Why Am I So Distracted?

Most of my career was in education (elementary thru higher ed), so I’ve accumulated years of personal case studies teaching others how to optimize their ability to focus.

Take a moment to identify why you are losing focus. Are there ever times when you can focus? Is there anything you do to help you focus during those times? Maybe the only time you focus is when you are doing something you enjoy. Make note of it.

Five Steps to Improve Your Focus:

1. Remove all distractions.

2. Set a timer.

3. Give yourself short breaks.

4. Set a goal.

5. Do one thing at a time.

#1. Remove all distractions.

The main distractions people encounter when they are trying to focus are their phone and their environment. 

Your phone needs to have all its distracting buzzes, dings, rings, email notifications, and music turned off, and it needs to be out of your immediate reach. Here is a crazy statistic - a single distraction can trainwreck your focus for 23 minutes! Now, think about how often your phone interrupts your thoughts and do the math. 

If your environment is a distraction, what are ways you can remove or minimize those distractions? Are there disruptive sounds around you? Use earplugs or earbuds to block it. Are you working in a space with a lot of noise? Move to an area that is less distracting. 

#2 Set a timer.

You’ve probably heard of the Pomodoro Technique. You select a task and set a timer for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes of focus on the task you get a five minute break. If you want to try it out, here’s a timer someone (not me) made just for the Pomodoro Technique: 25:00 - Time to focus! (pomofocus.io)

I have a background in education and can tell you two things that I know about attention spans: (1) Not everyone can focus for 25 minutes. (2) Some people can focus intently for longer than 25 minutes. You have to figure out your own personal sweet spot through trial and error. However, science says that 90 minutes is the max for adults, so take a break.

#3 Give yourself short breaks.

Give yourself short breaks to “reset” your brain. I know you have two immediate questions: What is short? What do you mean by “reset” my brain? 

Short should be relative to the amount of time you are focused on a task. For example, if your timer is set for 15 minutes, then your break may be a one minute break. A longer timeframe, say one hour, may necessitate a 5-10 minute break.

Resetting your brain, aside from being supported by scientific studies, comes from my years of experience teaching students from 5-years-old to college age (and older). The longer you work on a task the less effective your brain becomes. Short breaks allow your brain to refocus on the task. Drink a glass of water. Stretch or take a short walk.

#4 Set a day/time goal.

What is it you are trying to accomplish in the time you are giving to a task? 

Set a goal, and make it simple (attainable). Setting a goal, a target, focuses your brain on that task. When you are vague about your expectations on your time, your brain doesn’t know what to accomplish. You probably wander from one task to another.

I’ll give you a personal example. When I was a teacher I had to do weekly lesson plans. I would start each week by saying, “Okay, I have to write lesson plans for the following week, and I really hope I finish them before the end of the week. If I don't, I'll be working this weekend.” 

You don’t need me to tell you how ineffective that approach was. 

I changed this task to meet daily goals. Each day of the week I worked on a particular subject, planning for math on Monday, reading and writing on Tuesday, science on Wednesday and so on. My brain was focused each day, and I didn’t have to use my weekends to catch up.

#5 Do one thing at a time.

There is a growing body of work that indicates multitasking is not only ineffective, it is damaging to our productivity. (see a piece of this research here: Memory failure predicted by attention lapsing and media multitasking | Nature)

Working on multiple tasks at a time impacts our working memory and it destroys any chance of our brain being able to focus. Have you ever left work at the end of the day to feel as if you accomplished very little even though you were busy all day long? There are many things that can impact this, but a big factor is task switching costs.

Let’s tie this back to the 23 minutes of focused time you sacrifice each time your phone distracts you. When you multitask you are setting an environment fraught with distractions. Every time you expect your brain to switch from one task to another (or even worse, focus on two or more tasks simultaneously) it has to recalibrate. 

Try one thing at a time. Keep or tweak what works. Then, try the next thing. Think of how accomplished you’ll feel once you corral your time and focus your attention on your work. It’s totally in your control.

Do You Need Help Tapping Into Your Potential?

Are you struggling to meet your goals and wish you had support? Have you ever considered having a coach? You may not know what a coach does.

What Does a Coach Do?

• You and I develop an individualized plan targeting your specific goals

• You receive individualized support from me

• Answers to your specific questions

• Guidance on your specific issues and blocks

• Accessibility to me outside coaching sessions for added support (individual texts and emails to check in)

• Your plan leads to learning how your personal growth is in your control

If you need a coach, contact me. I can teach you how to get started and accelerate your growth by using repeatable methods. Need the tools? I’ve got them. The goal is always to make you independent. I should be working myself out of a job. Once you take off, you may want to have a session from time to time, especially if you are scaling your goals. A good coach teaches you how to stand on your own two feet. Are you ready to CONNECT?