Ep. 168 - Summer Series: The Brain Drain Hiding in Plain Sight

We’re all chasing productivity—checking boxes, staying busy, getting things done. But what if the very thing we’re using to stay “on top of it all” is actually what’s draining us?  This episode highlights one powerful way to reclaim your focus: by paying attention to what’s stealing it. Spoiler alert—it might be buzzing in your pocket right now. Our phones are designed to pull us in and keep us there, but when we start noticing how often and why we reach for them, we can take back control. Unplug a little to refocus a lot.

Show Notes:

Angela Duckworth Graduation Speech

https://singjupost.com/transcript-of-angela-duckworth-push-those-cell-phones-away/

Transcript

Remember when summer time used to feel a little extra long?
It was a chance to soak in a little sunshine, sleep in a bit, and stretch into days with no agenda.

But somewhere along the way to adulthood, summer — and rest in general — started getting squeezed between all the details and demands of our daily life. The pressure to be productive doesn’t seem to take time off.

But what we’re missing in all this doing is the very important purpose of not doing. That gives us a reset that only comes from real time off - for rest, sure, but also to find space and permission for fun. And going without rest and fun has a real impact on our brains and bodies.

I didn’t learn that lesson right away. I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, where summer time meant 100 days of 100+ degree weather. Not exactly a season of carefree play — more like survival with a heavy dose of sunscreen.

It wasn’t until I moved out of state as an adult that I began to experience summer as a feeling vs. a season. Today’s episode focuses on a modern way to benefit your brain and your body with a little change in your surroundings. The Bottom Line on Top of this episode is that one way to give your brain a break is to pay attention to what is stealing your attention. 

To help me make this point, I want to share excerpts from a recent commencement speech by professor, psychologist, and author Angela Duckworth. She’s best known for her research and book on grit and also her studies of how conscientiousness fuels our passion and our perseverance.

She was giving a graduation speech at Bates College and she offered this:

“Where you physically place your phone just might be one of the most consequential decisions you make… and it’s one you get to make over and over again, every hour of every day.”

She went on to say:

“Each time you pick up your phone, you invite a cascade of notifications, messages, and images to hijack your attention. Each time you stare into a screen, you look away from what’s around you. And research shows you often do so reflexively, mindlessly, automatically. In other words, when you pick up your phone, you may be doing so as instinctively as blinking or breathing.

Let’s pause there for a moment and add in a little neuroscience.

Our phones are engineered to hijack our attention — and they’re very good at it. Even when we’re not using our phone, just having it nearby can pull cognitive resources. A 2023 study found that simply seeing or hearing your phone activates brain regions tied to attention and habitual behavior — even if you don’t respond to the phone. That’s because your brain has built deep associations with those cues: a screen lighting up, a soft ping or buzz, taking a quick, “just-in-case” glance at it.

There is one tech tweak that can really help: each phone has a feature called “Rise to Wake” or something like it. It is a setting on the device, it’s when your phone screen automatically lights up whenever it’s picked up. You can choose to keep the screen dark until you activate it by touching it. Doing so reclaims just a little bit more of your cognitive space. It’s a really simple step that you will only have to turn on once but it will pay dividends every time you reach to move your phone anywhere. And it puts the command back in your control of when you want to engage with what’s on that screen.

Back to Duckworth and her speech. She also points to a concept called “situation modification” and says this: 

“In what’s now known as the ‘brain drain’ study, researchers found that when taking an IQ test, simply having your phone in sight — even face down — lowered scores. Keeping the phone in a bag or another room raised them. Just seeing your phone, and then forcing yourself to ignore it, burns mental energy.”

She went on to say that her research team has found that students who keep their phone farther away while studying do better in school. “The farther the phone,” she said, “the higher the GPA.”

And the impact of ever-present phones on adults? It’s stunting our social skills and I think we can see this anytime we’ve been in a restaurant and people are sitting across from each other not talking to each other. I’m quoting Duckworth again as she says this: “Research shows that when we feel awkward, anxious, or bored, we reach for our phones the way a toddler reaches for a comfort object. In other words, cell phones are effectively adult pacifiers.”

Ouch. Her speech was very impactful and I’ve included a full link to it in the show notes.

So with this knowledge what can we do? Other than be aware of it or sure.

Here’s a tiny experiment we can try:
For three consecutive days, take your phone and keep it in another room for just one hour at a time. 

One hour where it’s not within reach, not within view, not silently buzzing for your attention.
Try it at different times of the day and see what you notice. 

Your brain loves patterns — and with just a few tweaks (like keeping the screen dark, keeping it out of view)  your brain can actually learn that peace and focus are patterns as well.

Start with small moves. There’s a reason your brain latches onto those notifications — it’s craving novelty. But if your only novelty source is inbox dings or scrolling, that’s already a fast track to mental burnout.

Instead, give your brain something to anticipate: a walk in the warmth, a playlist with retro tunes, an old-fashioned phone call with a friend, or maybe just a cold popsicle. 

Give yourself permission to unplug — not forever, just long enough to remind your brain that presence is its own kind of pleasure.

Until next time, I hope you find a little space to take time to take good care.