What to Do When You Are Distracted from Your Goal

Share on facebook
Share on email
Share on pinterest

Distractions … sweet distractions. You cost us so much. Even if we don’t realise it instantly. An average person looks at the phone 52 times a day according to a study.  On the other hand, progress with work and with a career is not only a natural desire or a basic need, it is also important from a mental health perspective.

 

Let’s see how we end up sabotaging ourselves.

Assuming we spend about 15 seconds on the phone each time (as a distraction), which may not be the case, such a distraction costs us at least 13 minutes a day. Let’s count the time we need to put ourselves back in working mode and we can quickly see how pricey it is to allow distractions into our life. Longer interruptions require even longer time to recover.

During the time you saved avoiding short interruptions, you could have another break which you could spend taking a walk in the park close by or having a coffee with a friend. You could painlessly integrate the daily workout in your schedule or read from/listen to your favourite book. I know, some would use it to do more work. Which is perfectly OK, too.

 

So, the solution is easy-peasy. Don’t look at your phone, don’t allow anything or anyone to distract you.

Here are a few techniques to prevent distraction.

  • Plan your day in the morning and include the breaks. With the breaks integrated in your schedule, you give yourself the opportunity to relax and be distracted when you need not be productive.
  • Listen to your mind and body and plan your time in shorter segments. Work in thirty- or forty-minutes segments and take a short break after each segment. With time, you will work for an hour and then even for longer periods.
  • Let your boss, colleagues, friends and family know when you need time to work without interruption and make sure you are clear on how much quiet time you have.
  • Leave your phone in another room, unless you need the phone for your work.

Working without interruption would be ideal, although we rarely have the opportunity to experience such a bliss and most of us don’t work in a Tibetan temple.

What to do when you are already distracted?

  • Let the source of the interruption (if it is a person) know how much time you have for them.
  • Train your mind to keep a line of thought to help you get back to your work faster.
  • Make a quick note of where you were before the interruption and then deal with the distraction.
  • Work on a different task which requires a shorter time to tune into.
  • Find links between topics. If you find yourself distracted by another topic, consider continuing with the new topic.
  • If the background noise interrupts you time to time, find a white noise that works for you, or a quiet place.
  • Learn to meditate, it helps develop focus.

As you can see, there are simple techniques you can adopt to reduce interruptions in your life. Though, if you distract yourself, think about why you are doing it.

  • Is it a specific time of the day when you distract yourself?
  • Is there a specific topic or question you want to avoid?
  • Or, is it a form of procrastination?

You might be interested in the following article where we talk about how you can use relaxation and visualisation to help advance your career.

 

Related Articles

Find yourself journaling

Self-reflection is primarily a way of self-assessment. It has numerous self-development benefits. As one method of practicing self-reflection, journaling helps

Leave a Comment

Whether you are a professional in a corporate environment, a digital nomad on your way to career growth, an entrepreneur, or between, in this innovative & unique life-transformation consultancy, we are here to provide you with guidance and tools, so you see how much further and higher you can go.

We understand that your progress & success depend on so much more than your professional abilities, so we teach you to create your own personal secret formula.

UnleashR was established due to our awareness of the challenges women face in business, and because we are sensitive to this plight we develop our products and services with a proper & extensive understanding of the limitations we are aiming to break. Our services and programs are developed to help you achieve a genuine and complete transformation of your professional and personal life.
Our team of experts have been trained to focus on the most crucial elements of behaviour; and this enables you to achieve long-term results in a shorter period.

Our aim is to ingrain success encouraging attributes so deeply that they become a part of your everyday life. That it becomes your natural instinct when you make business or professional decisions and this way you will truly transform your life and maintain better results.

Ariana Mara

Ariana Mara

Ariana founded unleashr with the aim to help people not only understand but benefit from the changes in their professional environment.

About unleashr

At unleashr we work together every day because we would like to help you solve three key problems you may struggle with in your professional life:

  • making an impact and keeping the good things coming
  • having constant access to an energising and inspiring environment which helps you succeed and values your accomplishments
  • increasing your individual change capability, so you can stand tall or stand back up after a difficult period in your life.

Follow Us

Be the first to receive articles, tips & exclusive content

We respect your privacy.