Library

Attention residue: why the mind does not follow us straight to the next task

You close your email and open the report. But part of your mind stays on the message you just read. The psychologist Sophie Leroy called this "attention residue" and showed that it lowers performance on the new task.

3 November 2026 / 2 min read

Two ways to meditate: focused attention and open monitoring

In some meditations we keep attention on a single point, such as the breath. In others we open attention to everything that arises. Researchers distinguish these as two styles with different effects.

3 November 2026 / 2 min read

Unfinished tasks that will not leave us alone, and why a short plan calms them

Do you find yourself thinking about an email you have not sent just when you are trying to concentrate on something else? Research shows that you do not need to finish the task to calm your mind. Often a plan is enough.

3 November 2026 / 2 min read

Flow: when we are so absorbed in a task that we forget time

Sometimes, while working, playing music or climbing a mountain, we lose the sense of time and of ourselves. The psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi called this state “flow”.

3 November 2026 / 2 min read

The phone on the desk: does it take our attention even when we do not use it?

The phone is silent, face down. You do not touch it. But is it really without effect? A well-known study suggested that its mere presence may reduce our mental capacity.

3 November 2026 / 2 min read

One thing at a time: the hidden cost of switching between tasks

The mind does not do two demanding things at once; it switches between them, and every switch has a cost. Here is how to protect your attention.

22 October 2026 / 3 min read