Avoiding Distraction

Distractions are everywhere.
This is a busy electronic world filled with distractions at every corner.
Commercials scream at you while you're driving down the road listening to the radio.
Your smart phone demands your attention with various apps and games that you have to visit frequently.
Even Facebook emails you relentlessly when you don't check in.  (I found this out during my Facebook free February.)


So how do you avoid distractions?
Try to eliminate them before they get a chance to steal too much of your time.

Leo Babauta had a wonderful thought on procrastination on his site Zen Habits. "embrace your procrastination as a friend, enjoy it … and then ask the friend to leave for awhile so you can get your work done. No friend should monopolize all your time."

Distractions and procrastination are the same thing.  

If you are truly drawn to that game on your phone.... take a 5 minute break and indulge. Then get back to work.

Or better yet, set the temptation in another room.  So it takes physical effort to be distracted by it.  You are less likely to be distracted if you have to get up to walk into another room, rather than have it next to you within reach. 

Multi-Tasking is really distracting.

People used to think multi-tasking was a plus on a resume.  Something all employers were looking for.
In all actuality though, we don't multi-task, we distract-a-task.  We move from task to task, one at a time, being distracted by the next thing  you have to do.  Leaving the prior task incomplete, or just good enough.   We really should just be focusing on one thing at a time to be the most efficient. 

Studies have been done on this and multi-tasking is now being given the bad name it deserves.  So in my next interview, if they ask me if I multi-task, I'll say "No, I prefer to give my full attention to the task at hand rather than being distracted by lesser priorities."  
Turn off your cell phone.

Unless you have someone you take care of and you need your cell phone on to receive emergency calls, you may want to turn it off.  It seems that whenever I sit down to work, I get phone calls trying distract me.  They aren't urgent, just friends checking in, but never the less it is a distraction.  

We've become so dependent on cell phones in the past 14 years.  I say 14 years, because while cell phones existed when I was in college, we didn't carry them.    When looking around at new technology or distractions, I like to think.... What did we use before these things were invented?

Before cell phones?  You waited until you were home from your destination to take calls (even just as far back as answering machines..... remember those?)

Ahhhh simpler times. :)

As with anything, do what you can, when you can. Little by little, step by step you'll make your way down the path you've chosen.