Test Your Attention!

Our world today is filled with distractions that demand our attention every few seconds. The constant messages, notifications and pop-ups have a huge impact on our physical and mental health, making it difficult for us to concentrate on any task. In such a fast-paced world, attention is our most important resource. But we are largely unaware of the key role it plays in shaping our everyday lives.

Here is an interesting test, excerpted from How to Improve Concentration, by memory experts Aditi and Sudhir Singhal, and digital wellness coach Bala Kishore, to ascertain your level of attention.

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In order to complete the test quickly, you must first go through the questions carefully. It’s a very simple test. Your aim should be to complete it as fast as possible.

Let’s start:

1. Without looking at your shirt, count the number of buttons on it.
2. How many zeroes are there in the number 10000000000086?
3. Circle this instruction.
4. How many ‘/’ are there in the following pattern?

\\\////\\\\////\\//\////\//\//

1. Count the letter W in the group of letters given below:

WMMWMMWMWWMWWMWWMM MMWMMMWMWWWWWWMWM MWMWWMMWWMMWWWMWMW MWWWMWWMMMWMWMWMW

1. Calculate the answer: 7 – 4 × 2 + 3
2. Count the number of vowels in the sentences given below:
   • Observation is a skill that takes time to hone.
   • Keep practising, even if you think you will never

improve your concentration.

1. Draw a star on the upper-right corner of this page.
2. Convert these four numbers—6, 10, 13, 5—into letters using the coding given below and write the letters in the reverse order.

1=A, 2=B, 3=C, and so on.

1. Now that you have finished reading all the questions carefully, do only question 4.

SOLUTION

If you solved all the ten questions, we are sure the last one made you laugh. Just because you did not pay attention to the instructions given at the outset (‘In order to complete the test quickly, you must first go through the questions carefully’) you unnecessarily spent so much time and energy on tasks that weren’t even required.

In case you read and followed the instructions carefully, and solved just question 4 to get the answer ‘18’, then congratulations! You did have your attention focused solely on the test.