Until a few months ago, a tidal wave of noise flooded my apartment most evenings. NPR’s talking heads spouted off as I made dinner. A rotation of comedians-turned-podcasters bantered back and forth as I ate dinner. Late-night host Trevor Noah cracked jokes as I tidied up. Then the scrolling before bed began: TikTok, YouTube, Instagram.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

New York Times opinion columnist Ezra Klein tossed me a rescue buoy when he dedicated a recent episode of his podcast to the new book Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention—and How to Think Deeply Again (Crown Publishing Group). Among many valuable insights, author Johann Hari puts a name to what was missing for me and countless others: space for mind-wandering.

Hari explains that human attention often works like a spotlight. We narrow our focus on the stimulus of the moment. The problem, Hari argues, is that most people today live in a “tornado of mental stimulation.” Our brain spotlights constantly jump from a friendly conversation to an email notification to a grocery list to a needy child to another email notification.

Bulbs burn out at this pace.

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