This article about distraction is my entry to @JonicaBradley's Writing prompt #17: Distraction
In a noisy world, that we live in, we have to deal with distraction all the time. It can easily lead us to where we do not want to be, or get us into serious trouble. Distraction also can lead to dropping performance in focus and productivity.
You can reduce distraction by limiting your tasks. If you have a limited number of things to pay attention to, there is a higher chance, that you are going to stay on task. You limit the chances of picking up something bad and ditching out on your goals. This is where having a to-do list comes in to play.
You have to make sure, that your to-do list is specific, detailed and a priority. Otherwise, your list is going to be cluttered with unnecessary things and you are only going to end up frustrated.
Never forget, that your brain is going to fill in the blanks. If you have a specific thing, that you need to do, your brain is going to try to make that happen. If you start putting a bunch of random activities on to your list, it is going to throw out the important things and just do the unnecessary ones.
Dealing With Distractions
There are two types of distractions. The first is the external distraction and the second is the internal distraction.
External distractions are things like texts, calls, meetings or anything that is going to cause your brain to say "Hey, get your attention." These things can be handled. If you ignore them or you can't take them right now, then just circle them off your list and deal with them later.
Internal distractions are things like worries, insecurities, doubts and fears. These are things you need to work on addressing, but they aren't going to go away, because you ignore them or try to push them aside. The only way you are really going to get anything done is if you are fully committed to the task at hand.
Sometimes it is easy to get distracted by the things, that are frustrating. If you find yourself getting upset or angry about something, just take a step back and re-focus yourself.
A very important thing to realize is that you don't have to do everything on your list. In fact, it might be better if you don't. Nobody can do everything, so why should you have to? If you would rather stay in control instead, you could make things happen how you want them to.
Why Distraction Is A Problem?
The main problem that we have with distraction is that it takes focus away from what is really important. The people, who are always the most distracted, tend to have the least amount of accomplishments.
People who work on their phones have a lower amount of productivity, than people who don't. People who drink and do drugs, tend to have poor work ethics. Those type of people tend to have a lot of distractions and tend not to achieve much in life.
When you start to lose focus and get distracted, you start to make poor decisions and choices. This can lead to you doing things, that aren't going to help you reach your goals. You can't step into the future if you are stuck in the past.
This is why you need to stay focused and not lose sight of your goals. To help you with this, you are going to create a new routine, that is going to keep you focused and prevent you from being distracted.
Preventing Distraction
When you are about to start a task, that is going to take up a lot of time, it is best to do it when you are most comfortable. This may be in the middle of the night, if that is when you are most awake or before you go to sleep, if that is when you are most relaxed.
The times when you are least focused on the outside world tend to be the best times to get things done. This allows your brain to process things more efficiently and find solutions to problems at a faster rate.
When you are going to do something, that is going to take a long time, it is best to do it in segments. This allows you to take breaks, if you need to and still make progress on your task.
The hardest part about all this is that you are going to have to take the long view of things sometimes. Goals that seem so close and within reach can quickly slip away if you take the short term view of things.
You need to be flexible about most things, but your goals are not one of them. They are set and you are not going to deviate from them just to please others.
With that being said, going to extremes of not being flexible isn't going to help you either. Being too stubborn and set in your ways is only going to hurt you in the long run.
Staying focused is going to be one of the few things, that is going to help you survive the coming chaos.
Increasing Productivity
Now that you have a better idea of how to prevent yourself from being distracted, its time to work on increasing your productivity.
The best way you are going to be able to increase productivity is by taking advantage of the times, when you are most awake. During school and work hours, this is going to be during the day. At night, you are going to have more flexibility to do things.
The time, that you are going to spend doing this is going to be whatever time is left after you take care of all your other responsibilities. The less time, that you are going to be spending on other things, the more time you are going to have to do this.
When you first start out, this is probably going to be a small change. Over time though, you are going to find yourself being more productive and able to accomplish more.
In fact, you might be a little surprised at how well some of your ideas pan out. There are probably a lot of things, that you never would have tried before, that you should have. Now is the time to take advantage of that and all the free time you have.
Remember to stay focused. If you start getting distracted by silly things, you are not going to enjoy this period of freedom and you are going to be miserable. Stay focused and everything is going to work out.
The cell phone is a means specifically designed to keep you distracted. Put it aside for a while, you will look at life differently.