Attention for Performance
Attention is a foundational component of high performance. However, our attention comes and goes, usually without us even noticing. It’s like reading a book, getting halfway down the page, and not being able to recall what you just read. Your attention was elsewhere.
But when it comes to expert performance, the stakes are much higher and a lapse in attention can have much greater consequences. Distractions take us out of the present moment and lead to subsequent errors. Furthermore, attending to the wrong stimulus at the wrong time can lead to performance breakdowns.
As Dr. Peter Haberl says, “attention is the currency of performance.” I like this quote because it emphasizes the value that attention has in a performance context. It also suggests that attention is something that we can “exchange” with different factors in our performance environment.
When we give our attention to the task at hand, we allow ourselves to be more fully engaged in what we are doing, making it easier to enter a state of flow. However, when our attention is consumed by distractions — either in the environment around us, or the thoughts and emotions we personally experience — performance is more likely to suffer. How we “exchange” our attention with our environment impacts our performance.
So what should we focus our attention on in order to get the most valuable return on our performance? It depends on the demands of the task. Knowing what these demands are can help us determine where to direct our attention. Research suggests there are four attentional styles, which are often portrayed as a 2x2 matrix with breadth (broad/narrow) on one axis and depth (internal/external) on the other.
These four quadrants serve as a guide for where to direct your attention. Here are a few examples:
Broad-External: A quarterback reading the defense as he drops back to pass.
Broad-Internal: Evaluating a tactical strategy at half time.
Narrow-External: A pitcher focusing on the catcher’s glove before delivering a pitch.
Narrow-Internal: Monitoring a technical aspect of your performance as it happens (e.g. following through while shooting a basketball).
The ability to engage in all four of these attentional styles is essential for performance (Williams & Krane, 2021). However, performance demands change from moment to moment as the competition unfolds. Thus, it’s not just about knowing which style to use, but also being able to shift between them and sustain your attention.
Like many other aspects of sport and performance, this takes training and practice. The ability to shift from one style to the next, and sustain attention over time requires refocusing after distraction. Interestingly, Moran (2012) suggests that attention is never really “lost.” Rather, we become momentarily distracted by thoughts, feelings, and irrelevant stimuli in the environment, which may lead to mistakes. But what does training your attention really look like? To start, try the following strategies.
Strategies for Developing Sustained Attention
Mindfulness. Mindfulness can be practiced through exercises like meditation or yoga, but can also be achieved by simply paying attention to something on purpose. If meditation and yoga aren’t your thing, How to Train a Wild Elephant is a great book that helps you practice mindfulness in your everyday life, with challenges like using your non-dominant hand to brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand. This can be an everyday way to train your attention.
Cue words. Use a specific word or phrase to “cue” your performance. Because our attentional capacity is limited, cue words help you focus on one specific aspect of your performance. They’re also a great tool for refocusing when our attention strays. Research shows that brief statements are favorable. For example, Serena Williams used the phrase “hit in front” as a specific reminder for how she wanted to perform.
Performance Routines. A performance routine is an ordered series of actions designed to prepare you for performance. This is not to be confused with a superstition, which often emphasize factors that don’t directly impact performance. Developing a routine that you implement either prior to a competition or just before executing a task can help minimize distractions, aid recall of skills, and help you remain focused on the present moment.
Bringing it together
In a world of distractions, it can be easy for our attention to be misdirected. Because our performance demands may change from moment to moment, the ability to accurately shift between attention styles is crucial. Yet, like many other aspects of performance, attention can be trained. Mindfulness, cue words, and performance routines are three strategies that can help train your attention and your ability to remain focused on information that is relevant to your performance.
Resources:
Moran, A. (2012). Concentration: attention and performance. Oxford Handbooks Online. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199731763
.013.0006
Williams, J.M., & Krane, V. (2021). Applied sport Psychology: Personal growth to peak performance (8th ed.). McGraw Hill.