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out-of-sync noise of other synapses firing at the same time. So paying
attention to something makes our brain work to fire our synapses in
unison, making the signals about what we’re paying attention to easier
to pick up.

While avoiding distractions isn’t easy, our brains do help us in that
regard. Firing our synapses in unison is one way, which helps us stay
focused on the task at hand while the office around us is buzzing with
distractions.

But research also shows that we might get better at handling
distractions as we face them more. In a study that had participants
read a short passage, then complete a set of test questions about
the material, researchers split the participants into three groups.
One group was left alone to complete the test, while the other groups
were told they might be interrupted at any time with an SMS including
further instructions.

Of the two groups primed to be interrupted, one group did receive
several messages while completing the test. The other group, though
primed to receive messages, never did.

The researchers found both groups primed to be interrupted
performed worse than the control group, showing just the threat of
interruptions is enough to throw off our concentration. The priming
was designed to simulate how many of us treat our inboxes while
working: we constantly flick into and out of our inboxes, checking for
mail that may never come. Knowing that there’s the possibility of a
distraction is enough to throw off our concentration and make us keep
checking to see if a distraction has arrived.

But what was really interesting about this study is that when the
researchers re-did the experiment with the same participants, they
found those who’d been interrupted in the first phase performed better
in the second phase, even if they were again primed to be interrupted.

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