In today's world, maintaining concentration has become increasingly challenging. We are constantly immersed in an environment filled with sophisticated technologies, and a whole new world, often more enjoyable, is easily accessible. And let's be honest right from the start, there's no harm in spending a few hours scrolling through your Instagram feed or enjoying some music (guilty ✋).
The issue arises when these activities start diverting our attention from the work we intend to accomplish. Each one of us has aspirations, time constraints, and ambitions that drive us. However, without dedicating focused effort and sheer determination to these endeavors, none of them will come to fruition.
Therefore, today we will dissect distractions into manageable components, enabling us to understand the root causes of our distractions. This understanding will empower us to combat these distractions effectively and acquire the essential skills to maintain our focus.
Reasons for Getting Distracted
We often find ourselves getting distracted due to a few key factors.
1. 🥱 It’s too boring
The first reason is simply that the task at hand is too boring, which makes it easy for us to succumb to distractions. We naturally gravitate towards activities that are more enjoyable and provide a dopamine rush, leaving mundane tasks in the dust.
2. 😓 It’s too hard
Another factor contributing to distractions is when we encounter significant challenges or roadblocks during our work. The frustration and extensive time spent trying to overcome these obstacles create the perfect conditions for distractions to enter the picture.
3.👀 It’s too prominent
Furthermore, sometimes we unintentionally make it effortless for distractions to disrupt our focus. By keeping our smartphones within arm's reach, and aware that each notification has the potential to divert our attention for an extended period, we are making distractions too accessible. In such cases, it becomes crucial to address the distraction itself rather than solely focusing on the work.
How to stay focused
🎯 Prioritize Pleasure Optimization
Now, let's focus on optimizing for enjoyment, which is a crucial aspect of our approach. This involves targeting two primary factors that contribute to distractions: when our work feels tedious or overly challenging.
To address these issues, one effective strategy is to infuse the process with elements of gamification and enhance the visibility of your progress. This approach aims to encourage you to take the next step and experience a sense of satisfaction along the way. If you're familiar with role-playing games (RPGs), you'll likely recognize the gratification that comes with leveling up. In RPGs, your actions directly impact your experience points (XP), fueling your desire to play more and progress faster.
By incorporating gamification techniques into real-life work, you can transform it into a more engaging and enjoyable experience. For instance, when studying for an exam and faced with a substantial workbook, it may initially seem like a daunting task. However, by breaking it down into smaller, manageable portions and visually tracking your progress over time, you create a sense of accomplishment and motivation. Each completed segment becomes a milestone that propels you forward until you ultimately conquer the entire workbook.
Regardless of the nature of your work, whether it involves learning how to code, writing a book, or developing a business idea, it's crucial to establish these mini-milestones that allow you to visually monitor your progress. Merely checking off tasks from your list can significantly enhance the overall satisfaction of the process. Before you know it, you'll have established a comprehensive tracking system that you'll find pleasure in revisiting whenever you reach another significant milestone in your project.
In essence, by optimizing for enjoyment through gamification and visible progress tracking, you can elevate the entire experience and derive greater fulfillment from your endeavors.
📵 Distance Yourself from Your Smartphone
Among all the gadgets available, smartphones undeniably hold the top spot in capturing our attention. Their constant proximity, just inches away from us, makes it all too easy to get entranced. The continuous flow of notifications and the possibility of unexpected calls further compound the challenge.
To combat this, I have a simple solution: whenever I have an important task at hand, I deliberately place my phone a few feet away from my desk. By doing so, I shield myself from the bombardment of notifications, eliminating the temptation to mindlessly scroll through social media platforms like Instagram or Twitter.
On some occasions, I find it effective to place my phone face down and activate airplane mode. Curiously, when I don't see the screen, the inclination to pick it up and succumb to procrastination diminishes. Moreover, with airplane mode enabled, I am insulated from any disruptive notifications or unexpected calls that might interrupt my workflow.
If you recognize that your smartphone significantly impacts your ability to concentrate, I encourage you to activate airplane mode and position it a few feet away from your workstation. This way, you can avoid the habit of glancing at it randomly and enjoy uninterrupted periods of work, free from distractions.
🎛️ Manage Your Surroundings
Let's not forget the third reason behind our distractions: the prominent nature of our environment. When our surroundings are cluttered and numerous elements compete for our attention, it becomes exceedingly easy to divert our focus to these distractions, especially when our work feels arduous or monotonous.
In the modern work landscape, our primary setting is often a desk, and the simplest advice is to maintain a clean and uncluttered workspace. It may sound straightforward, yet I must confess that I personally struggle to adhere to this rule, resulting in my desk often resembling a chaotic scene 😅. However, to create a distraction-free environment, I have developed a 2-minute rule:
"If a task takes less than 2 minutes, tackle it immediately."
While a mere 2 minutes may not suffice to declutter the accumulated mess over the past few days, even a small tidying effort can significantly reduce the number of distractions and the likelihood of my mind wandering toward objects like a lens or a keyholder. Whether you work at a desk or in a more complex workplace, strive to maintain cleanliness and simplicity. Remove any unnecessary additions and ensure that each item present adds value either in terms of work productivity or personal enjoyment. If anything becomes a distraction, don't hesitate to eliminate it, without any remorse.
⏳ Intentionally Manage Your Time
There is another aspect of our work process that we can consciously liberate from distractions, and that is our time management, including our calendar and how we plan and schedule our tasks.
In his book "Indistractable," Nir Eyal astutely observes that one can often gauge a person's susceptibility to distractions by examining their calendar. If there are numerous empty and unplanned slots, it's more likely that deep work will be neglected, and the mind will gravitate towards easily accessible and entertaining activities.
However, when we take deliberate control of our time and proactively plan ahead, we are more likely to follow through with our intentions because we have a clear plan. Therefore, when it's time to work, we know precisely what needs to be done.
Two productivity techniques that can greatly assist you are time blocking and the daily highlight.
🚧 Time blocking: Allocate fixed amounts of time for each task by creating time blocks in your calendar. This approach results in dedicated blocks of time in your schedule, eliminating uncertainty about what to do or how long to work on specific tasks.
⭐️ Daily highlight: Choose one key task to focus on each day. Often, an extensive to-do list can lead to analysis paralysis and hinder productivity. By identifying one priority above all else, it becomes easier to initiate the work, which is usually the most challenging part.
Combining these techniques is highly recommended. In addition to time blocking your tasks, select a single task to prioritize above everything else.
Conclusion
Distractions are an inevitable part of our lives and, in fact, I don’t think getting rid of your phone or giving up on your gaming console is a way to go. A much better solution would be to control our environment, plan our day ahead of time, and shut down all distractions while working.
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