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Uninterrupted focus is necessary for critical understanding, creativity, and innovation.
The ability to actively focus and maintain concentration on important tasks while minimising disturbances is known as attention management.
Management of time, including calendars, plans, due dates, and effective tips, have been repeatedly linked to performance. However, time is no longer the most valuable item in the highly interconnected world of today. It’s attention.
Workers, especially those from the newer generation, suffer because their focus is continuously divided, not because they don’t have sufficient time in the day. Digital interruptions, messages, messaging applications, conferences, and notifications all demand for attention. This results to lower depth of thought as well as decreased productivity. Focus control is becoming the new performance skill in a situation like this.
We speak to Shruti Swaroop, Founder of Embrace Consulting, to understand how the newer generations are struggling with shorter attention spans and what can be done about it.
The ability to actively focus and maintain concentration on important tasks while minimising disturbances is known as attention management. Attention varies against time, which is constant. Careful monitoring is necessary. Even the most carefully planned routine might fall apart due to constant interruptions if attention management is not practised.
It is widely known that Gen Z, those born between the years 1997 and 2012, is often cited as having an average digital attention span of just eight seconds. This is because they are heavily influenced by growing up with, or in the immediate wake of, smartphones, high-speed internet, and rapid-fire, short-form content.
The realities of modern employment are reflected in the shift from time management to attention management. Responding is how many professionals spend their days: answering messages, going to back-to-back meetings, and taking care of urgent but unimportant duties. These responsibilities give a feeling of work, but they often provide little opportunity for creative problem-solving, creative thinking, or logical thinking.
Setting objectives is the first step towards successful focus management. Not every work requires the same amount of psychological effort. The quality of output greatly improves by identifying important work and scheduling it during times of greatest attention.
Setting time blocks free from interruptions is equally critical. Concentration can be significantly increased by following simple procedures like turning off alerts, setting clear meeting boundaries, and designating uninterrupted work times.
Furthermore, companies support the development of exciting cultures. Attention is weakened by long meetings, excessive demands for quick responses, and continuous use of digital data. Employees can achieve at their best when their employers value dedication, maintain boundaries, and measure outcomes rather than online presence.
The ability to think deeply has become an advantage in a knowledge-driven economy. Uninterrupted focus is necessary for critical understanding, creativity, and innovation. People who are good at managing their attention are not only working more; they are working better.
Maintaining the level of attention given to what really matters is more important for efficiency in the future than stuffing more work into each day. Focus is key in this era of distraction.
February 26, 2026, 20:01 IST
