Your Attention Is Being Hijacked. Here’s How to Take It Back. episode artwork

EPISODE · Oct 21, 2025 · 12 MIN

Your Attention Is Being Hijacked. Here’s How to Take It Back.

from The Next Big Idea Daily · host Next Big Idea Club

Does this sound familiar: You sit down to do some real focused work, and within minutes you’ve checked your phone, opened three browser tabs, and mentally planned your lunch — all without realizing it. Our attention doesn’t just wander anymore. It’s being quietly, relentlessly pulled apart by a world designed to fragment it, and most of us have forgotten what real focus even feels like. Zelana Montminy is a behavioral scientist who advises Fortune 500 companies and her new book is called Finding Focus: OwnYour Attention in an Age of Distraction. 📚 Get a signed copy of Brené Brown's new book, Strong Ground when you sign up for an annual subscription to the Next Big Idea Club. Code DAILY gets you 20% off 📱 Follow The Next Big Idea Daily on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen 📩 Want more bite-sized insights from the best new nonfiction delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our Book of the Day newsletter

Does this sound familiar: You sit down to do some real focused work, and within minutes you’ve checked your phone, opened three browser tabs, and mentally planned your lunch — all without realizing it. Our attention doesn’t just wander anymore. It’s being quietly, relentlessly pulled apart by a world designed to fragment it, and most of us have forgotten what real focus even feels like. Zelana Montminy is a behavioral scientist who advises Fortune 500 companies and her new book is called Finding Focus: OwnYour Attention in an Age of Distraction. 📚 Get a signed copy of Brené Brown's new book, Strong Ground when you sign up for an annual subscription to the Next Big Idea Club. Code DAILY gets you 20% off 📱 Follow The Next Big Idea Daily on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen 📩 Want more bite-sized insights from the best new nonfiction delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our Book of the Day newsletter

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Your Attention Is Being Hijacked. Here’s How to Take It Back.

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This episode was published on October 21, 2025.

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Does this sound familiar: You sit down to do some real focused work, and within minutes you’ve checked your phone, opened three browser tabs, and mentally planned your lunch — all without realizing it. Our attention doesn’t just wander anymore. It’s...

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