The ability to focus deeply on one task for hours on end is one of the key skills for professional success. However, in a world where there is so much to distract us, it is becoming harder and harder to maintain focus for long periods of time.
There are too many people who never got to experience it flow experience i.e. a state of maximum possible productivity, because they are constantly being interrupted or distracted by something. With this text, I will give you guidelines on how to protect your focus and experience flow more often.
Distractions are enemy number one when it comes to attention and productivity. Therefore, in order to protect your focus and get into a flow state more often, you will need to remove the main distractors from your work environment.
Specifically, there are two types of distractors:
- External – phone, notifications, social networks, news, email and noise
- Internal – thoughts, stress and worries
When you remove these distractions from your environment, you will be able to maintain uninterrupted focus and commit yourself deeply to your work, without interrupting every five minutes. The first step is to identify which ones they are the biggest sources of distraction from the external environment for you. Is it the phone, social media, food, series, video games, email, typing messages…
Depending on what is easier for you, either remove these distractors from your environment or distance yourself from them. The harder it is for you to approach them, the less likely they will succeed in disrupting you. Phones, social media, news, Netflix… It's all designed to be addictive. It is designed to stimulate your brain in an unnatural way and thus get you hooked.
Specifically, the brain releases a lot of dopamine when it interacts with these media, and that's why it's so hard to resist temptation. The brain is always looking for the easiest way to maximally stimulating. Look for the line of least resistance. Netflix, fast food and mobile phones are ideal sources of this type of stimulation.
Most everyday tasks can't get any bigger instant gratification than these distractors. This is why we reach for them at times when we should be working. Most people's work is stimulating, but not nearly as much as social media, YouTube, news and interesting conversations.
Work also leads to satisfaction, but it is not immediate, but delayed. The rewards we receive from our work are almost always somewhere in the future (eg, salary, influence, promotion), while the rewards provided by distractors are immediate (eg, fun, stimulation). It is the battle of instant gratification versus delayed gratification. The best way to win the battle over distractions is to avoid them as much as possible.
Here are some tips on how to do it:
Switch your phone to airplane mode, put it away in another room or pack it in a bag. Install it website blocker to prevent yourself from visiting certain sites e.g. news, social networks, email and instant messages. Never leave Viber, Messenger and similar messaging apps taboo to others, not even email. Open only those tabs that are absolutely necessary for a given task.
Work on a quiet place, where you will not be distracted by noise or talk. Put in earplugs or play repetitive music. The key is to protect yourself from all potential distractions so that your work becomes the most fun and stimulating thing you can do.
Without distractions, you will create a space where you can achieve a flow experience and deeply commit to work. You can block out all external distractions and remove them from your environment, but there still remains one big source of distraction: Your brain.
As humans, we are always in a state of thinking. Many times it is of great benefit to us, while again, many times it is not at all. Thinking is a double-edged sword – it can lead to incredible discoveries, and it can completely distract you from your work and goals. For in-depth work, it is still necessary learn how to quiet the mind and limit the inner voices that disturb you.
There is an interesting principle in Buddhism that our mind describes as "monkey mind". The analogy is this: every thought is like a branch, and your mind is a little monkey, swinging from a thought branch until the second, all day long. That may sound fun, but the end result for an untrained monkey is mental and physical fatigue.
That untrained monkey mind distracts us from our work, discourages us from doing the things we should, and seeks constant stimulation. To protect our focus and achieve a flow experience, we must tame the monkey mind.
One of the most effective ways to achieve this is to practice meditation regularly. Meditation is a very powerful habit for improving productivity (and life in general). By meditating, you become calmer, you get rid of accelerated thoughts and you can focus more easily. It might sound like some fairy tale to you, but it is actually scientifically proven that it is meditation improves focus, silences accelerated thoughts and makes you happier.
Journal writing is another habit I recommend for getting rid of internal distractions. When you write your thoughts on paper, you seem to have "captured" them with that paper. It helps the monkey mind get rid of distracting thoughts and focus on the work instead.
Whether it's the things you need to do, the things you mustn't forget, or the stress you're dealing with right now - write it down. In this way, you free up mental space and protect your energy. Your mind should not be a storehouse of thoughts and ideas, but generator of thoughts and ideas high quality.
When you tame the monkey mind, you automatically sharpen your focus, because internal distractions will be minimized. It's a way to immerse yourself in your work and achieve a flow experience more easily.
Knowing how to protect your focus is not enough. You need your knowledge make it happen. So, during your next working day, take advantage at least two of the suggestions listed here for eliminating distractions.
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Source: youtube.com/TheArtofImprovement
