The ART of the reset

Why five minutes in nature can rebuild your focus and calm your mind

I was reading a book recently that talked about ART, so I looked it up. It’s called Attention Restoration Theory. And the idea is simple: the ability to focus is like a battery. It drains with use, but you can recharge it, if you’re in the right environment. And it turns out that nature is especially good at restoring our mental energy.

There are two kinds of attention. Directed attention is the one we use for coaching, writing, strategy, and tough conversations. It takes effort, and it makes us tired. That’s why we feel fried at the end of the day.

Then there’s Involuntary attention. Your mind is awake but at rest, lightly engaged by gentle stimuli, waves, water, birds, walking in a park. This type of attention doesn’t drain you. It replenishes you.

So what do you need for that restorative attention? The researchers identified four ingredients:

1. Being away. Not necessarily a holiday, just a mental distance from what you were doing. It could be a walk around the block, switching rooms, staring out the window. (Turns out my teachers were wrong on that last one.)

2. Fascination. Softly captivating things that don’t require effort: trees swaying, water moving, clouds drifting by.

3. Extent. A sense that there’s more available if you want it, nature trails, waterfronts, open landscapes. A feeling of spaciousness. (so get out of the cube farm!)

4. Compatibility. The environment has to match what you’re looking for. If you want peace, a quiet garden is better than a café blasting Metallica.

You might have noticed I’ve used a lot of nature examples. That’s because nature offers all four ingredients, being away, fascination, extent, and compatibility, more often than anything else.

So here’s the idea: nature restores you.

Get out there. Step away from effort, self-criticism, and overthinking. Stare at the trees. Listen to water move through a river or brook. Watch the clouds float by.

After five minutes, if you still have things to do, come back. You WILL be restored.