You might give this blog post 45 seconds of uninterrupted attention… maybe 90 if I attach a picture of a cute kitty-cat.

Chances are you’ll check your Facebook page or look at half a You Tube clip or look out the window or consider lunch options before you’ll finish.

The recent claim made by two Harvard psychologists (talked about in this article) is that our mind’s tendency to wander is directly related to our level of happiness.  Basic premise (borne out by 250,000 iPhone users):  Our minds wander and it’s making us unhappy.  Yep, it’s the mind-wandering itself that affects our mood – not – as I would have supposed – doing something boring.

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In this day of goldfish attention spans and a plethora of media in which to satisfy each 7 second unit, it’s not really any wonder that we’re not improving – either the spans or the resulting happiness measure.

So how do we focus?  I thought I might suggest a crazy concept…

DISCIPLINE.  Now there’s a conversation killer.

But hear me out.  Discipline is really just about making small incremental changes to our behaviour.  Our minds are capable of focusing.  If I tell you to think about cheese for 10 seconds, not many of you won’t be able to do so.

I’m trying to build my ability to focus (and believe me, I am the queen of learned ADD) by spending 30 minutes a day – building up to as long as I can – reading a non-fiction book and concentrating on NOT letting my mind wander.

Give it a go.  You might find it makes you happier.  And if not, there’s always lunch or Facebook.

Now to attach some cute kittens.