Published in the Elite Business Magazine on 13 May 2025

Is that my phone buzzing? Why your device distracts you: Even when you’re not using it

Many professionals operate under a fundamental misconception: that a smartphone only impacts their focus when they are actively engaging with it

Many professionals operate under a fundamental misconception: that a smartphone only impacts their focus when they are actively engaging with it. The self-aware executive who silences their device and places it face-down on the table believes they’re fully present. The disciplined manager who stows their phone in a drawer before engaging in a complex task assumes they can now focus completely.

They’re wrong.

Even when they’re switched off, smartphones compete for our attention—and the effects on productivity, wellbeing, and collaboration are far more profound than most realise.

Smartphones and the brain’s attention hierarchy

In my book I explore how our smartphones are best understood as literal extensions of our minds. These devices have become part of who we are, making it difficult to use them objectively and skilfully as tools.

What’s happening inside the brain is fascinating. Our attentional filters—neural systems that help us prioritise information—have been reshaped due to the intimate and constant use of mobile devices. Smartphones now sit at the top of our brain’s attention hierarchy, rivalling even the sound of our own names.

Out of sight is not out of mind

Research from the University of Chicago reveals that simply having a phone nearby—on a desk, in a pocket, or even powered off in a bag—reduces cognitive capacity and working memory.

The most alarming part is the lack of awareness. When asked if they were thinking about their phones during the task, participants mostly answered “not at all”, despite measurable declines in their performance.

This isn’t just theoretical, it has real implications for leadership. When your executive team brings phones into strategic planning sessions–even on silent– their mental performance suffers. Your highest-value talent is literally less intelligent in the presence of their smartphones.

The cognitive cost of constant readiness

Our brains run what’s effectively a background surveillance programme, constantly scanning for signals that the phone might need our attention. We remain ready to process notifications, mentally rehearsing possible responses, or simply aware of the device’s accessibility.

In Trying Not to Be Bot, my newsletter, I often lament how we’ve come to think of our minds like machines. While we aren’t computers, the analogy helps: your brain has limited RAM.

Even if your phone never buzzes, the mere anticipation that it might still require mental bandwidth. This invisible burden affects everything from creative problem-solving to decision-making.

Reducing the mental load

A common pushback I hear is: “Surely a quick glance can’t hurt?” But it does.

Research by Dr Gloria Mark at UC Irvine shows it takes up to 25 minutes to return attention to a task after a digital interruption. That cost compounds over time.

In digital wellbeing workshops I deliver with Mind Over Tech—a training company that builds positive digital habits and cultures— we’ve seen that physical and psychological boundaries are key. Some firms use “phone hotels” to keep devices out of meetings. Others implement “deep work” blocks—set periods where there’s no expectation to respond to emails or messages.

These approaches work not just because they reduce distraction, but because they eliminate the anticipation of distraction. When your brain knows you definitely won’t be checking your phone for the next 90 minutes, it can fully disengage from monitoring it– it stops wasting energy on background vigilance.

Beyond individual habits

Managing attention is no longer just a personal productivity tactic—it’s an organisational imperative. Leaders who understand the neuroscience of digital habits can create environments—from physical spaces to meeting structures—that safeguard their team’s most precious resource: human attention.

In today’s increasingly complex business landscape, organisations that actively protect focused thinking will outperform those merely treading water. Executives who see smartphones not just as tools, but as an integral part of their team’s attention ecosystem, will build cultures where deep focus, innovation, and strategic thinking is the norm.

The evidence is clear: your relationship with technology shapes your cognitive capabilities in fundamental ways. The question isn’t whether your smartphone is affecting your performance—it’s whether you’re ready to do something about it.

Menka Sanghvi is a leading mindfulness and digital habits expert, the co-author of Your Best Digital Life: Use Your Mind to Tame Your Tech with Jonathan Garner, senior advisor at Mind Over Tech, and the founder of Just Looking Press. She helps people reclaim their attention and agency in the digital age.