Get Stolen Focus

Our collective attention spans are shrinking. Johann Hari’s Stolen Focus helps you understand why and what we can do about it. Through research and interviews with experts, Hari reveals that our inability to focus isn't just about willpower or personal failing — it's the result of powerful forces that are deliberately stealing our attention. From big tech's surveillance capitalism to rising stress levels, sleep deprivation, and polluted food and environments, Hari uncovers the systemic causes while also offering hope through both individual and collective solutions.

Here are four key pieces of advice from the book:

Acknowledge That Multi-Tasking is a Myth

The human brain can only hold one or two conscious thoughts at a time - this is a fixed biological limit of our neural hardware. Yet we've convinced ourselves we can think about many things simultaneously. This is simply a myth we created rather than accepting our natural cognitive constraints.

Your Attention Requires Three Forms of Light

1. Spotlight attention: Focuses on immediate tasks and short-term actions (making coffee, finding glasses, reading a chapter). When disrupted, you can't complete these immediate tasks.
2. Starlight attention: Directs your longer-term projects and goals (writing a book, building a business, being a good parent). Like stars guiding travelers, it keeps you oriented toward your bigger objectives. When disrupted, you lose sight of where you're heading.
3. Daylight attention: Enables self-reflection and clarity about what you truly want. It helps you understand why you chose your long-term goals and who you want to be. When this attention is disrupted, you may lose touch with your core identity and purpose.

Create Flow States For Deep Focus

To achieve a flow state, you must dedicate yourself to a single task - no multitasking, no distractions. Mihaly's research shows that flow demands your complete mental focus on one activity. Since our brain can only truly process one or two things consciously, flow emerges when we align with this natural limitation and direct all our cognitive resources toward a single purpose.

Sleep is Crucial for Attention

Sleep deprivation directly damages our ability to focus and maintain attention. Among the first cognitive functions to deteriorate when we lack sleep is our attention span. Research shows that as tiredness increases, people struggle with basic tasks like following conversations or playing simple games. Each hour of missed sleep progressively erodes our capacity to concentrate and process information effectively.