We live in the modern age where Phones are
getting smarter, while the people are getting dumber…we are pounded with
information every millisecond..through News websites, social media, Television,
Instant messaging and what not! Our
attention span is getting down to rather dangerous levels…and this becomes the
major source of mental stress in the modern life.
In my
experiments to handle distraction (which I am figuring out still!) the peaceful
days were the one in which I was able to concentrate on a task to a specified
time limit …even if it is 5 minutes. Here are few elements to handle distractions..
First, know your distraction:
We all have created habit of distractions…Reading
news from Websites,Checking emails, Checking social network sites ,watching TV
,surfing the internet without purpose are common examples of the distractions. The
first step to eliminate the distraction is to know what they are…to be self-aware
of your distractions.
So watch yourself… the next time you are
involved in an important activity and your mind tells you instead to wander
about & read news or check email….you found your distraction . This is an
absolute important step!
Second, Find one activity to focus on:
If you have one most important thing for the
day(that you absolutely loathe doing!) pick that activity to focus on…I know
this is easier said than done. This is a productivity habit that any Leader in
any profession possesses…
Third, set an upper bound of time for focusing:
Set a timer on for say even 5 minutes , as an
upper-bound for focus…what this means is , you should not
continue the activity beyond the 5 minutes …absolutely !!! you may wonder why this is so ? In the
distracted world, we got to sustain the habit of focus, and it is best we do it
in small increments…This is also called the Pomodoro technique
Fourth,give yourself a break after the Focus
After all , you deserve credit for the hard
focus that you just indulged in !…walk to the water cooler or grab a coffee…
Handling distraction is an habit…start small
with attention span of as less than 5 minutes and slowly increase it day by day…I am sure you will relish it...It is an amazing feeling that I would exhort you to be part-of!
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