You sit down with your phone for five minutes after work to take care of a Facebook message a friend sent about a party of another friend’s pet goldfish. And when you look up from the device after a harmless Internet browsing of what seemed like five-minutes, you find yourself at the fag end of the night. Time to get ready for work again. Where did all the time go?!
Yes, I ask myself the same question every night. Of course the easiest solution to this is turning off all gadgets and the Internet. Sadly enough (or not), we live in a world where existence away from the digital realm is virtually impossible. But all is not lost yet.
There are ways of training yourself to not get distracted while being online. Here’s how:
The first step towards curbing a bad habit is to figure out where you are going wrong. There are lots of mobile applications and computer plug-ins that can be used to see the apps or sites you use the most.
Time Tracker is a Chrome plug-in that shows you the websites you spend maximum time on. Similarly, both the Google Playstore and Apple App Store have several apps that will give you a daily report of the amount of time you spend on your phone. Once you know if your life is being whiled away scrolling down the endless sea of Instagram posts, for instance, you can have a more localised treatment for this problem. Logging out of Instagram during work hours is a solution.
If you are close to the point of no return and want to apply more extreme measures, there are browser plug-ins and extension for your computer. What they essentially do is block specific websites for certain periods of time allowing you to bring in some regulation while being online.
Being aware of slight changes in the environment protected our primitive ancestors from potential threats. Hence we are designed to instinctively pay attention to even the slightest change around us.
Cue entry of dopamine (or the reward chemical) and voila! Here we are, addicted to our display pictures and check-ins. Dopamine is activated not only by activities you enjoy, but also by the simple idea of those activities in the form of pictures or information, also tied to validation by peers.
And lastly, declutter. This is fairly simple and straightforward. Get rid of desktop clutter in the form of extra tabs, windows and icons. Go full screen to avoid distractions.
But how DO we declutter and close our eyes to distractions - you ask. Well, the idea is to not shut your eyes entirely. In fact, some distraction is good. What needs to be checked is its rampant impinging on your work when you’re trying to be productive.
Working in a noisy room? Check out some white noise soundtracks. Not only will they soothe you, but also improve concentration. Here’s one of my favourite tracks:
Ironically enough, your answer might also lie in technology itself. There are lots of apps that help you be more mindful. A personal favourite is Headspace.
Yes, you read that right. A study by The Wall Street Journal showed Internet browsing actually helps improve performance.
The study was carried out with three groups where while all three were given a simple task to perform, only one was allowed to surf the net in between. This group performed the best at the task.
Looks like WSJ gave the validation most millennials needed:
How do you stop yourself from getting distracted online? Or have you already given up on pretending you can get any work done to begin with? Write in to us and share your story.
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