How to stop being distracted

Distractions prevent us from focussing on the important things.  They come in all shapes and sizes, pulling us away and causing us to feel as though we are losing control.  They may be trivial items such as internet browsing, or more ‘serious’ items such as emails and other work, but not the work that we really need to get to.  We beat ourselves up and blame ourselves for lacking self-discipline and organisational skills, but we can’t seem to break the cycle, why is this?

Let us examine what a distraction really is. The clue is contained in the very definition of the word.  A distraction is “an interruption; an obstacle to concentration”, in other words an obstacle that is blocking you or preventing you from ‘seeing’ the item upon which you should be focussing.

Now distractions are not sent our way by a host of mischievous elves with nothing better to do than create turmoil in our work or personal lives.  The truth of the matter is that distractions are mechanisms that we are guilty of putting in place in order to avoid that which we should be targeting.  And the avoidance has become so habitual that we don’t even notice we are doing it anymore.

The hard truth is this: the important thing you really should be doing, you are actually avoiding by allowing your brain to be entertained with other things.  The reasons for task avoidance vary depending on the situation, but they all boil down to the feelings you have attached to the task that you are avoiding. And it is these feelings that you are really avoiding, not the task itself.

Being honest with yourself and identifying the emotions that you have surrounding the task you are avoiding will enable you to rationally approach the task with a clearer perspective. 

But how do you prevent yourself being distracted?

Learn to categorise the sources of your distractions.  Some may be purely pleasurable and you may be craving some ‘me-time’. You should allow yourself this, but only once you have made a dent in the work that you need to accomplish.  Some may be other work-related items which you can better prioritise for another time of your day.  And then there are trivial distractions which do not offer any benefit; these should simply be eliminated.

Awareness of the real cause of distraction is the secret to regaining control.

For more information on overcoming distractions and procrastination, contact us at The Time Clinic on www.timeclinic.co.za

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