If you make it to the end of this sentence then your attention span is quite good

An app that improves your concentration span? It sounds too good to be true….

Nonetheless, the boffins have declared it so it must be true: mobile phone brain-training app Decoder can improve your ability to pay attention. For once, something on a smartphone that actually lives up to its name.

For most of us, a phone isn’t so much a device as a swirling black hole that repels us at the same time as it draws us in – we know we could be more productive, fulfilled human beings if we weren’t peering at our screens every minute of the day, but our brains have been hacked by an always-on culture that keeps us checking and responding from dusk til dawn.

We waste a huge amount of time on our phones. Apparently, the average Brit spends 24 hours a week online and we check our phones every 12 minutes. It’s not hard to imagine better ways we could be spending that time.

Thankfully, scientists at the University of Cambridge have come up with this handy Decoder app that challenges you to detect complex sequences, thus improving your concentration span – even more so than if you were pumping nicotine or caffeine. Sounds amazing!

I must confess, my attention span has been more at the goldfish end of the spectrum lately. Not only am I glued to my phone more than is healthy, I also have an amazing new baby who’s been treating me to some less-than-amazing late night screaming sessions.

However, if there’s one main lesson from parenthood, it’s the fact that baby sick shows up less on beige clothes. No, sorry, it’s to focus on the things that matter.

My new resolution is to sharpen up my brain and cut out the crap – I don’t need to look at my phone so much, I need to focus on the things that actually make a positive difference in my life, whether that’s at work or at home.

I know it can be hard to concentrate on finding the perfect role when you’re busy with the daily grind, but too many of us stick around in dead-end roles, cheering ourselves up with pictures of pugs.

If you’re a complex thinker with the commitment to see things through, we’ve got some great roles for you. Drop me a line, my phone’s right here.