DEVELOPMENT
They create subtle changes to nudge themselves towards healthier habits Avoiding digital distractions doesn ’ t have to mean making big changes . Sometimes the smaller changes have the biggest impact . Matt Mullenweg , a founding developer of WordPress , says : “ If what is closest to me in the bed when I wake up is the Kindle and not the phone , I ’ m more likely to read . But if the phone is on top , I ’ m more likely to look at it .” Making sure he leaves his Kindle on top of his phone is a small but effective strategy for doing more reading and less phone checking .
How highly efficient people manage digital distractions
Six minutes is the amount of time people can stay focused on a task before succumbing to email or messaging apps , according to Dr Amantha Imber . Here ’ s how successful entrepreneurs , businesspeople and innovators buck this trend …
THE EXPERT
Dr Amantha Imber is the Founder of Inventium , Australia ’ s leading behavioural science consultancy . She also hosts an insightful podcast about the habits and rituals of the world ’ s most successful people , called How I Work .
They use checking so-called ‘ digital distractions ’ as a mini-break Professor and best-selling author Adam Grant isn ’ t a fan of going cold turkey . Instead , he uses digital distractions for breaks after a large chunk of deep , focused work : “ I have goals for how much work I have to finish before I ’ m allowed to go over and check . It ’ s a small reward for making progress on the things that I think are important ,” he explains .
They reflect on their motivation For Grant , being conscious about his motivation for checking social media is critical . He warns people that if the urge to scroll is constantly taking you away from your work , your work probably isn ’ t motivating enough : “ I actually feel the opposite impulse . If I ’ m scrolling through Facebook , I ’ m like , ‘ Ah ! I ’ m going to have this really exciting work to do ! I want to get back to that ,’” Grant describes .
They work offline for hours at a time In today ’ s world , being disconnected from the internet is rare . But for the world ’ s most productive people , deliberately taking themselves offline is key to making progress on their most important projects : “ Going offline is really great ,” describes Mullenweg .
“ Occasionally at home I ’ ll just turn off the network – literally unplugging it – and force myself to look at all the things that are there in front of me .”
They sometimes go to extreme measures Prior to becoming CEO of Moment , a company that helps people cut mobile phone time , Tim Kendall was president of Pinterest and struggled with his own phone usage .
He started to research what he describes as “ brute force approaches ” and discovered a product called the KSafe . A lockable kitchen safe with a built-in timer , it was originally designed as a dieting product where people could lock away unhealthy food . But in recent years , the product has found a dual purpose – a tool for those struggling with mobile phone addiction . Simply lock your phone in the safe !
Kendall tried experimenting with locking away his phone on weeknights , then for a few hours on weekends . While he doesn ’ t use the KSafe regularly anymore , he found it effective at the time . Now , he just leaves his phone in his home office before going to have dinner with his family : “ On my best nights , I don ’ t go and get my phone until the next morning , which is effectively the same thing as putting it in a kitchen safe from 6PM to 8AM ,” he says .
At the end of the day , the world ’ s most productive and high achieving people are human . They have days where they struggle with digital distractions like the rest of us . Kendall adds : “ I find it hard and I go through mobile phone withdrawal but I also think that it has a meaningful impact on my relationship with my kids and my wife . I feel less anxious and less psychologically toxic if I can take a break from my phone .” S
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52 Executive PA | Summer Issue 2023