YOU DON'T HAVE AN ATTENTION-SPAN PROBLEM. YOU HAVE A NOTIFICATION PROBLEM.

YOU DON'T HAVE AN ATTENTION SPAN PROBLEM. YOU HAVE A NOTIFICATION PROBLEM.

Your phone might be training your brain to expect interruption.

Let's play a game.

1. Put your phone next to you.
2. Don’t touch it.
3. Now wait.

Ding.

You look - Nothing important - Back to work.

Buzz.

You look again - Someone liked your story - Back to work.

Buzz.

Your brain has now been informed that something potentially interesting exists. Congratulations.

You've accomplished absolutely nothing for the last 20 minutes.

And here's where it gets interesting.

You don't necessarily have to use your phone for it to interfere with your attention.
Research published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology found that smartphone notifications alone significantly disrupted performance on an attention-demanding task, even when participants didn't directly interact with their phones. PubMed

Another study found that smartphone notifications were associated with slower responses during tasks involving cognitive control. PubMed

So that tiny notification isn't always just:

“Someone texted me.”

It's also: “Something else might deserve your attention.”
And your brain has to deal with that possibility.

Your attention is a limited resource.

You can't give 100% attention to your work while simultaneously monitoring Instagram, WhatsApp, email and your phone.
Multitasking feels productive because you're doing more things.
But cognitively? You're constantly switching. And switching has a cost.
That's why the modern productivity problem isn't necessarily that people don't have enough information.

We have too much.
The problem is deciding what deserves our attention.

The irony?
Most people try to fix poor focus by adding more stimulation. More coffee. More music. More productivity apps. More supplements. More tabs. More screens. More noise.
Sometimes the answer is the opposite.

Remove the interruptions.

Put the phone away - Turn notifications off - Work on one thing - Take actual breaks - Sleep properly.
Then use stimulants strategically instead of treating them like oxygen.

Where RBRTH fits in

There is legitimate research around ingredients commonly used for alertness and attention.

For example, a 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials found that combinations of caffeine and L-theanine may provide small-to-moderate improvements in certain measures of attention and cognitive performance, although the researchers also noted uncertainty around the size and consistency of the effects. PubMed

A newer 2026 meta-analysis of 31 randomized trials also found evidence that L-theanine can improve certain attention measures, while finding no significant effect on fatigue. Nature

That's the distinction we care about.

Not “this ingredient will make you a productivity god.”

That's bullshit.

It's:

Here's what the evidence suggests. Here's what it doesn't prove. Now make an informed choice.

THE RBRTH TAKE

Your attention is probably one of the most valuable things you own.

Stop giving it away for free.

Protect your focus like you protect your money.

Because every notification doesn't just steal a second.

Sometimes it steals the next 20 minutes.

Sources:
PubMed: The attentional cost of receiving a cell phone notification
PubMed: Smartphone notifications and cognitive control
PubMed: Tea, L-theanine and caffeine systematic review/meta-analysis
Nature: 2026 L-theanine systematic review and meta-analysis