Which way to pick? Positivity and Productive, Distractions and Stressed or what we often think we are picking, which is, remain Positive and Productive, whilst attending to Distractions, which is impossible and leads to us feeling overwhelmed and stressed.
So, why do we pick the way that leads us to feeling overwhelmed and stressed?
Well, distractions, are just that, distractions, designed to attract our attention and trigger us into thinking they are important, yet often if you take a moment, you’ll realise they aren’t important, right now or they may not matter to you at all.
I can be, isn't the same as you should be
Being online is so accessible isn't it, we can be online the entire time we are awake if we choose too and it's the if we choose too part, I wish to focus your attention on just for a few minutes.
Take being online for work, how much time per day do you spend online in work mode?
Often when I ask people this questions, their answer is,"I don't know"
Which can mean you are online for work far more than you realise, far more than is positive and productive for you.
As I'm writing this blog now, if I had my alerts on, I could frequently be distracted from this blog, answering an email or responding to a notification from a social media platform, which until I look at them, I've no idea if they are more important for me to put my attention too than finishing this blog. I just don't know, until I look and that's one of the main reasons why we do, what if, it's urgent? And once we hear the ping, ever if we don't look, we are distracted with thoughts about what it might be about, which increases our levels of anxiety, meaning even though we haven't looked at it, we are distracted by it anyway.
The cost to you, responding immediately to every ping
Did you know that research shows we are typically only spending 11 minutes on a task before we are interrupted? 11 minutes, that's not very long is it!
Not only isn't it a long time, it also means we aren't getting into our 'flow' state, which is when we are most productive, as in order to be in 'flow', something we critically need is NO distractions.
Avoiding distractions increases productivity and feelings of positivity
So, if we need no distractions to be in 'flow' and as a result be our most productive and positive, how do we avoid distractions? By choosing to set up our environment to minimise distractions.
How to set up your environment
1) Block time out in your diary for the activity, remember it can take up to 30 minutes to get into 'flow' so block out sufficient time
2) Turn off notifications, all notifications, not just social media, on your laptop, PC, tablet, watch and phone.
3) Put your phone to divert to voicemail
4) Make sure the room is well light, straining your eyesight is fatiguing and feeling tired will distract you and affect your concentration levels.
5) Have a drink and snack close to hand, so thirst and/or hunger doesn't distract you
6) Make sure the temperature of the room is comfortable, being too hot or cold is a form of distraction
Now you've set up your environment to minimise distractions, you get start working.
If you’d like to learn more about how I help my clients, please send me an email cathy.hilton@thriveminds.co.uk