5 Forgotten Distractions and How To Tame Them
Is it fair to always blame technology?
I check my phone at least 100 times a day.
Not because there’s anything interesting on it, but because I’m addicted.
Just the mere act of ‘having a phone’ leads me to distraction.
Whilst there’s nothing wrong with having a little harmless addiction to phones, I mean I don’t smoke, and hardly drink, (I’ve got to have some sort of guilty pleasure, don’t I?) it makes it harder when you are really time poor. In my case, I rush around trying to fit everything in before collecting the children.
But, as soon as you mention the word ‘distraction’ people immediately blame technology. For me though, it’s much more than that.
There are different distractions that seem to take over my life and I’ve classed these into the 5Ps: Products, Place, People, Passions, and Processes.
Products
Let’s start with the most obvious one. Products.
You guessed it, here are the phones, tablets, smart wearables, smart doorbells, smart anything, really. This list would also include Teams, Slack, Discord, and any other social media that pings up in the corner of the screen, when you’re trying to concentrate.
There’s one simple way to manage these without deleting apps.
Just spend 1 or 2 minutes of your day and turn off the notifications.
Can you hear that? That’s the sound of being able to think again. Like the one where Rachel’s baby finally stops crying and Pheobe says, “I can hear the voices in my head again!” (Yes, big FRIENDS fan here 😊).
On that note, close all the open tabs on your browser and your WhatsApp Web too. Your brain doesn’t need the extra stimulation.
I recently read an article by Bryan Dijkhuizen who mutes all the apps, calls and texts on his phone (except for family) so that he is in control of what he sees and when he sees it. Simple, yet effective.
Place
Since Covid, going to the office has become a big distraction.
Aside from stressful commutes, offices are often filled with noise, chatter, and other people’s phone conversations. Colleagues openly say now that when they have deep work to do, they just stay at home.
I have to work in a space where I can concentrate.
If I’m in the office and need to do deep work I’ll try to find a quiet corner, or even book a meeting room for me, myself, and I. If I’m at home, I make sure all my other devices are out of reach so that they can’t tempt me.
But the other thing I consider is the amount of daylight I’m getting. I like to choose a workspace with lots of natural light, as it seriously perks up my energy levels.
People
At the risk of getting eggs thrown at me here, avoid people.
They are big time distractors.
Ok, as an introvert, it felt pretty good saying that, but seriously though... meeting banter is next level distraction territory.
Artificially forced banter, whilst designed to make us feel less alone, can also be overwhelming when you’re working towards a deadline, and your to-do list is growing by the hour.
I get that it’s comforting to interact with other humans, especially if you live alone or haven’t been able to get out much that day. But for those who need to cram in a full day’s work before collecting the kids, it can pile on unnecessary pressure.
To counter this, I identify one or two meetings per week where I’ll give myself permission to engage freely in banter, however long it takes. And the rest of the week, I try and keep to a stricter schedule that allows me to focus on using meetings as a tool to get things done, rather than a social opportunity.
Passions
Ah, my favourite kind of distraction: passion projects.
My husband will tell you that I have a lot of them. If I don’t portion out time for them each day, then will knaw away at me, pestering me to play with them.
I’m currently reading Ali Abdaal’s Feel Good Productivity, and he uses the term ‘side quests.’ These are the kind of distractions that bring you joy, because you give yourself permission to explore an avenue curiously. Ali’s research shows that this makes you more productive. Pretty cool.
But, if I don’t keep a close enough eye on them, they can take over my day, leaving no time for my day job.
To counter this, I purposefully carve out a specific timeslot for those things, so that I can focus the rest of the day on what I’m supposed to be doing.
Processes
Long convoluted processes create noise and clutter and obscure value adding activities that serve us well, without us even knowing it.
They’re easy to spot though. They’re the ones that involve lots of administrative tasks, or excessive emphasis on the little things like font size, and whether a box has a round or square edge.
If a process is frustrating you, you’re more likely to get distracted, in turn creating more of the other distractions listed above.
To counter this, I seek to understand what the customers of my process need, (i.e. key stakeholders) and deliver nothing more and nothing less than what they’ve asked for. This is good practice anyway, but it will be sure to make you a productivity black belt / distraction tamer in no time.
Caveat
I should caveat that this is all written from the perspective of a serial meditator. Meditation is like a pair of nunchucks for taming distractions. I’ve been practicing meditation every day for 2 years now, and it’s trained me to focus on one thing at a time.
Whether I’m concentrating on my breathing or a sound, giving myself this luxury of focus training for almost 20 minutes a day has changed my life. But that’s a story for another time.
To sum up:
If you’re keen to minimize the impact of distractions, think about the 5Ps:
Product: turn off those notifications!
Place: turn your environment into a concentration haven.
People: choose 1-2 meetings a week to engage in ‘meeting banter’ and focus the other meetings on the task at hand.
Passions: carve out specific time for passions in your day/week and use them as a reward for focused work the rest of the time.
Processes: Be clear with your stakeholders about what’s expected of you, to avoid convoluted processes and deliver nothing more and nothing less.
What will you try this week?
Have I missed anything? Let me know in the comments.
-Selda
P.S. If you found this article valuable, don’t keep it to yourself - spread the word! Share it with your friends, family, and colleagues, and let’s help everyone to minimize distractions in their day so that they can get more done.
P.P.S. If you’d like to learn more about how to build a life you love, here are a few ways I can help you:
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SELDA; You mentioned office distractions, This was the worst distraction ever. An office colleague asked this question once a week (drum roll) "Steve what did you have for dinner last night." Followed by 20min of BS banter. That happened in an architectural office in London.
I’d say that’s a positive Improvement right there 👍🏻