How to Stay Focused in a World of Distractions
Writing this post has proved to be quite a challenge. Not because I don’t know what I want to say or how, but because of the very thing that prompted me to start writing it.
You see, in the last few minutes I received two emails, two Facebook notifications, one LinkedIn profile view notification, an update about my new puppy chewing my slippers (not again!) and Skype ping from a colleague. Each of these caused my train of thoughts to jump the track, and only the last one was really important.
But I don’t need to go into details; we have all been there. And distractions are not only external. Think about it: When has it been easier to procrastinate? That blog you love to keep updated on or cute cat videos are just a click away.
As a result, we are busier than ever, with never-ending checklists and often producing little value.
I am very interested in all things psychology so I spent a lot of time reading about this issue and the best way to regain and maintain our focus on the most important things. The advice usually takes one of two directions: the purely psychological one, which advocates distancing yourself from the technology that is causing distractions, to purely technological one that advocates the use of technology to curb them. Techniques I find useful are a mix of two.
1. Take control over your checklist
Checklists are great because they help you remember all of the things you have to get done during the day. However, they can easily get out of hand.
It can be tempting to fill your task list with all those little things you need to take care of. Usually the moment I cross something off, two new thing jumps out. And it’s not work, it’s me being the workaholic that I am. 😀
What I try to do now is to focus on one to three things that will really make an impact that day. The number is irrelevant, the important thing is that at the end of the day you are happy with what you did, and you know you ventured out of your comfort zone a little. As one of the greatest professors I ever had the privilege of learning from, J.B. Kassarjian says – If you are not stretching, you are not improving.
There is a great theoretical framework you can use to prioritize your tasks – Eisenhower’s priority matrix that helps you rank all your activities by priority and urgency.
2. The Pomodoro technique
This technique goes back to the 80’s when Francesco Cirillo first introduced the concept. What it does is use the timer to break work down into smaller intervals, usually 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. The idea is to try to tackle big tasks by breaking them into a series of smaller ones and focus on only one task at the time. You work in short sprints and stay focused on one task at hand by knowing that that the time you have is reserved for it and you will be reminded when the time to take a break comes.
How does it work in practice? You go through your checklist and provide an estimate on how much time you need to take care of a task. Then, you allot the time for the task, wind up your timer, and stay focused on the task during that period. You don’t check your email, phone or social media, because you know that the allotted time for doing that will come soon.
What I like about this principle is that no matter how long the time allotted for the task is (for example, you could follow your energy cycles and work for 90 minutes at the time), during that task, you mute and forget about everything.
The most important thing here is to keep your focus, which can be hard even if we are left completely on our own. Which brings us to the next thing.
3. Be conscious of your thought process
Michael Lipson, a clinical psychologist, works on helping people focus better by teaching them about the “structure of distraction” or how the process of getting and staying concentrated works. His work relies on metacognition – the practice of being aware of the direction your thoughts are taking and consciously bringing them back to the task at hand. Most importantly, metacognition as a skill can be learned and improved upon.
He says that there are four phases of attention and distraction that happen every time we try to focus:
Stage I First we focus on something and we are doing good, for a while.
Stage II Then our attention starts to wander. This is not something we consciously do, it just happens.
Stage III We realize our mind has wandered off and we notice what distracted us. This is where you have a choice – to let your mind wander or to focus on the original thing.
Stage IV Refocusing.
With time, if you stick to refocusing every time your mind wanders off, you will be less distracted – your mind will wander off less and for shorter periods of time. Think of your brain as of a muscle that gets stronger and better with practice.
4. Don’t let your email dictate your day
If the Hydra analogy can be used anywhere in this post, it can be used here. Emails are one of the greatest sources of distractions there are. Rules like “don’t disturb after 10pm” don’t apply here and if you don’t take some concrete steps, they could be monopolizing your attention during the whole day.
Unfortunately, that is easier said that done. Alexandra Samuel says it best:
Email angst isn’t just one problem: it’s several. It’s the problem of how to cope with the volume of incoming messages, compounded by our fear of missing out on something and by our anxiety about staying in the loop.
So, the first thing to do? Turn off email notifications on your phone.
As I work with people from all over the world (Did I mention I love my job?) I used to get emails all day long and I felt compelled to answer them the moment I receive them. With time, I realized that my work stretched over the whole day, which was slowly draining my energy. Since I was not able to control my urges of responding to each and everyone the moment I received them, I decided to control the time when I “receive” them. Now, I still check my emails pretty often but I do it on my own terms.
A lot of advice on managing your email better relies on zero inbox philosophy, and I am a believer. Basically, what time management experts suggest is triaging your emails: responding to those that are urgent and don’t take much time, categorizing those that don’t need answering and marking those that need you some time to take care of.
If you follow this advice, you email will become a checklist by itself (yes, I have many) with only emails that require your response or further actions. All other should be either deleted or designated to their respective folders. In my case: Completed, Strategy, Ideas, Reading Materials and Blog Post Ideas.
The final puzzle? Scheduled maintenance. Every now and then revisit your folders. Don’t hesitate to delete things that are collecting dust on your digital shelf for months now. You have to make a clean cut now and then.
5. Make peace with the fact that, no matter the enthusiasm, you cannot read nor do everything.
For me, this is both the hardest and most important thing I have to do. Sometimes on a daily basis even. Recently I stumbled upon a blog post with a premise that shook me because it was spot on.
I won’t be burning my checklist anytime soon either, but it certainly would not hurt us to just take it a little bit easier on ourselves. There is a reason why breaks and time off exist. They ultimately help us recharge and be better workers, parents, and friends – better beings all around. So don’t forget to go for that coffee break tomorrow or use the sunny weather this weekend.
The goal of these time-management efforts is to achieve more and make more time for all the things that make us happy, so make sure to schedule some time to smell the roses too. 🙂
Back to you! What is your secret to achieving more during the day?
