#193 Why you can’t focus with Johann Hari

<p>Warning: Today’s episode contains strong language</p><br /><p>I’m chatting with Johann Hari today, the international bestselling author of ‘Chasing the Scream’, ‘Lost Connections’ and the latest book ‘<a href="https://amzn.to/3UcFDAm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Stolen Focus</a>’.&nbsp;</p><br /><p>Today’s conversation is fascinating. I often find myself opening tabs and not remembering why I opened it, or walking out of my house and having to remind myself why I’m leaving. I naturally assumed it was just me. Overworking and undersleeping is bound to have this effect, but there appears to be something more insidious going on as Johann explains in todays episode. And if you’re like me, you’re definitely not alone.</p><br /><p>There are 5 core ideas that we explore today:</p><br /><p>One:&nbsp;Your attention didn’t collapse - it was stolen.</p><p>Two: If your Screentime shows that you spend more than three hours a day on your phone, then you are losing far more than just time. Your brain can only produce one or two thoughts in your conscious mind at once. We’re very, very single-minded.</p><p>Three: The covid crisis has flipped many of us into a state called hypervigilance, which is ruining our focus.</p><p>Four: The way we eat in the Western world is severely damaging our attention and focus.</p><p>Five: We can only get out of this crisis if we respond as individuals, by making changes in our own lives and our children’s lives, to protect ourselves from forces invading our attention. But we also need to campaign for more humane technology, forcing them to adopt a different business model that isn’t reliant on interrupting, distracting and monetising our attention.</p><br /><p>We talk about:</p><p>Our ‘attentional pathogenic culture’</p><p>Switch cost effects</p><p>Tapping into flow states</p><p>Reading as a gym for empathy</p><p>Universal basic income</p><p>And of course, technology</p><br /><p>🎬 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/thedoctorskitchen" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Watch the podcast on YouTube here</a></p><p><strong>📱</strong><a href="https://applink.thedoctorskitchen.com/D8Et/rl6rea2q" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Download The Doctor’s Kitchen app for free</a></p><br /><p>You can<a href="https://applink.thedoctorskitchen.com/D8Et/rl6rea2q" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> download The Doctor’s Kitchen app for free</a> to get access to all of our recipes, with specific suggestions tailored to your health needs and new recipes added every month. We’ve had some amazing feedback so far and we have new features being added all the time - check it out with a 14 day free trial too.</p><br /><p>Do check out this week’s “Eat, Listen, Read” newsletter,<a href="https://thedoctorskitchen.com/newsletter" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> that you can subscribe to on our website</a> - where I send you a recipe to cook as well as some mindfully curated media to help you have a healthier, happier week.</p><br /><p>🥗 <a href="https://thedoctorskitchen.com/newsletter/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Join the newsletter and 7 day meal plan</a></p><p>📷 <a href="https://www.instagram.com/doctors_kitchen/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Follow on Instagram</a></p><p>🐦 <a href="https://twitter.com/doctors_kitchen" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tweet me</a></p><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>