8 Reasons Why You Can't Pay Attention

We've all had days--perhaps weeks and even months--when we can't seem to focus on anything. One minute you're reading an article online, the next you're typing e-mails--and before you can send them you're instant messaging a co-worker, checking on the stock market or jotting down notes for an upcoming meeting. The end result: It feels like nothing's getting done.

But it may not be entirely your fault. Research is showing that there's actually a range of causes for your frustration, from the medical to the instinctual. The good news is there are ways to improve one's ability to pay attention.

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Human Nature

One of the reasons it's so difficult to stay focused is that humans are naturally prone to interruption, says Maggie Jackson, author of Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age. We jump to react to new information as a built-in survival instinct, e.g., stop what you're doing since there's a hungry saber-toothed tiger 20 feet away. The problem is that, in today's world, this same preprogrammed reaction kicks in and takes us away from our work to tune in to breaking news about O.J. Simpson or Paris Hilton--not exactly the sort of thing our survival depends on.

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Read HuffPost Blogger Alvaro Fernandez's post on how meditation can help combat ADHD.