How to concentrate better and avoid distractions?
In our world full of electronic devices and daily to do’s, it’s easy to get both overwhelmed and distracted, it’s hard to focus. Is it really? If you want to improve your focus, concentrate better and avoid distractions, this article is for you.
A story to reflect on: I sit down at my work desk in the morning, I have a day ahead full of tasks. I know what objectives I want to reach for the day. I start with the first 2 tasks, finish them quite quickly and suddenly “ding” my phone rings. I look at it, see a message that takes me completely away of my focus, I reply, see another message coming in. Once I finish with my WhatsApps, I don’t even know what I was going to do next, so I get up, get a drink. I take my phone with me, look at some social media, about 10 minutes go by, then I go back to my desk. I sit down again, try to focus, but now I can’t stop thinking about that one WhatsApp message and I keep checking my phone if I get a reply soon. I look at the clock and realize about 30 minutes have passed from the first time I checked my phone, and I get frustrated for not using the time to work but to reply messages.
Have you ever had a similar experience? I personally have and it’s these little distraction – especially the ones related to short-term dopamine boosts = short-term pleasure like scrolling through social media or messaging – that take us so completely away from our focus and make it so hard to concentrate again. The result? We take longer for our work tasks, the result might be worse as our focus is lower, and taking longer for our work means we have less time for our “after-work” or “free-time” activities. How to improve our work-life harmony? We need to improve our level of concentration and we can to that by avoiding distractions and this is where the concept of deep work comes in.
“The ability to perform deep work is becoming increasingly rare at exactly the same time it is becoming increasingly valuable in our economy. As a consequence, the few who cultivate this skill, and then make it the core of their working life, will thrive.” says Cal Newport, author of “Deep Work. Rules for focused success in a distracted world”. If you get distracted easily, I highly recommend you to read his book.
Here are a brief summary and my key learnings:
- Prepare your workspace, without distractions
This means to prepare our workspace as minimalistic as possible and only having the things in sight, that we really need to complete the task.
In my case this is my laptop or paper + pen (depending on the task), a glass of water and my list of to do’s. In my home and office space in general I try to keep a very clean space with not too much clutter (https://littlehealthyhabits.com/declutter-for-more-space-in-your-home-and-head/) as it helps me to focus better. What about the phone? If you don’t need it for this specific task, it should not be on the table or in airplane mode. - Structure your day: Deep work vs. shallow work
- DEEP WORK tasks and slot
Cal Newport defines “deep work” tasks like this: “Professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill, and are hard to replicate.”
They need your complete focus and attention = “mental activities”, thinking, creating something new, planning a strategy, etc. Example: If you are a people leader, this is usually the moment where you work on your leadership strategy or prepare an important presentation for your team.
Once you have defined these tasks for your work, it’s important to ask yourself: At what time and during which moment(s) of the day can you concentrate the best? According to Cal Newport, we are only capable of completing 3-4 hours of deep work every day. These are the moments where you should definitely quit any distractions (hacks: put your phone in airplane mode, open only the tabs on your computer you really need, close any chats or messaging functions, quit any alerts or pop-ups, quit the noises or any other items that might distract you, etc.) and get things done. - SHALLOW WORK tasks and slots
“Shallow work” are “Non-cognitively demanding, logistical-style tasks, often performed while distracted.” In other words, these are the time-consuming tasks, that don’t get our core wok done but are still necessary in our job, mainly E-Mails, chats, etc. No matter in what company or area you work, it’s very likely you need to answer at least some messages every day so if this is your case, it’s intelligent and necessary to plan slots for them. You can plan a shallow work slot before and after a deep work slot and that way you are not too much time without answering your clients/colleagues, but can still concentrate well.
- DEEP WORK tasks and slot
- Prepare your mind: Plan your breaks and time to unwind
Make sure you plan your breaks and take them rigorously. Our brain needs to relax, unwind and recharge, in order to be able to fully focus during our deep work time. Boredom (yes, no plans, just being) is absolutely essential, according to Cal Newport. The practice of mindfulness (https://littlehealthyhabits.com/what-is-mindfulness-and-how-to-put-it-into-practice/), meditation, enough sleep and planning healthy breaks including healthy nutrition (https://littlehealthyhabits.com/how-to-take-a-healthy-break/) are great tools to maintain a high level of concentration. If you want to scroll and use social media in your break, that’s fine, but please plan that slot too. A conscious “I will take 15 minutes now to scroll and then I put my phone away again” is better then taking the phone 15 times a day for 1 minute. Furthermore, it’s not only important to plan breaks during your work days but respect your “free time”, for yourself, for your loved ones, for your hobbies, for whatever feels good. If you respect your “off time”, you will learn the deep work skill a lot quicker and be more efficient during your “on time”. - Focus deeply: It’s your priority, right?
Once you have created your structure and daily plan: FOCUS. Stick to it! If you have never practiced this before, it might not be easy in the beginning to sit down and not look at anything else but your work material and to complete the task. It’s weird when your phone is not next by, if you were used to this before. Don’t worry: It’s a skill acquired over time so maybe you start with 30 minutes of deep work per day or 45 minutes and then slowly increase it to longer or/and more slots. I started like this. Go step by step, create the habit, and practice gratitude (yes, be proud of yourself!) when you complete the first deep work slot without doing anything else. If it still seems really hard after weeks, you might want to reflect on your priorities (https://littlehealthyhabits.com/taking-the-time-for-your-priorities/) again and if you have chosen well your deep work and shallow work tasks or if you need to restructure.
From my personal experience: It took me a few weeks to get used to this “way of working” (and I had been practicing all kind of healthy habits long before that) and there are still days where I concentrate better and days where I don’t. And that’s OK. Let’s not forget, we are humans 🙂 I keep practicing and improving my structure and focus. I celebrate every milestone. I personally prefer different deep work slots with breaks in the middle so on some days I do a slot from 9.00-11.00 and then again from 15.00-16.00 hours, as example. In between and afterwards is the time for meetings, calls and other tasks, that require more social interaction and “immediate response”. Of course, on the days where I have a workshop, my structure changes completely.
Your structure really depends on your kind of work, personal organization and energy level.
If you want more: Cal Newport has a lot more hacks and tips when it comes to structure, playful breaks, how to plan “overflow blocks” if some activities take longer etc. which is why I recommend you his book or the following article, which is a great summary: https://theprocesshacker.com/blog/deep-work-cal-newport-pdf-book-summary/
And now it’s your turn: Have you already identified your deep work tasks? How do you structure your day?
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