It's Nearly Impossible to Avoid Distraction in Our Digital World
Try this instead.
Waves
Have you ever watched children standing at the shoreline for the first time?
Some children hold their hands out in front of them, as if they're trying to push against the waves, with the (futile) hope of stopping the onslaught. Others get bowled over by the surge and come up sputtering. A few children figure out - or are shown by others - that they can jump over the waves, which turns out to be a pretty fun thing to do. And then there are always those who end up purely contenting themselves with sand play.
With these never-ending waves that roll up on the beach, you either figure out a way to deal with them, or you just avoid them altogether.
In our modern world, digital distractions are like these waves. To avoid digital distractions completely means becoming one of the children who only plays on the sand - eschewing technology altogether. The fact that you're reading this article, delivered to you digitally, means you don't fall in this category. I can't think of a single adult I know personally who doesn't have a cell phone. Even my Amish potato-supplier has a cell phone.
Our Options
The question then pivots to: How do we manage digital distractions in our daily lives? Like the children, do we:
push against the distractions, hoping to stop them?
get bowled over by them?
or learn to manage them, and enjoy ourselves in the process?
1. Pushing against distractions
I'm not sure how this is even possible. This is like telling someone "Don't think of purple elephants", thereby putting the purple elephant in mind. Our brains just don't work that way; enough said.
2. Getting bowled over by distractions
This is, by far, the most common way we interact with distractions. The average professional when doing computer work is distracted every 40 seconds. When we allow distractions to have this effect on us, work becomes much harder, is of poorer quality, and takes a lot longer to do. This is not a great choice.
3. Learning to manage distractions
When an agricultural livelihood was the norm, people needed rest from their physical labor. Today, a great majority of us participate in the knowledge economy, relying heavily on technology. We now need rest from our mental labor. And digital distractions are happy to provide that rest.
The problem is that the distractions, while providing a break from our mental labor, don't actually provide rest.
Rest doesn't occur because there's a guilt that comes along with letting ourselves get drawn into distractions: "I know I should be doing (fill in the blank) instead of (this distracting thing)." We aren’t refreshed by an activity when the doing of it is accompanied by guilt.
Jump Over the Waves of Distraction
Instead of letting myself fall into distraction, I set aside time to enjoy them. Since I’m genuinely planning on doing that activity, the distraction actually morphs into a non-distraction, into a thing that I'm choosing to give my concentration. And because I'm actively choosing it - rather than passively being drawn into it - I don't feel any guilt. Zero. Zip. Nada.
For instance, I enjoy games that challenge my mind. Every day during lunch, I play four New York Times games. By lunchtime, I've already accomplished a lot of work, so these four games are restful for me.
These games would fall into the category of distraction IF I let them: if I indulged in them at other times during the day, times when I'm supposed to be taking care of other things. But because I manage them (and don't let them manage me), the games are an object of concentration, not a source of distraction.
Your New Best Friend
I highly suggest you buy a basic timer to set on your desk. No - don't say you'll just use the timer on your phone. Simply picking up your phone can turn into a massive distraction.
Use your new best friend to predetermine for how long you'll work and then for how long you'll mentally rest. A couple of pro tips for smart timer shopping:
If you're sensitive to sound, purchase a timer that doesn't audibly tick, or at least has a volume control so you can turn off the ticking.
Consider a rechargeable model. I recently bought one of these, and I love not having to feed it with batteries.