life feel easier.
In service,
Eric
FAQs
Why is sustained attention so difficult for adults with ADHD or autism?
Many adults with ADHD or autism are fully capable of focusing, but they often have more difficulty sustaining that focus over time. Research suggests that attention in neurodivergent adults is often more variable, meaning it naturally fluctuates throughout the day. External distractions, internal thoughts, emotional discomfort, mental fatigue, and task switching can all make it harder to stay engaged with one task. The good news is that sustained attention is an executive function skill that can be strengthened through intentional strategies, environmental design, and consistent practice.
Can you improve sustained attention?
Yes. Sustained attention is an executive function skill that can improve over time. Rather than relying on willpower alone, the most effective approach is to design environments that reduce distractions, protect your attention from unnecessary interruptions, and build systems that make it easier to refocus when your attention naturally wanders. Small, consistent changes are far more effective than trying to force yourself to concentrate.
What is the best way to improve focus if I get distracted easily?
The goal isn’t to eliminate distractions completely—it’s to notice them sooner and return to what matters more quickly. Start by identifying what most often pulls your attention away, whether it’s your phone, notifications, visual clutter, internal thoughts, or emotional discomfort. Then make those distractions harder to access and create a simple plan for refocusing when they inevitably happen. Strong focus isn’t about never getting distracted; it’s about becoming better at coming back.
References
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About the Author
Eric Kaufmann is an Educational Therapist, Certified Executive Function Coach, and speaker. He is the Co-founder of UpSkill Specialists, an executive function coaching company that helps adults and workplace teams overcome disorganization, procrastination, and productivity roadblocks.
Want to learn more about 1:1 coaching? Click here.
Interested in hosting a workshop for your team or company on how to improve executive function skills in the workplace? Click here.
Looking for guidance on how to become an adult executive function coach? Click here.
