People with high IQs are less likely to succumb to distractions.

People with higher IQs seem to be better at blocking out background distractions and focusing on smaller matters.

In the study leading to this discovery, subjects were given IQ tests and shown a group of videos.

The clips had varying sizes of moving black and white bars. Participants were asked to identify in which direction the bars were headed.

Those who had greater difficulty with the large objects and more ease with the small ones also showed higher IQ scores.

The researchers explained that smaller foreground movements tend to be more important in daily viewing and information processing. Large background information is often extraneous.

Thus, the higher IQ participants were better at filtering out the excess distractions.

There are ways besides increasing your score to better your concentration, though.

One suggestion is that when faced with your daily workload you tackle the creative work first and save the tedious stuff for later as focus tends to diminish throughout the day.

Taking a break from multitasking to concentrate on a single project as often as you’re able will also help train your brain.