One of the best ways to be at the top of your game is to stay productive in whatever field you find yourself. However, distractions seems to be a problem.
It certainly is hard maintaining focus in a world that is tailored to distracting you. Every app has a notification, every app is looking for your time, balancing a good and proper social media presence and a proper productive life might definitely seem challenging. Imagine a Monday morning where people are supposed to be talking about you while you’re making money. You find yourself scrolling away on TikTok.
Finding focus is very key. However, our brains are being wired to find distractions. Now, there’s a whole of science-y, biology mumbo jumbo behind it, that has to deal with dopamine and receptors, but the main deal is that we crave novelty as human beings and this might lead us to being distracted when trying to complete our daily tasks.
P.S.: Only God knows how many times I glanced over at my phone while writing this…
Here are tips in staying productive and keeping off from distractions.
Dealing With Distractions
Tip 1: DND is your best friend.
This is not to encourage the DND merchant, who have permanently have their phones on Do Not Disturb (*coughs…I inclusive). This is to let you know that the Do Not Disturb function was put on your phone for a reason. I mean, its in the name; “Do Not Disturb” meaning Do Not Disturb Me. I think they took the “Me” so it doesn’t sound rude. Essentially, this setting is your best friend whenever you have work to do.
Tip 2: Manage your notifications.
…and don’t let them manage you. I, for one, don’t actually like notifications. That constant has a way of making my skin crawl and giving me anxiety. If you are like me, it’s quite simple to manage this. Just go to your settings and choose what apps can and cannot send you notifications.
Tip 3: Set app time limits.
You can also allocate whatever time you want to whatever app you want. If you notice that a certain application is taking up most of your time, and in turn, taking up most of your day, set a limit to how much time you can use that particular app in a day.
Tip 4: Focus apps.
There are different apps out there that can help with focus. I personally have tried apps like Opal and Jomo. These are great in helping to “block” certain apps for a set period of time, there is also OneSec, which got recommended to me while watching an Ali Abdaal video. However, some of these apps have paid subscription which would enable you to schedule “block periods” instead of having to do it manually everytime.
The free version can still be worked with and to be honest, they have helped a lot in ensuring I maintain focus in completely several tasks. Even in completing this article.
Tip 5: Out of sight, out of mind.
Decongest your home screen by removing some of the apps that you find distracting. Having to go to your main app library just to open Instagram when you could have previously done it with one tap on your home screen creates an extra bit of friction which makes the distraction just a bit less desirable.
Now, I know you might be thinking “Is it not just to scroll to the app library?”, yeah, I know but that added level of “discomfort” would make you rethink opening the app you don’t need.
Extra Tips In Limiting Distractions.
- Set Specific Phone-Free Times: Designate certain times of the day as phone-free periods, such as during meals, before bed, or during work hours. This helps you build healthier habits and reduce reliance on your phone.
- Keep Your Phone Out of Reach: When working or studying, place your phone in another room or out of reach. This physical barrier makes it less likely that you’ll grab your phone out of habit.
- Use Grayscale Mode: Switching your phone’s display to grayscale can make it less visually appealing and reduce the urge to engage with distracting apps.
- Reflect on Your Phone Usage: Regularly evaluate how and why you’re using your phone. This self-awareness can help you identify patterns and make adjustments to reduce distractions.